The brooch from the “Birth of Stars” collection, created in 1984 by the Yekaterinburg jeweler Vladimir Nikolayevich Ustyuzhanin, is made from citrine and morion, set in a silver frame. The design features two narrow, gracefully curved metal loops and an ascending arc which converge at a single point. The loops secure four faceted, teardrop-shaped stones: one transparent golden-yellow citrine at the lower loop and three yellow citrines at the top one. There is also a long, slender black morion crowning the arc. Each stone is securely held in a smooth silver bezel.
On the reverse side, the brooch bears the artist’s monogram — “UVN” — and the year of creation, 1984, engraved to the right. The “Birth of Stars” collection captures the essence of motion and celestial flight. Its elongated, dynamic forms convey a sense of speed, purpose, and upward momentum, evoking the image of radiant, distant luminaries soaring through the cosmos. This feeling of weightlessness and ascension is intrinsic to Ustyuzhanin’s artistic language — a style defined by its rhythm, flow, and continuous movement.
The brooch features semiprecious citrine, a transparent variety of quartz with a warm spectrum ranging from pale lemon to rich amber-honey tones. These golden Ural stones are often poetically referred to by jewelers as “golden topaz”. In Russia, they are mined in the Urals. This golden stone is contrasted by the morion — a rare, deeply black variety of smoky quartz, mysterious and intensely expressive. In this composition, the morion appears to surge upward from the depths of the earth, breaking through toward the infinite expanse of space. This jet-black stone looks harmonious in any shape.
The silver frame, glowing with a cool, reflective luster, embraces the polished stones and enhances the sense of vertical lift — a visual metaphor for aspiration and cosmic journey. Vladimir Ustyuzhanin is a master for whom the principles of jewelry art are sacred, timeless and fundamental. He developed a deeply personal style, marked by a profound passion for faceted stones, their shine and hews, and the magical interplay of light. In the artist’s work with stone and metal, one can sense his emotional dialogue with time, form, and the infinite diversity of life itself.
