The present invention is a prosthetic for replacement of at least a part of the nucleus of a intravertebral disc. The prosthetic device is composed of at least two essentially parallel soft layers of an elastically deformable hydrogel and at least one rigid layer, the rigid layer having less compressibility than the soft layers, being adjacent to the soft layers, parallel to them, and firmly attached to them. In some embodiments, the soft layers have the same thickness and composition. Typically, the prosthesis has more than one rigid layer and these rigid layers have the same thickness and composition. The number of soft layers is usually one more than the number of rigid layers, with, e.g., at least three soft layers.