Vladislav Khramtsov, a well-known Yekaterinburg jeweler, Honored Artist of Russia, created the pendant “Through the Looking Glass” in 1996. The jewelry piece is shaped like an irregular rectangle. The inserts on it are arranged in such a way that they resemble fragments which are about to fly off in different directions. Rays radiate from them: each is decorated with an insert of phenacite — a rare Ural mineral.
In the center of the pendant is a rounded amethyst of a rich purple color. People started to mine these stones in the Urals in the 18th century. The Vatikha and Aduysky deposits were especially famous: people could find there the largest and most valuable minerals.
The master used polished flint to make some of the inserts. This type of quartz is often found in sedimentary rocks. Iron and manganese oxides are painted in different colors with smooth transitions of shades.
Other inserts are made of charoite — a rare stone that was mined in Russia only at one location — on the border of Yakutia and Irkutsk Oblast, near the Chara River, after which the mineral is called. But presently this stone is practically not mined.
The creator of the pendant, Vladislav Khramtsov was one of the most famous masters of the Soviet Stone-Cutting school of the Middle Urals. At the age of 19, he came to the Sverdlovsk Jewelry and Lapidary Factory as an assembler, worked there for 25 years and became head artist. In 1969, Khramtsov graduated from the Art History Department of the Ural State University named after A. M. Gorky. Since 1977, he started working at the workshops of the USSR Art Fund. There the jeweler could create artworks based on his own sketches, and organize personal exhibitions.
In total, over a 60-year career, Vladislav Khramtsov made more than 400 items. The master evaluated his works very strictly,
In the center of the pendant is a rounded amethyst of a rich purple color. People started to mine these stones in the Urals in the 18th century. The Vatikha and Aduysky deposits were especially famous: people could find there the largest and most valuable minerals.
The master used polished flint to make some of the inserts. This type of quartz is often found in sedimentary rocks. Iron and manganese oxides are painted in different colors with smooth transitions of shades.
Other inserts are made of charoite — a rare stone that was mined in Russia only at one location — on the border of Yakutia and Irkutsk Oblast, near the Chara River, after which the mineral is called. But presently this stone is practically not mined.
The creator of the pendant, Vladislav Khramtsov was one of the most famous masters of the Soviet Stone-Cutting school of the Middle Urals. At the age of 19, he came to the Sverdlovsk Jewelry and Lapidary Factory as an assembler, worked there for 25 years and became head artist. In 1969, Khramtsov graduated from the Art History Department of the Ural State University named after A. M. Gorky. Since 1977, he started working at the workshops of the USSR Art Fund. There the jeweler could create artworks based on his own sketches, and organize personal exhibitions.
In total, over a 60-year career, Vladislav Khramtsov made more than 400 items. The master evaluated his works very strictly,
