There are different types of Tuvan women’s jewelry: those for hair, ears, hands, fingers, and belts. Hand ornaments included bracelets and rings. Girls’ rings had simple rounded shapes, while women’s ones were decorated with a large ornamented plate.

Jewelers lived and worked in close contact with the world around them. Everything they saw was reflected in the jewelry, that is why the main motifs in the patterns were plants.

In the book “Traditional Tuvan Costume”, Martha and Anastasia Siyanbil write about the jewelry of Tuvan brides:

Tuvan women kept their personal belongings, including jewelry, in small boxes that stood in the women’s quarters of each yurt. It was believed that such items were not allowed to be touched by strangers. Jewelry was an indispensable accessory of a woman. “The motif of magical transformations of a hero’s girlfriend into a ring or an earring widespread in the epos is probably connected with it” (Martha and Anastasia Siyanbil “Traditional Tuvan Costume”).

A typical Tuvan plated ring is made of white metal and finished with embossing. The plate of the ring has a vertically extended oval shape. The plate features a favorite motif of Tuvan smiths — a combination of scrolls and the “ram’s horn” pattern. In the center of the patterned plate of the ring there is a protruding circle. Other rings usually have an inlaid semi precious stone (malachite, carnelian, turquoise) in the center. The ring is especially expressive. According to ethnographer Sevyan Weinstein, it is rare to find two absolutely identical rings, even if the main elements of the patterns are repeated.