Jewelry that captures the radiance of the sun and electrifies the dark.

Starlights jewelry modules apply sustainable energy practices to jewelry design. Using small solar cells, custom-designed circuit boards, and surface mount electronics, we have created a variety of simple modules for jewelry designers to mix and match.

To function correctly, each finished piece must contain the following components:

• a solar module
• a capacitor module
• an LED module

On the solar module, tiny jewel-like solar cells capture radiant energy from the sun. While the jewelry continues to absorb energy, it stores it in the capacitor module -- just like charging a battery. When light levels drop, Starlights trickle the stored energy to glimmering LEDs. These illuminated jewels transform daylight into starlight.

Our circuits are based on a 'night light' schematic. Two transistors in the capacitor module control the flow of energy. When the available light is above a certain threshold, energy flows in. Below that threshold, energy flows out to power the LEDs.

Our Inspiration
We were initially inspired by the jewel-like quality of the solar cells. Taking inspiration from their surface quality and material beauty, we wanted to play with the magic of energy transformation.

We wanted our pieces to highlight the elegant and ephemeral beauty of solar energy.  When fully charged, the LED shines for only about ten minutes.  This at once speaks to the ephemeral quality of passing daylight and also the elusive quest for energy harnessing. 

We hope to create new possibilities for imagining solar energy as a material for jewelry design. We hope to inspire in jewelry designers and others the notion of energy as a precious material.

Tech Specs
We used 1/8" square clear-epoxy encapsulated solar cells from Solarbotics. They are rated for 0.475 volts (open circuit) at 1.86mA (short circuit). We wired ten together in series on each solar module.

Each capacitor module includes one super capacitor, one surface-mount zener diode, one surface-mount 3904 transistor, and two surface-mount resistors (10K and 100K).

We used a variety of 3mm LEDs, including super bright and tricolor LEDs.

Frequently Asked Questions
While we would like to offer Starlights commercially in the future, this project is still in the prototype phase.

If you have any questions or would like to be updated on our progress, please contact us.