Oh, what anticipation this sight would bring: a small box, no bigger than the size of your palm, under the Christmas tree. And if that box is signed by local jeweller, Madly Gems, Christmas is going to be extra colourful this year. Think vivid sapphire blues, sweet morganite pink, that unique purplish blue of tanzanites, and the dreamiest greens and yellows from tsavorites, tourmalines, topazes, and more… It’s like a painter’s palette come alive in gemstones.
Founded in 2014 by ex-radio DJ Maddy Barber, Madly Gems was set up to disrupt Singapore’s diamond-centric jewellery industry. Bold use of colours is the calling card of the brand’s designs, which often feature multiple different stones set together to tell a story. Other than rubies, emeralds, and sapphires—also known as the Big Three coloured stones—spinels, tanzanites, garnets, topazes, and tourmalines make regular appearances in their designs.
Quite the rule breaker, Madly Gems has a penchant for mixing metals as well, frequently using both white and yellow gold in one same piece.
The brand focuses on the top 0.1 per cent of the world’s finest coloured gems, sourcing them from all around the world, including Tanzania and Sri Lanka. These two countries are where Madly Gems has its own sourcing offices, making it the only Singaporean jeweller to have a presence at the Mahenge mine in Tanzania.
Having a local presence removes the middle man, allowing for full transparency, accountability, and traceability so that provenance of the stones may be guaranteed. In addition, Madly Gems is a strong advocator of ethical sourcing and is the first Singaporean jeweller to become an accredited ethical member of the International Coloured Gemstone Association.
That’s what makes it so favoured among modern independent women today. Women who won’t be pining for a man to buy her jewellery.
And when Madly Gems has made jewellery shopping such a pleasurable, memorable, and educational experience, you don’t even have to wait for a special occasion to buy a piece. Drop by the brand’s experience centre for a deep-dive into the world of coloured gemstones.
The Madly Brand Experience Centre just opened in April this year, introducing a new concept that is the first of its kind in the world. It’s a design studio, a jewellery salon, and an education centre all in one. Visitors can follow the journey every gemstone takes, from mine to a Madly jewellery box.
Explore the Straight from the Source feature wall which takes you down the mine where gemstone roughs are unearthed. Next, visit the Rough to Cut gem wall where a plethora of gemstone specimens are displayed. See everything from the familiar such as sapphires to lesser known, colour-changing stones.
At the back of the store, a video filmed in real time of a lapidarist in action shows the painstaking processes required to turn a piece of rough into a faceted gem.
These beautiful gemstones then move on to the designer’s studio where all Madly Gems creations are conceptualised, often in collaboration with the end customer. Indeed, bespoke jewellery is the brand’s specialty. It prides itself on always creating “madly meaningful” pieces that reflect every client’s personality, and the milestones they were made to commemorate.
From a cluster pendant featuring every family member’s birthstone to a ring that incorporates a stone passed down through the generations, from mismatched earrings to mark a personal achievement to a ring celebrating an anniversary, Madly Gems’ vast portfolio of designs has proven that jewellery is for every season and reason, not just weddings and engagements.
