Et in Arcadia Ego

The skull is a symbol of the transience of life and as memento mori a reminder that one has to die*.* ET IN ARCADIA EGO is Latin and means, “And in Arcadia I am”, however, if is thought to be spoken by a dead person (as in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited) it may be understood as, “though I’m dead, I used to live in paradise like you,” or, “I too enjoyed the pleasures of life”. 17th century painter Nicolas Poussin idealised memento mori to suggest that through art one might become immortal. Worked in 18 Karat white gold, fully pave-set with 629 pieces or 4.84 carats of brilliant-cut diamonds, 2 emerald eyes, and mounted on an 18 Karat rose gold ring engraved on the outside.