"This is brilliant. I just love star rubies…"
                                             Mike Botha, RS, CEO Embee Diamond Technology, October 2015



The Sunrise Ruby earrings.

The most romantic pair of earrings ever!

For hundreds of years, especially in India, the ruby was considered the king of the gemstones. Indeed, in Sanskrit, the word for ruby is ‘ratnaraj’, which translates roughly to ‘king of gemstones’.

Ruby is the red version of the mineral corundum. Only the red stones can be called rubies, the rest, often blueish in colour, are called sapphires. On the Mohs scale of hardness, the ruby is a 9, second only to the hardest gemstone, the diamond.

The star feature, or asterism (from the Greek ‘aster’, meaning star), is rare. It can only be seen in 1 in 100 rubies, when they are cut en cabachon. In fact, in three of one hundred rubies cut en cabachon, one will have a poor star feature, another will have poor colour, and only the third will have both a good star feature and good colour. The star, or asterism, is a natural feature: no heat or other treatment is allowed. What creates the star feature in the ruby are tiny rutiles (also called “silk”, or needles) in the stone, which magically reveal the dancing star when the ruby is properly cut. Strong direct sunlight, or a spotlight, reveals the star at its best. Otherwise the star can be said to “sleep”, and the stone just looks red.

Of course, red is the colour of love.

Star rubies are becoming more rare than faceted rubies, as most rough is now cut into faceted rubies. As a result, star rubies over 5 carats have become even more increasingly rare. Until the mid-20th century, star rubies were more expensive than cut rubies. Star rubies are still exotic.

While a pair, only one Sunrise Ruby earring contains a star ruby.

3D printed: 18k white gold, approximately 5ct star ruby, unheated (Gemmological Institute of India certificate).

The exhibition edition is 3D printed: 18k white gold, 9.17ct star ruby, unheated (Gemmological Institute of India certificate).


'Sunrise Ruby earrings', Star Ruby - generating a star.

Sunrise Ruby earrings on Castle 8x8 Mr and Mrs Castle opening scene.

Sunrise Ruby earrings on Castle 8x8 Mr and Mrs Castle.

  • ‘Bling it On, Jewellery Designer Niki Kavakonis and Annette Ryan from Swarovski, talk all that Glitters’, Real Style Network, August 2018.

  • Canadian jewellery designer Niki Kavakonis talks architectural inspiration, major influences and new designs, Real Style Network, January 2017.

  • Secrets of Gems with Jewelry Maker Niki Kavakonis, Kris Abel Interview ebook cafe, discussed at 3:00 minutes and 16:24 minutes, December 2016.
  • Kris Abel’s Innovation Cafe - Action Potential Lab & Jewelry Maker Niki Kavakonis | brought to you by KOBO, YouTube, 3:14, December 2016 (Tip of the Iceberg ring pictured instead of the Ice Floe necklace).

  • ‘Mr. and Mrs. Castle’, Castle, ABC; Official ABC TV ad, Sunrise Ruby earrings on Martha Rodgers (Susan Sullivan).
  • ‘Mr. and Mrs. Castle’, Castle, ABC; Sunrise Ruby earrings on Martha Rodgers (Susan Sullivan), two videos on YouTube: featuring Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) in the Opening Scene (with Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle) and about Halfway through the episode (with Toks Olagundoye as Hayley Shipton). November 2015.
  • ‘Another Canadian Star – Niki Kavakonis’, Mike Botha, CEO Embee Diamond Technology, LinkedIn, October-8 2015.
  • ‘Toronto designer featured in U.S. space-inspired exhibition’, Jewellery Business magazine, July-6 2015.
  • Out of this World! Jewelry in the Space Age! exhibition, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, June-27 2015 to January-4 2016.



    The Poem:

    The Sunrise Ruby

    In the early morning hour,
    Just before dawn, lover and beloved wake.

    --

    She asks, “Do you love me or yourself more?
    Really, tell the absolute truth.”

    He says, “There’s nothing left of me.
    I’m like a ruby held up to the sunrise.
    Is it still a stone, or a world
    made of redness? It has no resistance
    to sunlight.”

    --

    The ruby and the sunrise are one.

    --

    Completely become...
    and wear this sun-ruby as an earring.

                                        Rumi, 13th c., Persia (edited)



  • all designs copyright niki kavakonis designs 2000-2019 all rights reserved

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