DESIGN & GEMSTONES
Find the gemstone destined to be your legacy
Coloured Gemstones Design
Calla Lily puts the wearer at the centre of the design process. Our inspiration is you – your story, your dreams, and your ideas. We help you find the right gems for the right occasion, then bring out the best in them through our designs.
Celebrating You
A piece of fine gemstone jewellery should be an extension of your personality and passion, a celebration of what makes you unique. We take the time to get to know you, and then draw on both expertise and imagination to make you the perfect piece.
Connoisseurs Of Colour
Emily is a graduate gemologist of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). With a deep understanding of each gemstone’s story, our team is dedicated to guiding you towards the one that not only catches your eye but also captures the essence of your personality and requirements.
Celebrating Difference
Calla Lily delights in beauty in all its shapes and forms, and starts with the premise that there are no hard and fast rules. We dare to be bold and have fun, and celebrate the whimsical and extraordinary. The result: unique and unexpected gemstone jewellery designs.
Our Gemstones
From Brazil and Columbia to Tanzania and Myanmar, we source gems of the highest clarity and intensity, faceted by the finest cutters. We stock a rich variety of gemstones in just about any shade you can imagine. These include highly sought after royal blue sapphires, neon-orange mandarin garnets, vivid-green emeralds, deep-blue and mint tourmalines, and pink morganites.
Choosing A Gemstone
Finding that perfect gemstone is like rediscovering an old friend – you feel a sense of familiarity, like someone you’ve known forever. The perfect match. We’ll support you on your quest for the ideal gem, whether from our collection or further afield. When you find it, you’ll know it was always meant to be yours. Keep scrolling down to learn more about the beautiful coloured gemstones we curate and set in our personalised jewellery creations.
Emeralds
One of the most emblematic of all green gemstones, emerald is a variety of the mineral species named Beryl. In order for a crystal to be classified as an emerald, it must display a specific scale of intensity of both tone and saturation. Vividly saturated emeralds with exceptional colour and hue like in this special bespoke ring we created, are known as “Muzo green” named after the region of Colombia these gems were found.
Sapphires
Highly desired among gemstones, Sapphires are deeply symbolic and come in a wide array of colours. Their corundum mineral family includes a wide array of hues – with one exclusion being the red kind, namely Rubies, which fall under a category of their own. Take your pick from fantastic yellows and oranges to pinks and purples, and the prized Padparadscha, a very rare and celebrated pinkish-orange variety.
Rubies
Rubies are a prized variety of the corundum mineral species – a family that also includes Sapphires. A trace element called “chromium” is responsible for its legendary red pigmentation. A fine specimen glows with intense red when exposed to sunlight thanks to fluorescence, which intensifies its distinguished shade.
Diamonds
Diamonds, one of nature’s most marvellous creations. Renowned for being the hardest substance on earth, their mesmerising sparkle and durability give them a legendary status. They also come in extremely rare and valuable shades such as yellow and pink. In fact, “fancy-coloured Diamonds”, as they’re called, are regarded as some of the most valued gems.
Spinels
Spinels have only in recent years been granted the recognition they deserve. In ancient times, red Spinels were commonly mistaken as rubies in crown jewels. They come in a wide variety of colours, including stunning and electric hues such as neon-pink and cobalt.
Garnets
An intricate family affair, Garnets are a combination of varieties with a shared crystal structure. They come in a wide array of colours with the reds being the most common, while the green Tsavorite Garnets are the rarest. Neon-mint Tsavorites, like the one set in this custom-made ring we created, are even more valued, while pure orange mandarin Garnets are sought after for their striking colour.
Tourmalines
One of the most popular coloured gemstones, prized for their rainbow-like range of hues and translucent lustre. This distinct family of boron minerals has a complex chemical composition, with numerous permutations. They can occur in almost any imaginable colour, and this bespoke ring features rubellites, which are the saturated dark pink to red variety of tourmalines.
Paraiba
Electric blue shades evoking the beauty of immaculate tropical waters, meet the copper-bearing tourmaline variety known as “Paraíba”. These stunning neon gems are named after the Brazilian state where they were first encountered.
Tanzanites
Exclusively encountered in only one place on earth, by the awe-inspiring Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, these exotic crystals graduate from deep purple to luminous violet and lush blue. Depending on their angle of view, they’ll reveal three different hues, a unique optical phenomenal known as Pleochroism. Paired with their high clarity levels and breathtaking shine, it’s clear why Tanzanites are highly esteemed.
Topaz
Although most often associated with golden yellow, Topaz gems are found in a vast spectrum of colours from blue, green, orange, red, pink and purple. The rare pink and red gems rank as the most valuable. Imperial Topaz are desired for their intense reddish-orange colour, while blue Topaz is more common. Topaz exhibit pleochroism as well, meaning different colours can be viewed from varied angles.
Opals
As a species, opals are so remarkably unique they come with their own glossary. They have no fixed crystalline structure but form in irregular shapes, and usually have 6% to 10% water content, being sedimentary stones. The more precious stones are known as “noble opals,” valued for their fantastic display of flashes of colours as a result of diffraction.
Pearls
Whether lustrous and perfectly round spheres or irregular “baroque” forms, Pearls are always a delight. These treasures of the sea are often white and cream colour, but they can also be found in grey to black, peach, blue and gold hues. The natural colours are determined genetically by the mollusks they form in. Finer pearls come with high lustre, from light rays reflecting off of their surface.
Alexandrites
Witness a marvel of nature, colour-changing Alexandrites. A unique variety of the mineral chrysoberyl that is “emerald by day, ruby by night”. Traces of chromium allows through almost equal wavelengths of green and red light, creating a delicate balance of reflected light. Under day light rich in greens and blues, they look greenish blue, but under incandescent light rich in red wavelengths, the gems appear purplish to red.
Morganites
You wouldn’t guess just by looking at this delicate peachy-pink gem, but Morganites are directly related to emeralds and aquamarines, being derived from the same mineral, beryl. Traces of manganese lend this gem its subtle pink colour. Intense colouring is rare, with most morganites leaning towards subdued yet graceful shades.
Zircon
Zircon is a magnificent stone with very high luster, refraction and dispersion which creates flashes of multi-coloured light called “fire”. The name unfortunately means it’s often confused with cubic zirconia which is a synthetic material used as a substitute for diamonds. Zircon occurs in a diversified palette of blue, bright red, green, yellow, and reddish brown, to suit different preferences, with the former three hues being more valuable.
Peridot
Perpetually green in colour but with significant nuances, a Peridot’s specific shade is influenced by its iron content. For these stones, tone intensity acts as a direct measurement of quality. An ancient mineral even found on some meteorites, suggesting it was formed before planet earth. Peridots have exceptionally high double refraction, which means if you look close enough you can see two of each pavilion facet.
Jade
With deep cultural roots in ancient Chinese tradition and folklore, Jade has been admired for thousands of years. The most valued stones are translucent with a vibrant emerald green colour, known as “imperial jade”. We often receive requests to restyle old Jade into modern designs that are chic and bold, bringing new life into them.
