When you hold a SARDA™ piece, you're holding more than a gemstone set in sterling silver. You're holding a symbol — one that was sketched deliberately, refined through collaboration with master artisans in Bali, and cast in .925 sterling silver before it ever met its stone. Every motif SARDA uses has a story, and every story is worked into the piece itself.
What Is a Motif in Jewelry Design?
In jewelry, a motif is a recurring visual element — a shape, symbol, or design that gives a piece its character and meaning. Motifs can be drawn from nature (flowers, leaves, animals), architecture (scrollwork, latticework), cultural tradition (Celtic knotwork, Eastern mandalas), or spiritual life (crosses, trees, sacred geometry). They give jewelry a layer of meaning that lives beneath the stone and beyond the surface.
At SARDA™, motifs are not decorative afterthoughts — they are the starting point. Each one ties to the collection's name and the intention behind it. Because SARDA's collections carry names of faith, hope, and promise, the motifs carry that same weight. A dragonfly isn't just a detail; it represents transformation and grace in movement. A frangipani bloom speaks to new beginnings. A tree of life roots a piece in something enduring. The symbol is always doing work.
Signature SARDA™ Motifs
Tree of Life
Few symbols carry as much universal resonance as the Tree of Life. From ancient Mesopotamia to Celtic tradition, from Norse mythology to Eastern philosophy, the tree represents connection — between earth and sky, the living and the enduring, roots and reach. It is one of the most recognized symbols of family, legacy, and faith across cultures and centuries.
In SARDA's sterling silver pieces, the Tree of Life is rendered with exceptional artisan detail: branching canopies, textured bark, intricate root systems — all crafted directly in silver. Some pieces feature a gemstone at the heart of the tree, making the stone the literal center of the design's life force. Others let the silver stand alone as the statement. In either case, the craftsmanship is the story.
The Dragonfly
The dragonfly is one of SARDA's most striking motifs — and technically one of the most demanding — because in SARDA's hands, the dragonfly doesn't live in the silver setting. It lives in the stone itself.
SARDA's artisan stone carvers hand-carve the dragonfly design directly into gemstone cabochons, transforming the surface into a sculptural relief. When that carved cabochon is set in sterling silver, light plays off both the stone's natural optical character and the carved relief simultaneously — creating extraordinary visual depth that shifts with every change of angle. The June 29 debut of the One That I Can Call collection brings this technique to Golden Sheen Labradorite: a 30×20mm oval at 22.53 carats, with a dragonfly hand-carved into its face. No two pieces are exactly alike.
Across traditions, the dragonfly is associated with transformation, adaptability, and seeing the world from new perspectives — a meaning that aligns naturally with SARDA's collection stories of hope and renewal.
Frangipani
The frangipani — also known as plumeria — is deeply embedded in the artisan culture of Bali, where SARDA's silversmith partners work. The five-petaled flower is present in Balinese offerings, ceremonies, and spiritual life throughout the island, and it is one of the most frequently worked motifs in traditional Balinese silversmithing. To the artisans, it carries a sense of grace, devotion, and the kind of beauty that endures.
In SARDA's designs, the frangipani appears as a sterling silver centerpiece — occupying the full face of a ring, worked into the frame of a setting, or rendered as a three-dimensional floral element in high relief. The Hope Blossoms collection uses the frangipani in pure .925 sterling silver, with no gemstone required. A handcrafted frangipani ring is a piece that speaks entirely through its own craftsmanship — a reminder that sometimes the silver is the statement.
Faith-Forward Collection Design
Beyond individual emblems, SARDA's entire collection architecture is its own kind of motif system. Collection names like One That I Can Call, Glory To U Alone, Hope Blossoms, and God's Lasting Promises carry deliberate meaning — and each collection's design language reflects that intention. Stone choice, setting shape, silver texture, silhouette: every element serves the collection's named theme. The motif extends from the visible symbol to the intention embedded in every design decision.
From Sketch to Sterling Silver: How SARDA Motifs Are Made
Every SARDA piece begins with a story. That story becomes a design concept, which becomes a sketch, which is refined through back-and-forth collaboration with master silversmiths in Bali who bring decades of traditional Balinese metalwork training to every piece. The production process honors both precision and handcraft:
- Wax carving or CAD modeling: Complex motifs are first worked in wax or modeled digitally to establish exact relief, depth, and proportion before any silver is poured.
- Lost-wax casting: The wax model is used to create a mold, and molten .925 sterling silver is cast into it — preserving every detail of the original design in metal.
- Hand-finishing: After casting, artisans hand-finish each piece — filing, texturing, sanding, and polishing to bring every detail of the motif into full relief. No two finished pieces are exactly the same.
- Stone setting: The gemstone is placed last — carefully matched to the piece and secured using traditional silversmithing techniques. For carved cabochons, the pre-carved stone arrives already shaped and is matched to its dedicated setting.
The result is a piece that carries the handmade character of Balinese silverwork while serving SARDA's design vision with precision. Read more about the process at How It's Made.
Why Motifs Matter
In an era when most jewelry is mass-produced and motifs are stamped rather than carved, a symbol made by hand carries inherent and irreducible value. It represents the hours of skill behind the design, the cultural knowledge embedded in Balinese silversmithing, and the intention of every person who touched the piece before it reached you.
When you choose a SARDA piece, you're choosing to wear a symbol. Whether it's a Tree of Life anchored by a gemstone at its heart, a carved dragonfly labradorite that shimmers with every shift of light, or a frangipani worked in pure sterling silver — the motif is always there, quietly doing what jewelry has always done best: carrying meaning on the body, permanently and beautifully.
Caring for Your Motif Pieces
Detailed sterling silver motifwork rewards gentle, regular care to keep its texture and luster at their best. A soft-bristle brush with mild soapy water can reach into carved reliefs and textured surfaces without damaging the design. Rinse thoroughly and dry with a soft cloth. For long-term maintenance, the SARDA Jewelry Cleaning Kit is designed for exactly this kind of piece. For full care guidelines on sterling silver, visit our Jewelry Care Guide.
Explore all of SARDA's collections — and the motifs that define them — at SARDA New Arrivals.