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Inherited Custom-Made Bauble

Junopsis

Junopsis

Ephemeral Spectre
Joined
Oct 31, 2005
Messages
280
So I hope this is okay to post-- I realized that I've never asked about it, and it's never failed to entertain.
So this little Sputnik thing runs in the family. We don't really know whose it was (it might have been a grandfather's, and he was a mason, but that's not very useful honestly). It's on a bit of chain, but we don't know if it's a bracelet or watchfob or what. It does not open and nothing rattles around in it (it's hollow, but fairly thick).
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There's a number 1 on it, assorted lightning and stars engraved in, what looks like power lines (and a generator, or vacuum tube?), and something that look like 'root 312(vertical line)' but which I can assign no significance.
It all seems very science-magical but really, what the heck is this?
 
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It looks handmade. Is it gold? If so, it could be pretty valuable.
The Masonic connection is interesting - could it be a stylised plumb bob? Purely symbolic and not for actual use.
It doesn't look like a plumb bob should look, though.
 
Is it something used for Scrying, I may have the wrong name for it, you know, when you dangle something above a map, whatever it is it is beautiful
 
The protruding parts each seem to have a different profile. There are also cogs around them, suggesting it winds things or opens them?

The essential key to bleed the radiators at the lodge? Something more? Do I see the square root of 132? Otherwise it is all stars and zig-zags.

I am reminded of the old sea-mines, which, robbed of their high explosives, were used to collect money for the RNLI at the ends of piers.

All very intriguing! :dunno:

I don't go with the plumb bob idea - the chain would impede it. As Mytho. says, it looks more ceremonial than practical. In the context of a ritual, the act of opening could be important?
 
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JamesWhitehead said:
Do I see the square root of 132?

All very intriguing! :dunno:
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It definitely says 312, and it looks like it's under a radical, but I couldn't tell you what the line at the end there is. Doesn't look like a 1.
I really love seeing all this speculation, because I haven't any clue! (I like the scrying idea. A pendulum would be pretty rad.)
 
This sort of "Sputnik" motif was common in Atomic Era (1950's; early 1960's) design. It became 'way more common once the Sputnik satellite launched in 1957. Even through the "sphere with rods" motif wasn't universally representative of satellites' forms, this motif continued to be a default graphical symbol for "satellite" for years.

I've found images of (bracelet?) charms that are spherical with inset 5-point recesses for shiny bits, but I haven't found any that have the protruding pegs / spikes / "antennas" like this one.

The symbology (to the extent I can make it out) doesn't strike me as Masonic. It looks more like graphical allusions to electronics. I see a bit of what appears to be a radio tower in one photo. The zigzag shapes have long been used to connote broadcast signals.

I can't figure out any special significance for the number 312 or symbolizing the square root of 312 (which works out to 2 times the square root of 78, IIRC). Sputnik 1 completed 326 orbits before its batteries died, and 1440 orbits before it re-entered the atmosphere. 312 would be the Julian date for November 8 in 1957 - a date of no significance to Sputnik 1, and not a match for anything about Sputnik 2 (Laika).

You mentioned there being a number 1. I think I see a " #1 ". Is this correct?

If so - I'd strongly suspect it's a Sputnik-related charm or fob.
 
It is just me who calls it the sputnik (though it's totally because of the spokes--and thanks for braining around with the data!). The electronic angle makes sense-- the grandfather who at least owned it for a while ran an electronics supply company, and there's a great-granddad who was with Westinghouse.

It has a number 1 on the top of one hemisphere, yeah.
 
googling sputnik watch fob shows up a couple of very simiilar trinkets
 
I think I see a 312 there.

Angel Number 312 is a message from your angels and the Ascended Masters to stay positive and optimistic about your future and destiny. ... Angel Number 312 also encourages you to keep your faith and connection with the angels strong and clear as you progress along your current path.
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There's something that could be a rocket on one side, there are a couple of triangular things that could be styelised radio transmission towers, the 'lightning flashes' could be stylelised
EnolaGaia said:
This sort of "Sputnik" motif was common in Atomic Era (1950's; early 1960's) design. It became 'way more common once the Sputnik satellite launched in 1957. Even through the "sphere with rods" motif wasn't universally representative of satellites' forms, this motif continued to be a default graphical symbol for "satellite" for years.

I've found images of (bracelet?) charms that are spherical with inset 5-point recesses for shiny bits, but I haven't found any that have the protruding pegs / spikes / "antennas" like this one.

The symbology (to the extent I can make it out) doesn't strike me as Masonic. It looks more like graphical allusions to electronics. I see a bit of what appears to be a radio tower in one photo. The zigzag shapes have long been used to connote broadcast signals.

I can't figure out any special significance for the number 312 or symbolizing the square root of 312 (which works out to 2 times the square root of 78, IIRC). Sputnik 1 completed 326 orbits before its batteries died, and 1440 orbits before it re-entered the atmosphere. 312 would be the Julian date for November 8 in 1957 - a date of no significance to Sputnik 1, and not a match for anything about Sputnik 2 (Laika).

You mentioned there being a number 1. I think I see a " #1 ". Is this correct?

If so - I'd strongly suspect it's a Sputnik-related charm or fob.
Click to expand...

There's also something that looks like a rocket on one side, I thought radio transmission towers as well, but you beat me to it. There's also something that could be the sun above the curve of the earth...I believe you're on to something EnolaGaia.
 
Junopsis said:
... The electronic angle makes sense-- the grandfather who at least owned it for a while ran an electronics supply company, and there's a great-granddad who was with Westinghouse. ...
Click to expand...

I tend to think these two ancestor connections to the electrical / electronics industry represent the critical clue. I'm guessing it may have been a customized fob for a presentation watch given upon retirement (or some other significant occasion).
 
Timble2 said:
... There's also something that looks like a rocket on one side ...
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At first I thought it was a rocket that happened to look a lot like a vacuum tube. Now that Junopsis has revealed the family connections to electronics, I suspect it really was meant to be a vacuum tube.
 
I had something similar with a different shaped allen keys on the spines, 6 in all I think. It wasn't pretty and shiny though!
 
Thinking back about mine... it /was/ a plumbob although I only ever used it as keys. The spines let you wind the cord around it in a neatly satisfying way.
 
I'm definitely seeing a couple of punches/drifts, a key and - possibly - a roll pin punch in those protrusions. I reckon it might be a multitool supplied with an old clock, watch or toy, facilitating winding and disassembly/reassembly.

What metal is it made from? Is it magnetic? Are there any hallmarks?

maximus otter
 
I'd guess it is a Russian-made Sputnik pendant. The 'star' on the surface might have originally been filled with red enamel, but this has fallen out.
Here are other examples; the genre is quite wide, and includes a lot of objects that don't look much like sputniks. I particularly like the one with Laika inside.
images
3bfbde7f4108524815be82c712aa9489.jpg
bfb97fcdd5baaad14fc712d536dc7a4d.jpg
VINTAGE-18k-YELLOW-GOLD-GEMSTONE-SPUTNIK-BALL-PENDANT.jpg
s-l300.jpg
 
Hey, hands off :p

My commie friend said it does look like it is something to do with Sputnik, but he has never seen anything like it
 
"Radio, video
Boogie with a suitcase
Go living in a disco
Forget about the rat race"

Junopsis said:
or vacuum tube
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Yes, it looks like a radio transmitter valve 'vacuum tube' complete with sparks emitting from its anode (going by its outline proportions, I would say it might represent a beefy pentode tube).

The other symbols do remind me of microphones: not just the 'tombstone' shape, but also the _OO symbol, which could be the polar diagram representation of a bi-directional microphone (switchable responses in broadcast mics change from omni/cardoid/super-cardoid/bi-dir, with appropriate variations upon this
2019-08-23 15.12.04.png
symbol....*not* to be mistaken for an infinity/analemma)

As in....
Screenshot_2019-08-23-15-20-34.png


And "Root 312".....a theory. Broadcast radio stations used to refer to their transmitted signal on spectrum back in the day as its wavelength in metres, as opposed to their frequency in kilohertz or megahertz.

'312 metres' was within the traditional broadcast allocation known commercially as "the medium wave band" in the 1950s-1990s, which does exist, but the allocation of 312m/963kHz was much-beloved by listeners to the (officially-illegal) offshore 'pirate' broadcast station "Radio Caroline".http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/hist07.htm

I shall make further enquiries about this....

(ps agreed....the individual spigots appear functionally-designed, so as to be analogous to real-world utility versions. I am reminded of clock-winders, watch-winders.....but I shall think further)
 
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Hmm, looking closer at the photos... it looks like the sticky-out bits are only attached to one of the hemispheres and there's a seam along the equator... have you tried unscrewing the hemispheres?

Pleaseletherebeatreasuremapinsidepleaseletherebeatreasuremapinsidepleaseletherebeatreasuremapinside
 
eburacum said:
I'd guess it is a Russian-made Sputnik pendant.
3bfbde7f4108524815be82c712aa9489.jpg
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I'm struck by the lack of Cyrillic on this one: did they make special editions for the foreign market? I suppose they would have been handy propaganda objects (just like the Americans used to hand out moon rocks) or at any rate they would have brought some hard currency in.
 
The protuberances - one or two of them, at least, remind me of the knobs you take off a gas-cooker or radio.

I find myself thinking of some smart piece of electronic kit which has fine-tuning facilities accessed by holes in the case.

They would not need user-adjustment once set, so the showy key is the badge of office of a person with system-manager type status. :confused:
 
Ermintruder said:
I shall make further enquiries about this....
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Dammit- although 312 metres was the actual wavelength on which Radio Caroline operated, the advertised position on the dial was as "319 metres" (my trusted & experienced contact from that era says so).

So back to the drawing-board for that...

JamesWhitehead said:
I find myself thinking of some smart piece of electronic kit which has fine-tuning facilities accessed by holes in the case.
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No, never. Although the adjustment blade for such equipment might be phospher-bronze or a high-coercivity alloy (or, rarely, an insulant), the physical handle would invariably be insulated from that metal bladelet. It would be made from eg HDPE or (classically) phenolic/ebonite
 
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