Patricia Tozer - The Orrery

Artist: Patricia Tozer, CanadaMaterials: sterling silver, 18k gold, 9k gold, brass, iolite, amethyst, peridot, Baltic amber, aquamarine, citrine, rhodolite garnet, Mozambique garnet Size: 6Dimensions: 48mm high, 9mm band width Artist Statement: Since time immemorial humans have been fascinated by the stars and planets that move through the night sky. Efforts to understand their movements, how they seem to disappear and re-emerge at different times of the day, month or year have inspired the likes of Copernicus and Sir Isaac Newton. An orrery, also known as a planetarium, is a mechanical model of our solar system and is used to demonstrate planetary movement. Planetariums and orreries have been made since ancient times, although most early examples show planets orbiting earth in a geocentric fashion. The earliest orrery in existence is over 2000 years old and is thought to have been used to forecast and calculate astronomical positions. As a modern orrery, this one is heliocentric (mean