Vintage Chunky Masonic Orb

As soon as I see one of these I immediately want to pick it up and start playing with it. These ingenious little Masonic orbs are miniature feats of engineering, opening from a compact sphere into a hinged cross made up of a series of intricately engraved pyramidal sections.

They are enormously satisfying objects in the hand. Every section articulates and folds back into place, so there is a wonderfully fidgety, tactile quality that makes them just as pleasing as objects as they are as jewellery. It is also difficult not to be impressed by the workmanship involved. An extraordinary amount of movement and detail has been engineered into something so tiny.

Each face is engraved with a mixture of geometric and Masonic symbols, so as you unfold it there is continually another little detail to discover. I particularly love the contrast between the almost architectural form of the opened cross and the neat little orb it becomes when everything is folded away.

The central folding section is gold-plated silver, while the bridge and suspension fitting that hold the whole construction together are solid gold.