If you didn’t already know, I am the sort who can go crazy doing research. And in earlier posts, I described how I first hunted for an engagement ring design that I liked and then searched high and low for a jeweller to design my ring.

I had whittled my choices down to a solitare design with a single blue sapphire stone. And after speaking to and approaching 8 jewellery designers, I finally chose a jeweller – Madly Gems.

Fun.

That is the best word to describe my experience with Madly Gems.

I discovered Madly Gems through a dear friend of mine who has a keen eye on the finer things in life. She had heard about Madly Gems through her friends and visited their Instagram page. Liking what she saw, she followed them on Instagram, admiring their lovely photos of precious stones and bespoke rings. When I met up with her and told her I had been looking for a jewellery designer, she immediately showed me Madly Gems’ Instagram page and suggested I look them up. So I did.

I arranged to meet up with the peeps at Madly Gems and despite speaking to a number of jewellers before, my experience with Madly Gems is an entirely different one.

When I first met Madly Gems’ Maddy and Emily, I experienced a nervous excitement. Having spoken to a few bespoke jewellers, I was concerned that I would not be able to find something within my budget.

When we sat down and starting talking about what kind of engagement ring I had in mind, I whipped out my phone and showed them the design I liked and mentioned that I was looking for a round-cut sapphire. We discussed the topic of my budget, the carat size of the gem, and if I was fixed on the idea of a sapphire.

I was surprised by that last question. None of the other jewellers asked me if I was open to other gems. I suppose everyone else didn’t think to ask me that or just assumed I was fixed on that particular gemstone. But that simple question opened a world of opportunities and introduced me to the fascinating world of gemstones, because it made me realise that all I wanted was a blue gemstone. It didn’t need to be a sapphire.

So how much fun did I have with Madly Gems? Tons!

This was a round cut sapphire that really caught my eye. After all I had started out looking for a sapphire when I first started this engagement ring journey. However, though very pretty, the shade of blue of this particular sapphire was a little too dark for my liking and way out of my budget.

Sadly I can’t remember what gemstone this is. But I love the two tones of this precious stone! In fact, this stone made me realise that I was quite enamoured by interesting cuts and was open to other gems besides sapphire.

Then this unique cut caught my eye. I wish my video managed to capture the beauty of the aquamarine’s cut. It was beautiful! And the shape of the gem was so interesting. I couldn’t take my eyes off this. However, I felt that the blue colour was too light.

While the aquamarine was very beautiful and fascinating to me, something didn’t feel quite right. The stone’s shade of blue was too light and I was pretty fixed on a bloom-like prong setting that I couldn’t imagine would go well with the shape of this stone.

Noticing that I wasn’t quite sold on the aquamarine, Maddy asked me, between the round cut sapphire and the blue of the aquamarine, which shade of blue did I like more. And I felt I wanted something closer to the sapphire’s shade of blue, only a little lighter.

Then I was presented this sapphire.

This looked much darker in its box. Then Emily put the gem on a gem holder, and I felt myself leaning towards the shade and shape of this sapphire. Plus, the price was right!

And it must be their experience and expertise in this business, because they realised I wasn’t reacting the way one should when one finds the perfect stone. They knew, even before I did, that I wasn’t 100% sure that the emerald-cushion cut sapphire was what I wanted for my ring.

As Maddy and Emily were getting a sense of what I liked and disliked in a gem, it became clear to them that there might be a type of gemstone that might capture my heart. So they pitched the idea of considering tanzanites for my ring and it intrigued me. That’s when Maddy and Emily kindly offered to source for a tanzanite for my second meeting with them together with my partner.

So on my second ‘date’ with Madly Gems’ Maddy and Emily, I was presented with this beauty.

As a testament to how well Maddy and Emily know what their customers like, even before I laid eyes on the tanzanite, Maddy texted me and told me that she found “a gorgeous 2+ carat tanzanite” and that “it’s gonna be a tough choice between this and the sapphire”.

And here it is. The tanzanite.

During my first meeting with Madly Gems, Maddy and Emily gave me some very good advice. They told me that I shouldn’t focus too much about the cut, colour, or carat size of the gem when searching for the right stone. What I should focus on was choosing a gem that I couldn’t take my eyes off from. A stone I was in love with. After I find the stone that I love, Emily would then design a setting that was inspired by the stone.

And without a doubt, when I saw this tanzanite, I finally understood what Maddy and Emily were talking about. This was ‘the one’.

The process that followed was a smooth and speedy one. As I had already fallen in love with a particular design, Emily quickly drew a sketch of how my engagement ring would look like.

And in just over 2 weeks, my ring was finished and ready for collection. And I love it! Both the gem and the design. It came out exactly how I envisioned it.

Okay, as you can tell I’m obsessed with my ring. But that’s the point isn’t it? To find a gem and a ring design that you love so much that it’s worth the price. Value over cost. That’s the key thing when looking for your ring. In my opinion at least.

And the best part is, this 2.81 carat bespoke ring still cost much less than it does a 1.5 carat diamond ring from Goldheart or Lee Hwa Jewellery!

Thank you Madly Gems! I can’t wait to make another piece of jewellery with you. Till then, I’ll just keep lovin’ and admiring my ring.

About Madly Gems

The two leading ladies behind Madly Gems is Kiss92 radio personality Maddy Barber and GIA certified gemologist and designer, Emily Tan. Started in 2014, Maddy and Emily are two friends who love jewellery. They wanted to create bespoke fine jewellery at reasonable prices. Maddy has a “mad love of jewellery” and because of her keen eye, she picks out gems that are one-of-a-kind. Emily has 10 years of experience under her belt and has worked for brands like Jimmy Choo Couture in London, Marni in Milan and Kara Ross New York as well as at Singapore fine jeweller La Putri.

Madly Gems
71A Hillcrest Road
bespoke@madlygems.com
http://www.facebook.com/madlygems
instagram.com/madlygems_

Want a bespoke piece made by Madly Gems? Remember to make an appointment with them before going down.

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