New designers with jaw-dropping talent are, unfortunately, few and far between. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that that sentiment doesn’t always apply to Japan. The latest case in point is Joji Kojima. Like his friend, the heel-less shoe designer Noritaka Tatehana, the young Tokyo-based jewelry designer has worked with Lady Gaga, contributing his awe-inspiring, sculptural works to one of her albums.

The rings in Kojima’s fall 2012 collection, Utopia, are reincarnated as various animals—i.e. elephant, flamingo, horse, lizard—that are more like pieces of wearable art. And while no prices are given, if his friend’s $15,000 shoes are any indication, we should assume they, too, are in the realm of art.

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