Don’t miss a gem
Founded by jewellery artist and materials researcher Dr. Sofie Boons, Neo-Gemstones is more than a design label. It’s a speculative lab, a research project, and a radical rethink of gemstone culture. Born out of Boons’ PhD research into synthetic crystals, the project questions material hierarchies and challenges the idea that natural equals superior.
In a jewellery world dominated by carats and provenance, Neo-Gemstones dares to ask: what if a stone’s value lies not in where it came from — but in what it can do?
This isn’t about imitating nature — it’s about inventing a new one.
Sofie Boons is a jeweller working as Senior Lecturer in Design Crafts at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol)
Collaborating with Swiss physicist and crystal grower Daniel Rytz, Boons has delved into the creation of phosphorescent crystals—materials that absorb energy and emit their own light. These innovations, developed through Rytz’s company BREVALOR, have led to the development of materials like BRG and BRB, which possess the hardness and optical qualities of classical gemstones, but with the added ability to glow in the dark.
Boons’ experimental approach doesn’t stop at material innovation. She has also explored growing crystals directly within jewellery pieces, allowing the gems to form in situ. This method not only creates unique, unrepeatable forms but also invites a rethinking of the relationship between setting and stone.
The Neo-Gemstones project has been showcased at international events, including Munich Jewellery Week 2025, where Boons’ exhibition at GABRIELE SPACE invited viewers to reconsider what constitutes a gemstone and what qualifies as ‘precious.’
Neo Gemstones at the Gabriele Space
Working in collaboration with Swiss physicist and crystal grower Daniel Rytz — founder of the high-tech materials company BREVALOR — Boons has developed phosphorescent lab-grown gemstones that store and emit light. These new materials, BRG and BRB, possess the optical clarity and hardness of classical gems, but with a twist: they glow in the dark.
It’s a revelation not just in aesthetics, but in function. These are gemstones that hold energy, mark time, and interact with the body and the environment. In place of passive sparkle, Neo-Gemstones offers active illumination.
A BRG synthetic gemstone glowing in the dark. Developed by Sofie Boons in collaboration with physicist Daniel Rytz, this lab-grown crystal stores and emits light — part of the Neo-Gemstones project redefining what makes a gem precious.
Boons’ experiments don’t end with chemical formulation. She has also explored growing synthetic crystals directly within jewellery settings — letting the stone form inside the piece, rather than being inserted afterwards. This process invites a more integrated relationship between setting and gem, and results in pieces that are entirely unique, shaped by time, chemistry, and chance.
It’s a departure from traditional gemstone cutting — and from the idea that precision equals perfection.
A crystal grown directly onto its setting — this experimental ring by Sofie Boons blurs the line between gemstone and structure, forming in situ as a one-off, material-led creation.
Neo-Gemstones debuted as part of Munich Jewellery Week 2025 at GABRIELE SPACE, where Boons’ installation invited audiences to rethink the very definition of “precious.” Through sculpture, light, and high-tech materials, the exhibition asked not just how we value adornment — but why.
The work stood out not just for its innovation, but for its refusal to separate beauty from inquiry.
As ethical sourcing, lab-grown materials and climate-conscious design reshape the jewellery conversation, Neo-Gemstones offers something bolder: a new visual and material language for contemporary luxury.
What Sofie Boons and Daniel Rytz are building isn’t just a collection — it’s a provocation. A challenge to see beauty in science, value in innovation, and brilliance in the unexpected.
Sofie Boons with The Jewels Club Founder Andrew Martyniuk
To learn more about Neo-Gemstones and Sofie Boons’ ongoing research into lab-grown crystals and experimental jewellery design, visit:
You can also follow her work on Instagram at @thealchemicaljeweller and scroll below for more images from the Glowand Grow series.
Neo-Gemstones that glow with their own light — these phosphorescent earrings and pendant by Sofie Boons absorb energy and emit a quiet, otherworldly glow. Jewellery that doesn’t just sparkle — it responds.
Cradled in the palm but glowing with its own energy — this BRG-II phosphorescent gemstone, developed by Sofie Boons and BREVALOR, redefines brilliance as something that comes from within.
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