Galileo’s Revenge

2-3/4″ x 2″ x 1/2″, 20” chain

Pictured with a 20″ Single Weave Roman chain. Availalbe with different chain options. Please choose from pull down menu.

It’s been my privilege to bring awareness and appreciation of Russian Filigree, aka Filigrana, to much of the world. Since releasing my video on the process in 2006, people from everywhere have gained access to information that was previously only available to a select few.

At the same time that I created increased access and awareness, I have changed the game a bit — creating Russian filigree pieces that honor the technique, but that are anything but traditional in design. I still make every single piece of wire, tension fit it into my frames, and then bend the soldered sections into physics-defying, Escher-like, and Mobius shapes that speak to my love of astronomy and cosmology.

Galileo’s Revenge is my premier piece that does just that. The 18 karat and sterling, bi-metal dome is engraved to reveal a sun-star of glittering lines within the yellow gold. It spins, nested within the Russian filigree starfish form beneath it. The 18 karat and sterling, bi-metal dome on the back features the gold on the inside to shine through the laciness of the filigree. The outside back of the dome is engraved with a larger sun-star, leaving no surface unadorned. The domes are able to spin both independently and together.

The Koroit opal, set in 22-karat gold and suspended from the filigree starfish, is one I’ve been saving for some time. As I began searching for what would bring the most light and interest to the pendant, the shimmering quality of the green within the opal’s buttery yellow jumped out at me as the perfect complement. The pendant is available with a choice of 18″, 20″, or 22″ inch chains to feature it either above a scoop neckline or lower, so the wearer can enjoy spinning the domes while wearing it.

Read more about the technique of Russian filigree.

All images and artwork © Victoria Lansford, 1989-2018