Karla Way’s Caldera Curio Ring: A Tribute to Earth’s Ancient Forces
Created for Pieces of Eight Gallery's June 2025 group exhibition, Substratum - celebrating the beauty and diversity of Australian gemstones, Melbourne artist Karla Way’s Caldera Curio Ring is a study in sculptural elegance and geological storytelling.
At its heart lies a mesmerising marquise cut blue green parti sapphire, formed deep within the Queensland gem fields under immense heat and pressure. Elevated by textured lithic columns and helmed in 14ct yellow gold, the ring evokes a lava dammed lake, nestled within volcanic highlands. Diamonds and small green sapphires trace the golden surface, catching the light like ripples on still water.
Way’s design honours the stone’s origins and ancient processes, transforming raw earth into a jewel of quiet power and refinement.
We asked Karla to share her insights into the making of this remarkable piece, from her response to the exhibition brief to the conceptual and material choices that shaped its final form. What follows is her reflection on the geological forces, design process and emotional resonance behind Caldera Curio.
PO8: What first came to mind when you responded to the Substratum brief?
KW: The Substratum theme immediately brought to mind the hidden structures, pressures and forces beneath the Earth’s surface, those that shape minerals below and rise to create incredible landscapes above. I was especially drawn to the idea of deep time, how materials slowly transform over millennia, and how we, in turn, hold and cherish them as personal markers of special moments, as objects overlaid with our own meaning.
In these rings, I wanted to explore both the geological origins of gemstones and the emotional impulse we have to carry these materials with us as quiet memos of our own layered, deep timelines.
PO8: Can you tell us about your concept and design process for this series?
KW: I designed a trio of rings for Substratum as expressions of transformation within the Earth, beginning with loose sketches inspired by sedimentary layering and the concept of eruptive forms.
The volcanic lithic columns became a central motif and structure across the group. They rise to lift and cradle each gem in a way that feels like a geological gesture, as if the forms had surfaced from below and been shaped by elemental processes as much as by design.
Materially, the complex, shifting colours of parti sapphires and champagne diamonds echo pressure, heat and mineral layering. The warmth and durability of yellow gold is something I always seem to return to, its character fits the concept so well.
The Caldera Curio parti sapphire is just beyond beautiful, the prismatic multicoloured depth feels like some supercharged, supernatural lake, stilled and captured in time.
Throughout, I thought about how these materials carry a history far beyond human time. Through jewellery, we connect that deep past with the present moment and create these personal things that we carry forward into the future, layered with meaning, like the strata beneath us.
A rare fusion of art and geology, Caldera Curio is a one of a kind creation that speaks to both heart and earth. Whether chosen as a modern engagement ring or treasured as a statement of personal symbolism, it embodies Karla Way’s gift for transforming natural wonder into timeless beauty.
We invite you to experience this remarkable piece in person at our Russell Place gallery, alternatively, you can view it online here.
