An (un)attractive advertisement photograph

Here is a photo of a stack of bridal wedding rings. The picture has been turned on its side, to comply with the present craze for the widescreen format. It is unpleasantly cropped. I found it in a pamphlet of ads for local stores. It is printed cheaply on thin paper; and there are other images printed on its reverse side, which is why there is so much noise in what should be a pure white background.

The rings themselves are obviously supposed to look beautiful – their metals should be shining, and their gems should be sparkling – but they appear drab, on account of the flaws of the medium.

This image attracted me enough to copy and share it, because I’m fascinated by the way that it manages to indicate the idea of luxury in spite of its obvious limitations. To suggest richness without actually possessing any riches is to act as a symbol for richness, a word for richness, or richness’s stand-in. It makes me think of humans as God’s stunt doubles.