Growing up in Russia, our founder, AL, was originally taught to be ashamed of their lineage. There was this false narrative created by the colonizers that being Chavash meant they were somehow more naive or primitive, but the Chavash people were kind, trustworthy, and caring. Detaching themself from that colonizer narrative, AL was determined to honor their history in every aspect of their life and their business, including in their designs. Every piece of Automic Gold jewelry is either directly or indirectly inspired by AL’s indigenous Chavash Culture.
Creating and designing jewelry in general is a tribute to their ancestors, with metalsmithing being a trade that the Chavash have passed down for generations. The colonizers made it illegal for Chavash people to work with metal until the early 19th century for fear they would craft weapons and revolt. Being able to reclaim the trade has made AL feel closer to their roots.
AL's love of nature and affinity for geometric shapes and lines is obvious when you look at Automic Gold's jewelry, but did you know nature-inspired themes and geometric patterns are something the Chavash culture is famous for? These motifs are often found in carvings, artwork, and hand-stitched embroidery like the scarf (called a Surpan) shown above, and are the inspiration for a lot of our pieces.
The first collection AL created that was directly inspired by Chavash Symbolism is the Tanlah. Tanlah means equality, and the shape is inspired by traditional Chavash symbols for duality, good and evil, life and death, and helping one another. They wanted to create a symbol that could be worn by anyone to remind them that for everything bad that may happen in life, good things are sure to follow.
The Chere heart is based on the Chavash symbol for loyalty, love, and unity. So much jewelry on the market featuring heart symbolism is designed to be very feminine, so AL took inspiration from this symbol to create heart jewelry that was more androgynous. The Chavash people celebrated gender variances. People who blended masculine and feminine energies were believed to be shamans, and ceremonies were held for people who wanted to change their gender. Creating something that celebrated love and was truly genderless was always something that AL wanted to do.
The 8-Pointed Star is a symbol of light, life, wisdom, and unity. This collection was directly inspired by the Chavash sun symbol. During AL's travels to different places around the world, they noticed that similar 8-pointed star symbols were found in so many other cultures, making it truly an emblem of unity.
Our Pine and Bird ring is an homage to a Chavash legend, though similar stories can be found in other cultures. The legend is about a bird that was seeking shelter from a blizzard. After both the birch and the oak tree denied the bird protection in order to save themselves, the bird asked the pine tree. The pine tree shielded the bird, and they both survived. The bird was a powerful nature spirit, and to thank the pine tree, it granted its entire family protection from the cold, which is why pine trees don’t lose their greenery in winter.
The Journey, Chronos, and Transformation rings have more subtle influences from Chuvash culture. The three engraved lines on the Journey ring are inspired by Chavash symbolism for road or journey, the chevron engravings on the Chronos ring are a symbol for the passage of time, and the open arrow-like carvings on the Transformation ring are a symbol for growth, evolution, and advancement.
