Ua Lawa Mākou I Ka Pōhaku

October 2026
Uncut black diamonds, 14 karat gold

🥈🏆 SECOND PLACE WINNER 🏆🥈
Hawai‘i Jewelers Association 2026 Design Competition
Hawaiian-Themed category 

A few years before making this pendant, my wife and I were on Hawaiʻi Island for a quick weekend break. While there, we visited both Puʻukoholā Heiau and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau in the same afternoon. At some point while we were walking through the ancient corridors of stone, I became awestruck and overwhelmed by the mortar-less engineering of the structures, and by the mana emanating from the pōhaku from all of the individuals who had carried each one as they were moved, fire-brigade style, across as much as 25 miles to reach the place where they would become part of something greater. And here they were, still standing, centuries later, a testament to a people and a purpose. I thought to myself "there has to be a mele about the importance of the pōhaku."

The title of this piece is a line from “Mele ‘Ai Pōhaku” (“The Stone-Eater’s Song”), also known as “Mele Aloha ‘Āina” (“Patriot’s Song”) and “Kaulana Nā Pua” (“Famous Are The Flowers”). After the illegal overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani, members of her Royal Hawaiian Band were told that unless they recognized the occupying government’s authority, their pay would be withheld until they could only afford to eat rocks. In protest, Ellen Kehoʻohiwaokalani Wright Prendergast wrote“The Stone Eater’s Song.” The line “ua lawa mākou i ka pōhaku” translates to “we are satisfied with the stones,” a retort that even if the pōhaku were all that was left to the people, that would still be enough to rebuild and sustain the Hawaiian culture.

Here, a pōhaku façade is built with 12 carats of uncut black diamonds, cast-in-place in 14 karat gold with interstitial black rhodium plating. Although they do not meet the standards of three out of the four Cs (cut, color, clarity and carat) these stones, too, are enough. Whether seen as the pā pōhaku of a heiau, or an āhu ready to receive pūa‘a and ho‘okupu, this bold pendant will sustain the wearer and help them spread Aloha ‘Āina wherever they go.