I remember the summer solstice passing by unmarked when I was a child. Only later, once I had built a flock of more spiritually minded friendships in adulthood, did I come to connect with the importance of these cyclical moments that mark the year. In Toronto, we lit candles with friends, we danced later that night, we wrote intentions that we burned and threw to the wind, inviting a freedom and a connection to the earth not present in our day to day. These rituals found me and filled my cup. But it wasn't until I came to Peru that I understood the power of ritual.
When I first came to Peru to work with artisanal communities, I was floored. The depth of the culture, the way traditions shift from one region to the next, the intricate methods indigenous cultures have developed to carry ideas, dreams, beliefs, knowledge. Mauricio introduced me to a world of stories, where the choice of material carries meaning, where the patience of the maker carries a tangible value. In the end, the craft speaks, and the culture is rich with voices who share stories beyond the same generic globalized narratives we have all absorbed. There is so much more out there.
...a world of stories, where the choice of material carries meaning, where the patience of the maker carries a tangible value.
This ancient continuity is where the solstice continues to connect communities in Peru and throughout the Andean cosmovision.
Women from the Santa Rosa community in Cajamarca spin yarn while standing and walking as one of many daily activities.
Here in the Andes, the solstice is the opposite season. June 24 is our shortest day, the longest night. And it has long been celebrated as Inti Raymi, the festival of the sun, in which Inca and pre-Inca cultures called back the sun to provide generously for their lands. The Spanish banned it, in a way not unlike how the other solstice was absorbed into Christmas long ago. The celebration went underground for a long time, then surfaced again in the mid-20th century with the shift toward recognizing indigenous rights in Peru.
The bright skies of the highlands in the Cajamarca region
The Inca mastered this spiritual balance through sacred geometry and sophisticated masonry, carving irregular, massive rocks to interlock with seamless precision. The Coricancha in Cusco was built so that solstice light entered the temple along specific axes - Inti Raymi falls between June 21 and 26, when the longest day is determined by the light falling on a specific surface in the temple. At Machu Picchu, the Intihuatana stone is carved to mark the sun's position across the year, an ongoing clock. This construction held the layers of astrology, agriculture, and collective strength.
This is the legacy our Gemstone Puzzle Collection is built on.
The 12-angled stone in Cusco remains a source of engineering mastery.
We harness the raw, vibrant energy of Andean gems, translating history's greatest architectural alliance into a high-design tactile experience. Each piece is precision-cut to lock together flawlessly - capturing the essence of Inca masonry and the brilliant interplay of natural elements.
The stones we work with come from the same mountain range. Angelite, onyx, rhodonite, serpentine, all quarried in the Andes and carefully cut in Pacasmayo by artisans whose families have shaped stone for generations. We make smaller things. Objects for the hand and the table, not temples, yet elements that form a personal altar wherever you place them. The lineage is in the hands, and in the pause they inspire to connect with something larger.
💎 Connect with the energy of the stones. Shop the geometric gems we carve, starting with our multi-gem Soma Cube below.