In photography, a catchlight is the small reflection of light in the eye. A tiny thing — and it’s what makes a portrait look alive.
I’m Emily. I studied jewelry design, then spent five years at one of China’s larger jewelry houses.
In 2016 a client asked me for a pendant for his daughter. It was the first opal I ever held, and the first stone I’d chosen for one particular person.
The color moved when the stone moved. It looked the way he talked about her — someone who laughs easily. I hadn’t expected a stone to look like a person.
Opal has been the center of my work ever since; the colored stones around it are chosen the same way. No two ever come out alike — an inconvenient way to run a business, and the reason I’ve never tired of it.
Ten years later, that’s CATCHLIGHT. I run it from Hong Kong. Most days are ordinary and most of us are busy, and the light in a person is easy to walk past — your own most of all. I wanted to make something small enough to keep it close.
I still look for someone in every stone. Usually you. Sometimes the person you have in mind.
A light of your own.
EmilyFounder, CATCHLIGHT