Diwali Light Up Earrings: Using CAD, 3D Printing, and Embedded Electronics

As a computer engineer, I’m always thinking about new ways to apply engineering creatively and make it more fun. I love earrings, and I love demystifying engineering, which led me to start Resistorings: light-up earrings designed to make engineering feel fun, playful, and expressive.

Problem & Vision

For a long time, I had wanted to build Diwali diya earrings. Diyas are small clay oil lamps that I grew up using to light homes during Diwali, the festival of lights. While light-up jewelry exists, I hadn’t seen anything on the market that was both culturally specific to Diwali and electronically interactive.

My goal was to create lightweight, wearable diya earrings that actually light up, bringing together culture, hardware, and design. This was a product I personally wanted and believed others would too, so I decided to build it myself.

Design & Prototyping (CAD)

The first and most critical phase was designing the diya itself. While I’m not a mechanical engineer, this became a hands-on learning experience in iterative design.

Using CAD, I approached the process much like software development: starting with a simple design, creating small prototypes, and iterating repeatedly to get the size and proportions right. I used a 3D printer to test multiple versions, refining the shape for comfort, durability, and aesthetics. I ultimately chose an orange plastic to reflect the festive nature of Diwali.

This stage reinforced how important rapid prototyping is when translating an idea into a physical product. I probably created around 5 different prototypes of varying sizes and shapes.

MVP Circuit Design

The electronics were intentionally simple: a coin cell battery, resistor, and LED. The main challenge wasn’t circuit complexity, but working within tight physical constraints. Fitting all components cleanly inside a small diya required careful layout decisions and tradeoffs between size, weight, and functionality.

This phase mirrored real product development constraints, where elegant solutions often come from simplifying rather than adding complexity.

Future Optimizations

Building the MVP revealed several opportunities for improvement. Future iterations could include creating a custom PCB to further condense the circuit, reducing the diya base to make the earrings lighter, and adding customization features such as light patterns or color-changing LEDs.

These enhancements represent natural next steps if this project were to evolve beyond a personal build into a scalable product.

Key Takeaways

• Low-stakes building fuels creativity: Building without deadlines, specs, or assignments made the process more rewarding and exploratory.
• Prototyping early reduces risk: Testing multiple versions early made it easier to iterate and converge on the right design.
• Creativity sits at intersections: The project showed how product thinking, technical execution, and cultural context come together to create something meaningful.