White stone and silver-covered gold ring

Meaning

The white stone is compared to a gold ring covered in silver: a white exterior encloses the red interior or capacity whose later manifestation is described. The comparison follows the account attributed to Geber of Nature’s sulphur as white outside and red within.

The ring saying belongs only to “one of the sages,” who remains unnamed. It is not a statement that an actual silver-coated gold ring is the operative material. Nuysement’s accompanying colour testimony refers back to a trial that did not achieve metallic transmutation, so the colours cannot independently prove that he made the promised elixir. The image explains a relation of exterior appearance to inward disposition.