Life, Heart & Microchips: Art Meets Technology at Singapore’s Caratell

January 9, 2023

By Katerina Perez

7 min read

Singapore-based bespoke jewellery brand and retailer Caratell has secured many adoring fans thanks to the life, heart and soul of its jewels. Its colourful creations are produced using hands-on, traditional techniques that allow you to feel the passion of the goldsmiths and enamel masters in its workshop. But this business has a remarkably tech-savvy side, as maestro designer and microchip inventor Michael Koh tells me. Here’s what you need to know about Caratell and its vision for a more transparent jewellery sector…

Holding its own among Singapore’s finest jewellers is Caratell – a haute joaillerie atelier named one of the top 10 jewellery designers in the region for seven consecutive years. The driving force behind the brand’s success is Michael Koh, who’s passionate about designing lively and dynamic pieces that feel uplifting and energising to wear. He achieves this feat through colour and prioritising rare gemstones and traditional hand-making techniques that many others have swapped for more technological methods. 

Caratell Plum Blossom ring with an oval-shaped purplish-pink sapphire centre stone

Caratell Plum Blossom ring with an oval-shaped purplish-pink sapphire centre stone

He explains: People know us for the liveliness of our creations. We maintain the real culture of how every piece is made, and our customers can tell the difference. Although they have seen other beautiful jewellery, they say there is no life in them – we bring love and life to a piece of jewellery.

Caratell Chrysanthemum ring with tsavorite garnet, Akoya pearls and diamonds

Caratell Chrysanthemum ring with tsavorite garnet, Akoya pearls and diamonds

 Caratell bespoke ring design with watermelon tourmaline and diamonds

Caratell bespoke ring design with watermelon tourmaline and diamonds

 Caratell Duo of Eminence ring with a 2.09-carat cobalt blue Luc Yen spinel and a 1.35-carat pink Mahenge spinel

Caratell Duo of Eminence ring with a 2.09-carat cobalt blue Luc Yen spinel and a 1.35-carat pink Mahenge spinel

 Caratell Art Deco ring design with an 0.84-carat non-oil bixbite gemstone

Caratell Art Deco ring design with an 0.84-carat non-oil bixbite gemstone

 Caratell bespoke peacock feather bangle with Luc Yen cobalt blue spinel

Caratell bespoke peacock feather bangle with Luc Yen cobalt blue spinel

 Caratell ring inspired by Machu Picchu with a 16.38-carat green tourmaline

Caratell ring inspired by Machu Picchu with a 16.38-carat green tourmaline

 Caratell Colours of Heritage™️ Trio ring with yellow diamonds and plique-à-jour enamel petals

Caratell Colours of Heritage™️ Trio ring with yellow diamonds and plique-à-jour enamel petals

 Caratell ring with a 0.42-carat fancy pink pear-shaped diamond plus further pink and colourless diamonds

Caratell ring with a 0.42-carat fancy pink pear-shaped diamond plus further pink and colourless diamonds

 Caratell ‘In Reverie of Mariposa’ ring with a marquise-cut topaz and pink sapphires

Caratell ‘In Reverie of Mariposa’ ring with a marquise-cut topaz and pink sapphires

Since establishing Caratell in 2004, Koh has approached each piece of jewellery like an artist. There’s always a concept or story behind his designs, which often have feminine, natural themes. He’s also well-known for selecting extremely rare gemstones, like red beryl-bixbite, benitoite, pink zoisite, imperial topaz, demantoid garnet and imperial jadeite. “It is our identity,” Koh says about his access to unusual gemstones. “It’s how we built Caratell’s reputation internationally; we focus on gemstones that have vibrant, striking colours. We also use colourful enamel to create contrast and produce interesting combinations of colours.” Finding these bright mineral shades is made even more difficult by Caratell’s insistence upon natural, unheated and untreated gemstones wherever possible. According to Koh, the most significant trend among his customers in Singapore right now is untreated gemstones and no-oil emeralds… there’s an understanding that natural is most desirable.

Caratell bixbite and diamond cocktail ring

Caratell bixbite and diamond cocktail ring

Clients can discover these unique gems, one-of-a-kind pieces and fine jewellery collections at the Caratell boutique, which also houses one of the brand’s most popular ranges: Colours of Heritage. The story centres on Peranakan culture – a unique, hybrid culture that blends Chinese, Malay and Western influences in a way that’s specific to Singapore and its history as a multi-racial and multi-ethnic society. Traditionally, Peranakan culture employed vibrant colours, patterns and themes in its decorative arts, and these motifs (especially from interiors and tiles) inspired Caratell. 

Designs by Caratell including a ring from the Temptations collection and the Embroidery of Love ring with a 1.92-carat marquise-shaped tourmaline

Designs by Caratell including a ring from the Temptations collection and the Embroidery of Love ring with a 1.92-carat marquise-shaped tourmaline

 Katerina Perez wears striking cocktail rings by Caratell

Katerina Perez wears striking cocktail rings by Caratell

Rather than directly copying, Caratell has focused on the essence of colour by “crashing” shades of gemstones and enamel that sit at different sides of the colour wheel. Koh says: “We are not trying to replicate old jewellery pieces in the Peranakan style. Instead, we are creating something very new that is evocative of colour.” There’s deep orange enamel paired with green garnets, lavender sapphires and bubble-gum pink spinels in a cocktail ring

Caratell ring with a 6.99-carat Ethiopian emerald and diamond-set foliage

Caratell ring with a 6.99-carat Ethiopian emerald and diamond-set foliage

More pieces that caught my attention when I visited Singapore were a 6.99-carat Ethiopian emerald ring with diamond foliage, an articulated ‘Plum Blossom’ ring with a large oval-shaped purplish-pink sapphire, and the Efflorescence necklace with 42.61 carats of tourmalines and spinels, blue sapphires, purple sapphires and diamonds for 25.72 carats in rose gold. 

Katerina Perez wears a necklace and ring by Caratell

Katerina Perez wears a necklace and ring by Caratell

 A closer look at the details of a Caratell necklace and the Plum Blossom cocktail ring

A closer look at the details of a Caratell necklace and the Plum Blossom cocktail ring

Although he’s well-versed in design, fabrication and gemmology, Koh is a firm believer in lifelong learning and testing his limits to embrace new skills and technologies. Most recently, he’s turned his attention to engineering, specifically to produce a series of remarkably tiny microchips that can be embedded into jewellery. His goal is to support traceability and transparency initiatives by integrating a two-millimetre (gold) microchip into jewellery creations that house its complete history, from the origin of its gemstones right the way through to who owns the piece and where they purchased it from. 

An example of a tiny Caratell RFID micro-chip invented by Michael Koh alongside a ring with Mandarin garnets

An example of a tiny Caratell RFID micro-chip invented by Michael Koh alongside a ring with Mandarin garnets

In our conversation, we spoke about the trial and error needed to create such a minuscule radio-frequency identification (RFID) enabled chip. Traditionally, these types of devices have not responded well to being placed on or near metal, making adding them to precious jewellery challenging. Koh taught himself to master this technology and create something unencumbered by gold and platinum, which is now patented. Firstly, there’s a microchip that can only be ‘read’ very purposefully when you touch it, and secondly, there’s a chip that sends signals out into the world, allowing its data to be ‘read’ when next to a scanner. Information goes straight to your smartphone or tablet. 

An example of a Caratell micro-chip in the setting of a cocktail ring with the corresponding mobile app

An example of a Caratell micro-chip in the setting of a cocktail ring with the corresponding mobile app

 Caratell's Michael Koh has developed an incredibly small microchip that's just a few millimetres wide

Caratell's Michael Koh has developed an incredibly small microchip that's just a few millimetres wide

Koh hasn’t just created these microchips for his own benefit, however. “From the B2B side, jewellery manufacturers can embed this chip into their jewellery in the manufacturing process before they distribute it to the retailer. This means information about the gold, diamonds and gemstones is all embedded into the chip,” he explains. In a retail environment, customers will have an amazing wealth of data to draw from about the piece they’re interested in purchasing, such as processing images, the designer’s original concept sketches, and the names of the artist or creator. In addition, video recordings can be embedded into his microchips to bring a piece’s history and journey to life. Once a customer buys a piece, all this information becomes their property – a digital record of its lifecycle, including their ownership rights to identify a product belongs to them. 

Caratell bracelet with a 5.02-carat fancy intense green-yellow diamond alongside fancy to fancy vivid pink diamonds

Caratell bracelet with a 5.02-carat fancy intense green-yellow diamond alongside fancy to fancy vivid pink diamonds

As someone specialising in rare gemstones, Koh can see the benefits of such a discrete but transparent way of installing information in jewellery. Paper records can get lost, but a two-millimetre chip hidden in a setting is less likely to disappear. “We will distribute and sell this technology to other jewellers,” Koh says. “It will not be solely ours; we want to open up a bigger transformation for the jewellery industry.”

Michael Koh is always busy, whether his days are spent designing high jewellery, managing the Caratell retail boutique or spearheading an innovative technology company. During our conversation, the sounds of a busy workshop provided the background noise and led me to imagine all the jewels currently in the hands of artisans in the process of being brought to life. 

Nature’s Masterpiece: The Rise of Elephants in Fine Jewellery

continue reading

Joyful Universe: The Bewitching Dior Milly Dentelle High Jewellery Collection

Victoire de Castellane is back with another high jewellery story inspired by the life and loves of Monsieur Christian Dior, translated directly from the brand’s remarkable archives

by Sarah Jordan

Make a Statement for Less: Incredible Fine Jewellery Under £5,000

We will be showcasing the designers and brands who are exploring brilliant alternatives to costly materials to enable more clients to own a piece of their world

by Claire Roberts

Wise Words: A Curated List of the Best Jewellery Quotes

Here’s a curated selection of the best jewellery quotes to save for the future… 

by Hirshi Sujanti

Ear Lobe Disasters: What To Do About Ripped and Stretched Piercings

Rachael Taylor discovers just how common the problem of ripped and stretched ear lobes is and seeks solutions from jewellers and surgeons

by Rachael Taylor

Museum Worthy: Previewing the Highlights of TEFAF Maastricht 2025

We reached out to the jewellery exhibitors heading to the Netherlands to get a preview of their rarest and most precious creations…

by Sarah Jordan

Sensational Storage: How to Choose the Right Jewellery Box

What types exist, what to look for, which one to give preference to, and how to find the best of the best – for all of this, continue reading…

by Katerina Perez

Arab Deco: Exploring the Latest High Jewellery Collection by Al Zain

Let’s refresh our shared memories of Al Zain through the lens of KaterinaPerez.com and dive into these new creations that are fortuitously timed with the 100th anniversary of Art Deco in 2025…

by Sarah Jordan

Jewellery Obsessed: In Conversation with International Model Farnoush Hamidian

I like to think of this as the first of many articles dedicated to women who are obsessed with jewellery as much as I am

by Katerina Perez

8 Women, 8 Jewels: Female Designers Share their Signatures for International Women’s Day

In honour of International Women's Day 2025, which has the theme #AccelerateAction, we reached out to eight female designers and asked them to share the piece that best exemplifies their design style

by Sarah Jordan

Feminine Energy: Navigating the World of Jewellery with Marceline Paris Founder Anne-Marie Le Flanchec

This is a woman who knows her own mind and isn't afraid to follow her instincts

by Sarah Jordan

Academy Awards: The Best Jewellery of the Oscars 2025 

As the great finale of awards season, the Oscars is the culmination of all the glamour, colours, trends and finery we’ve seen over the last three months. Let’s take a closer look…

by Sarah Jordan

Latest Stories

Add articles and images to your favourites. Just

Nature’s Folio:The Boucheron Untamed Nature High Jewellery Collection

Be prepared to feel transported to the French countryside, somewhere in the 19th century, armed with only a graphite pencil and the very earliest monochrome camera…

by Sarah Jordan

Jewels Katerina Perez Loves

Continue Reading

Writing Adventures:Co-Authoring the Book

Paraiba: The Legacy of a Color

by Katerina Perez

Jewellery Insights straight to your inbox

Style Guide

By using this website, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.