The Medici Jade Casket

Zlatoust, not yet a city, but a factory, was founded at a time when Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, the youngest daughter of Peter I, ruled Russia. She tried to preserve all the progressive ideas of her father. The arrival of the Enlightenment era in Russia is connected with the time of Elizabeth Petrovna. The new Zlatoust plant was built precisely by decree signed by the Empress herself. A hundred years ago, when the city became famous not only for its unique blades, but also for the beauty of their decoration, a gift box was made in a truly royal style. She was sent to court, and the drawings and memories were preserved by Zlatoust artists. Today it is difficult to assess their authenticity, but this product was invented based on the motives – all in the same royal style. The caskets are based on the famous Ural gems. About a thousand different minerals have been found in the depths of the Ural Mountains. References to the search for precious stones in these places have been found since the XVIII century. The Urals is especially famous for its precious, semi-precious and ornamental stones. In the Urals, emerald, garnet, amethyst, aquamarine, jasper, rhodonite, malachite, serpentine, orlet and many others are mined, amazingly beautiful and famous all over the world. The first valuable rocks were mined and processed by local artisans who created their own traditions. Later, jewelers trained according to European standards joined in. Ural precious stones are usually of very high quality. They make rare jewelry, which is given its due in all corners of the world.

The product made of processed Ural ornamental stone is decorated with an engraving on steel, using nickel, blackening and gold. This is an exclusive technique of the ancient Zlatoust engraving.