Jewelry fashion

Vogue and adornments –there and here

(Some thoughts on a jewellery fashion in the former USSR in eyes of the Israeli)

Today it is not a favorable time for the country wanting some humanitarian assistance to trouble about vogue’s fancies and nevertheless, what in vogue there recently? Surely jewelry is. Why? This is hardly a single reliable thing, which still is valued both in internal and international market. Mostly, by the way, due to the outstanding properties of Soviet precious metals, but only … In the present volcanic situation people seek for guarantees of stability, for their investments.

It is interesting, the first Moscow platinum factory never produced jewelry articles, and was entirely occupied in making kitchen utensils, Khlebnikov’s factory was small enterprise, which was nationalized in 1918.All of the good, spoons, forks, glass holders (mainly from platinum) were put out with the trade mark “Platin-pribor”. From 1923 to 1926 the main jewelry production was put with the trade mark “MYUT”. This enterprise was reorganized by the jewelry office “Mostorg” (Moscow Trade Bureau).

In 1936 saw the appear once of the first big jewelry factories in Moscow and Leningrad (St.Petersburg). The first state vocational school was opened in 1937, which trained jewelry masters. Among the essential kinds of techniques mastered there were chasing, casting and filigree.

Main jewelry training centers in the USSR (today CIS) are concentrated around the Volga river region, Urals and Moscow and also in the large cities. The secrets of old masters are the most attractive and precious part of private workshops.

In the CIS are articles of platinum and white gold by precious stones are popular. As a rule, women long to purchase a complete set of jewelry: earrings, ring, pendant, though more widespread ensembles include two articles. In vogue today are pendants with Zodiac symbols.

Commercial exhibitions prove the monotony of the CIS jewelry industry. However, Baku or Yerevan factories occasionally show some originality. In fact, they often use foreign catalogue materials and fruitfully elaborate on them.

The people who possess a certain taste (and means of course) venture to order custom jewelry from the masters. The problem of choosing a master is complicated. Not every jeweler has the premises top work with gold. Having a specially equipped craftsman studying in the CIS jewelry is not an ordinary matter. It is dominated by the understanding that jewelers are craftsmen and their work is anonymous. The idea that a jeweler can be regarded as an artist.

What are acceptable gifts in various situations? Among expensive wedding, birthday, anniversary gifts, jewelry prevails due to its longevity. When life is unstable are interested in sure values.

Today‘s Israeli’s woman (CIS immigrants) clearly show by their jewelry the regional distribution of different CIS stylistic tendencies.

Almost unerringly you can distinguish by jewelry style a habitat of the Baltic region from that of the southern republics. This undoubted sign of the south amber. Asiatic jewelry contains splendid ornamental techniques there is plenty of variety and the color gold is combined with red stones such as ruby and spinal and with blue and green ones such as turquoise of lapis lazuli with a white pearl. These colors symbolize life’s origins: fire, water, plants (earth), sky, and air.

Large goods made with casting techniques, sometimes also in filigree. Central Asia is traditionally rich in jewelry masters. Among them there are many Bukharian Jews who are famous craftsmen. It is not without reason that this ancient profession is in Tanach. Distinct types of earrings and bracelets named by the place of origin were made in Bukhara.

Earrings that was notable for their grace and high artistic taste with plenty of pearl mountings in addition to emerald and rubies. “Bukharian bracelets” were popular for their massive forms and filigree ornaments. Among them were open bracelets of lamellate shapes, covered by shallow engraving or carved with plant motifs.

From the middle of the 1970s was produced gold articles began to use colored stones: lapis-lazuli, agate chalcedony, jasper, nephrite, onyx, moon stone, rhodonit and others.

However their continued use with no consideration of the traditional symbolic aesthetic designs increasingly reduced their popularity.

People want the traditional combinations of ruby and pearl. On arriving in Israel a CIS immigrants feels dizzy. The country offers the buyer an “ocean” of jewelry and for the inexperienced this is not safe. But soon enough the newcomers make their first jewelry purchases.