The Smolensk Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos Reliquary

Jewelry, like any expensive items, requires careful handling and certain care. Special attention should be paid to the appearance of jewelry in hot and humid climates. It is also necessary to protect jewelry from getting perfumes and cosmetics on them.

The jewelry collection "Vladimir Mikhailov" is made in precious metals, characterized by a noble, restrained color sound – platinum, white and green gold. At the same time, the main material of the collection is green gold, a type of gold alloy of 585 samples, characterized by its soft color shade and high content of precious metals. This alloy is known primarily as the most stable natural compound of native gold and silver. It is silver that gives the alloy a soft olive hue, muffling the yellow tones of gold and the red sound of copper.

Since the first centuries of Christianity, believers, going on a pilgrimage or a long journey, sought to have with them a shrine – a particle of the Golgotha Cross, relics of saints or objects consecrated on them. This is how encolpions appeared (from the Greek "collos" — the bowels, the heart): small arks that were worn on the chest. Initially, they had the shape of medallions with a schematic representation of a cross, but over time they themselves acquired a cross-shaped appearance. In Russia, such crosses began to be called relics, since they kept the particles of relics inside and therefore were endowed with special grace for the believer.

The Blessed Virgin Mary holds a special place in the Orthodox tradition. Her image, imprinted in countless icons, is not only evidence of deep reverence, but also a key to understanding the most important dogmas of Christianity. The iconography of the Virgin is surprisingly diverse, but all this diversity goes back to three main types: "Oranta", "Hodegetria" and "Tenderness". Each of them reveals a certain facet of Her relationship with the Divine Son.