There’s no denying that adding your initials to everything from luggage to phone cases has become big business for brands around the world. For jewellery companies there has always been engraving, a personal message to remember one of life’s precious moments. One brand taking personalisation to the next level is The RAYY.

Born after three scientists observed the natural light patterns appearing at the bottom of a swimming pool on a sunny day and asked the question:

“Can we control this optical phenomenon, that is, can we shape an object to reflect light into a prescribed image”?

In short the answer was yes, sitting down (over Zoom) with brands co-founder Romain Testuz to find out more.

How did a Swiss computer scientist find himself co-founding a luxury jewellery brand?
I think that if you are able to keep your passions alive, whatever path life will take you through, it will give you the opportunity to express them. To me, THE RAYY combines my passion for digital fabrication and lighting effects with my sensitivity to art, architecture and its refined lines, and merges them into this unique jewellery brand. During my computer science studies I was lucky to be able to work for the EPFL Geometric Computing Laboratory, directed by Prof. Mark Pauly. There I could work with Dr. Yuliy Schwartzburg to develop a unique technology that allows to "sculpt" light. Seeing the amazement of everyone we showed our prototypes to led us to create our startup where we continued to improve the technology. A few years later, we met jewelry designer Noémie Arrigo with whom we decided to launch our jewellery brand THE RAYY that would use light as an integral part of its creations. THE RAYY is a story of encounters – with science, through Yuliy and Mark, and with design, through Noémie.

Rayform is the technology used on your jewelry, can you explain how it works?
Our Rayform light-shaping technology works in 2 steps. First we use the algorithms that we developed over 8 years of research to compute the 3D surface that will reflect the desired message. The result is a smooth but wavy surface, that we then engrave in the gold in the second step with great precision. Finally each piece is carefully hand polished to perfection. When rays of light reflect on the surface, they slightly change their direction due to the small waves and are concentrated to form your message. It works with any kind of directed light, such as the sun.

Are the words and images visible in the jewellery itself?
The magic of this technique is that the message is invisible on the piece itself, only light will reveal it. Like a tattoo it represents a part of who you are, your identity. You can decide to keep it secret, as an intimate message or reveal it to the world, at your own discretion.

How detailed can the image be?
The amount of details that can be used in the images depend on the size of the surface. The bigger the surface, the more details we can create. We can write up to 8 characters on the rings. On the pendants, the larger area allows for even more creativity as illustrated by our new collaboration with the world-renowned tattoo artist Maxime Plescia-Büchi. He designed the 12 zodiac signs but instead of using black ink in your skin, the Lion’s face or the Sagittarius’ bow appear made out of light.

What’s the strangest request you’ve been asked to have reflected on a piece of jewellery?
I never see the requests as strange, it always reflects a part of the person’s personality. Many messages connect to loved ones like with initials, you are then reminded of their love with every ray of sun. It can also be more abstract and aspirational with words like LUCK. Sometimes I have no idea what the message means as it’s a private mantra or an inside jock. I love this diversity.

It’s inevitable that jewellery will get small scratches over time, will this effect the image reflected?
Scratches are part of jewelry’s life and thankfully don’t affect the message of light. We can always repolish the surface to restore your piece’s shine.

Your jewellery in designed and made in Switzerland with responsibly sourced materials, how long does it take to create a ring from start to finish?
Each piece is custom-made and crafted once we receive the order. It takes between 3 to 6 weeks for the artisans to make the jewels, depending on the options chosen. Either in pure 18k rose gold or diamond-set, each order is approached like an art piece, made with a personal connection and a great attention to details.

The diamonds used in your jewellery are lab-grown diamonds, what was the reason you decided to use them over naturally occurring diamonds?
When you create a new brand, you have this unique opportunity to have it reflect your values. I have a very big sensitivity to minimize our environmental footprint which was shared by my partners so we decided to have sustainability at the core of THE RAYY.

Lab-grown diamonds are an amazing alternative to mined diamonds. Over the course of many weeks, a rough diamond is grown by replicating the temperature and pressure conditions that happen under the earth. It is then cut and graded with the same criterions as a mined diamond. By using renewable energies like solar, hydropower, they are able to have virtually no carbon emissions and the origin is completely transparent. On top of perfectly fitting our brand’s story, I find this approach a fascinating example of how human creativity can solve our problems and bring a better future.

Who is The Rayy customer?
We see a really varied range of customer profiles, but one that we see often is dynamic and eager to express their identity through customized jewelry. Someone creative, unconventional and looking for something unique.

What can we expect to see next from The Rayy?

Creativity, innovation and light, always.