The "Sunburst" motif began with a single image in mind: a radiant halo encircling the head of a sacred figure in a centuries-old icons. In Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions, halos have long symbolized holiness—an aura of the divine made visible. I'm captivated by those the reverence these paintings evoke.
In ancient Egyptian art there is a similar concept. The sun stands alone as a deity in itself. Aten, the sun disk, reaching down with rays ending in hands. It was cosmic and intimate at the same time. Egyptian depictions were formal, geometric, stylized—but also deeply human. The sun was life-giving, watchful. It wasn’t far from the idea of a halo—it was just more universal. It didn't sanctify a person, it sanctified all. The rays as geometric backgrounds for life.
When designing the Sunburst motif, I wanted to capture that sense of reverence. But I also wanted it to be grounded in the geometry of light itself. That’s where the technical design came in. The rays in the motif aren’t random—they’re spaced using angular division that aligns with how light disperses from a point source. Every angle, every taper, is calculated. The result? The surface geometry is optimized to reflect light back toward the viewer. It’s not just ornament; it performs.
This was important to me. If you’re going to wear something that symbolizes the sacred, the precious, the eternal—then it should literally glow when you wear it. That’s not metaphor. That’s optics.
But the Sunburst is not just about gods or light—it’s about family. The people we choose to hold close, to hold sacred. I wanted the motif to elevate the wearer, and in particular, to frame the faces of loved ones when used in personalized jewelry. When you place a loved one’s silhouette or profile within this motif, the visual language is unmistakable: you are sanctifying them. Not in a religious sense necessarily, but in a deeply emotional one.
Think of it like a personal icon—not of a saint, but of your child. Your partner. Your mother. Framed in light. Crowned by the sun.
The sunburst rays are extremely intricate and command attention with their light reflectance. I wanted to frame them but in a quiet way. In architecture the egg-and-dart is a very popular design, with roots in classical greek architecture. There are many variations of it, but I chose a simpler version of evenly spaced dots that alludes to this classical pattern. The simpler appearance matches the rythm of the rays better to function as framing. And has been popular in coin designs for centuries.
Production is relatively straight forward, although it does require a microscope a steady hand, and making my own tiny tools by grinding down existing tools with diamond discs. After casting there are many hours of manual cleanup, that I haven't yet been able to improve on despite talking to many different industry experts. This remains an active area of research for me.
Minimalism has long dominated jewelry design. I grew up surrounded by it— clean lines, unbroken surfaces, the idea that beauty lies in restraint. But I believe we’re ready for a return to ornament, to symbolism. Not the gaudy kind, but ornament that means something. Ornament that performs. The Sunburst is my first answer to that. A fusion of sacred art, ancient light, and precise geometry. And, most importantly, a way to carry the people we love like the icons they are.
