I have always liked to see portraits of the great rulers, who lived at different times, in different countries. But I noticed many times that no matter what was the ancestry or period of reign of the noblemen, their jewelry were created in a similar style. There almost always was an abundance of gold, pearls and different gems: rubies, emeralds, sapphires. After I saw the new collection of Swarovski crystals, a clear image of such luxurious and royal jewelry appeared in my mind. But I still had a question: why do these jewelry have so much in common, and what country stands at the origins of this style? 
It became obvious for me that Byzantium had a huge impact on the Old Russian and European rulers. 
Byzantium is the ancestor of many traditions in the history of world fashion. Precisely its culture has a great influence on the Kievan Rus' formation, which, in its turn, had been combined from numerous of East Slavic tribes and united under a single princely power. 
It is possible to say that precisely Byzantine masters stood at the origins of the traditional jewelry art of many nations. 
In my work I tried to reflect the traditional Byzantine style motives using modern materials. However only because of the exquisite colors of Swarovski crystals from new collection I was able to set the tone for the entire jewelry. 
‘Byzantium’ is a necklace-transformer. A pendant with an embroidered portrait of a girl can be removed and used as a brooch. Swarovski crystals and pearls, Indian cannetille, Japanese beads Toho and Miyuki and Anna Chernykh accessories were used for creation of this necklace. Portrait was embroidered with cotton threads.