Jen Volkodav’s Sweetly Smiling Suns and Moon

By Brittany Siminitz | March 24, 2023

Celestial jewelry is a theme that’s proven to be a hit time and time again; the sun, moon, and stars drive major sales among consumers and inspire designers year after year.

I, for one, can’t get enough. Give me a new collection based in the sky and I’m almost guaranteed to bite—there is nothing more romantically magical.

So I am smitten with this latest offering by Jen Volkodav.

It’s not uncommon for people to feel connected with the sun or the moon. Take the children’s song Mr. Sun: “Mister golden sun, please shine down on me,” they sing, almost as if there is a being stretching its warm rays of light to caress our heads, the tops of our shoulders, keeping the earth warm so the children can come out and play.

In the evening, it’s the same—the moon becomes a friend, a companion through quiet nights or sleepless ones.

Jen Volkodav celestial earrings — *One-of-a-kind sun and moon face earrings in 14k yellow gold with mother-of-pearl, $2,499*

“Since we moved to Colorado I’ve been trying to take time to immerse myself in nature and quietly observe,” Volkodav says. “In Colorado the sun is out often and it’s intense, even in winter. The moon is huge at night, and stars and planets are incredibly brilliant where we live.

I knew I wanted to bring this into a jewelry design at some point. I wrote down the idea months ago and started keeping an eye out for the right stones.”

The mother-of-pearl faces were carved in Bali and sourced from a seller in the United States, and were just what Volkodav was looking for. “They were perfect for what I wanted to do—the fine details, the shape, and the sweetness and warmth in their faces.”

Jen Volkodav sunshine necklace — *A closer view of Jen Volkodav’s mother-of-pearl sunshine necklace*

“Celestial bodies are intense forces of nature that evoke powerful feelings,” Volkodav says. “I view the sun as the mother of life and the moon as a keeper of time and tides. I feel celestial pieces are symbols of our deep connections to these forces and how they affect our lives and the world around us.

I love the expression Live by the sun, love by the moon.”

One-of-a-kind necklace in 14k yellow gold with mother-of-pearl, $3,499; Jen Volkodav