A set of five apple green lace porcelain plates with an exquisite border design and a 22-karat gold band.

It must be close to magic to make something beautiful. To see people transfixed in the fruits of your labour. To know your work was worth it. When you see a pattern this intricate, it seems as impossibly perfect as crop circles or the pyramids. Not that this is a conspiracy. Not yet.

The last traditional Chinese dynasty, the Qing empire ruled for nearly three centuries. During the late seventeenth century, the field of porcelain achieved precision previously unimagined. The green apple lace colour appears to be a block, but look closely and see interlacing tiers of complex octagonal design. On the inside is a series of spirals and closely spaced circles - an extraordinary show of skill.

This testament to patience can be mixed and matched with other lace plates or other decorative patterns. If you'd rather be uniform, they would have pride of place on a table laid for a family feast.

Care instructions: Dishwasher safe although we recommend washing by hand to maintain these pieces for longer, especially with their metallic decoration.