Pleiades: Jewels Inspired by the Seven Sisters
Michelle Pajak-Reynolds’ s Pleiades Collection: Merope earrings featuring 4.45 carats raw sapphires, Fairmned 14k gold and champagne zircons. Photo credit; Julie Stanley/JuleImages
A Sense of Awe and Wonder
There’s something about the night sky that has always stirred my imagination—its beauty, its mystery, and the way it connects us across time and cultures. My Pleiades Collection was born from that sense of awe. These one-of-a-kind fine-jewelry designs are handcrafted in Fairmined 14k gold and feature ethically mined Umba sapphires and sparkling champagne zircons. Each piece is a love letter to the stars and the stories they’ve inspired for millennia.
A Cosmic Muse
When I first began exploring the legends of the Pleiades, also known as the Seven Sisters, I was captivated by how many civilizations have looked to this star cluster for meaning—marking seasons, guiding ceremonies, and weaving stories of feminine power, transformation, and resilience.
My creative journey into these myths began with The Seven Sisters of the Pleiades: Stories from Around the World by Munya Andrews. This remarkable book explores more than 40,000 years of Pleiadian legends across the globe—from the Pacific to Africa, the Americas to Australia—highlighting how deeply rooted and universally resonant these stories are. Andrews’ research opened my eyes to the way different cultures have viewed the Seven Sisters not just as stars, but as spiritual beings guiding everything from agricultural calendars to sacred rites of passage.
From there, I immersed myself in both traditional lore and imaginative retellings. I was deeply moved by Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters, an Aboriginal-led exploration of the Dreaming tracks that trace the sisters across the Australian continent. I also found inspiration in Anjali Sachdeva’s haunting short story Pleiades, featured in her book All the Names They Used for God, and in Barbara Hand Clow’s channeled cosmic teachings in The Pleiadian Agenda.
As I read, I began to imagine one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry for each star in the cluster—each design a tribute not only to the myths, but to the spirit of the feminine that runs through them. These stories became the heartbeat of the collection.
A color composite image of the Pleiades star cluster from the Digitized Sky Survey
The Power of Materials
Sapphires have long been associated with the sky, and they felt like the perfect stones to anchor this collection. I selected rough, unfaceted Umba sapphires—raw, textural treasures sculpted by the Earth herself. These sapphires were sourced directly through Moyo Gems, a responsible sourcing initiative that works to empower women miners in Tanzania. Their mission—to create safe, equitable markets and improve the lives of artisanal miners—aligns beautifully with my own values as an artist and as a Fairmined licensed brand.
There’s a beautiful symmetry in sapphires mined by women and linked to the Pleiades, a constellation so often associated with feminine energy. Barbara Hand Clow even writes that “Pleiadians enter our world via sapphires.” That poetic detail sealed it for me.
Crafting the Stars
Every element of the Pleiades Collection is intentionally designed. The sapphires are set in custom, hand-fabricated open-back settings made from Fairmined 14k yellow gold. I wanted the stones to rest against the skin, creating a quiet connection between the wearer and the gem’s natural energy.
The softly hammered, satin-finished gold discs represent points on a star map—and were inspired by a scene in Sachdeva’s story where one of the sisters wears a glowing necklace like a halo. I made each disc by melting down tiny leftover pieces of Fairmined gold scrap, hammering them flat, and soldering them into celestial patterns. It’s a labor of love, and a reflection of the alchemy of transformation—turning remnants into radiant symbols. Faceted clusters of champagne zircons add just the right touch of twinkling starlight.
An exquisite Moyo Gems 5.35 carat blue-violet rough sapphire mined by Anna-Julius in Tanzania and featured in Michelle Pajak-Reynolds’s Pleiades Collection Adelpha pendant. Photo credit: Michelle Pajak-Reynolds Studios
A Personal Connection to the Cosmos
I’ve always felt that jewelry is a deeply personal form of storytelling. Each design in the collection is named after the mythological sisters—Alcyone, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Celaeno, and Asterope—or their celestial parents, Atlas and Pleione.
One piece, however, carries a different name: Adelpha. That name doesn’t appear in the traditional Greek myths, but it spoke to me after reading Sachdeva’s story. Her character Adelpha, a voice of strength and quiet rebellion, felt like the brightest star in her own narrative. “Adelpha” means “beloved sister” in Greek, so I gave that name to the design that holds the largest sapphire in the collection.
Jewelry with Purpose
As a Fairmined licensed brand, I believe jewelry can—and should—be a force for good. The gold I use is sourced through transparent, traceable supply chains that support artisanal mining communities in Peru and Colombia. The handcrafted elements in this collection are made with Fairmined gold imported by Hoover & Strong, and the delicate chains come from Riva Precision, using gold from Minera Oro Puno—a thriving 25-person community in Ananea, Peru.
When I wear a piece from this collection, I feel a sense of connection—not just to the stars, but to the people and stories behind each gem and gram of gold. My hope is that those who wear these pieces feel that connection too: to wonder, to beauty, and to something greater than ourselves.
Celestial. Feminine. Eternal.
The Pleiades Collection is an invitation to celebrate myth, meaning, and conscious craftsmanship. Each piece is a radiant talisman—an heirloom of the stars.
