Lab Created Opal Ring Information

Our lab created opal rings are becoming a popular choice for engagement and wedding rings despite many of our customers being hesitant to choose lab created opal over natural opal.   Most people have only seen the cheap mass produced lab opal jewelry at craft fairs and on the internet and don’t like the uniform look of the opal.  Our lab opal jewelry and rings are different.  Read why here!  Head over to our lab opal jewelry website and check out our jewelry.

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New Lab Created Opal Wedding Ring Set

This new lab created opal wedding ring set is stunning.  We inlaid the wedding set with some of the new lab opal we just received.  This new lab opal has bright green flashes of color on a dark blue base color.  The colors and flash of the lab opal mimic those of the best Lightning Ridge Australian opal at a much more affordable price.  Both rings in the set are a comfortable thickness and width.  The man’s band is 6.5mm wide at the top and the woman’s band is slightly narrower at 5.5mm wide.  Both the man’s wedding ring and the woman’s are available for purchase separately if you don’t need a set.  You can also purchase the set in hers and hers or his and his combinations.  The green lab opal in these rings is very flashy and bold.  We also have several other lab opal color options that are variations of blue-green and some options that are multicolor.

Green lab created opal wedding ring set in sterling silver by Hileman Silver Jewelry.

The high quality lab created opal we use in our rings has the same chemical composition as natural opal with the exception of water content. Natural Australian opal contains about 4% water and lab created opal contains no water. Instead, the water is replaced with resin

in lab created opal. The resin gives the synthetic opal more durability and helps to resist cracking. Laboratory grown opal gives you all the fire and colors of top grade natural opal at a much more affordable price with increased durability.

His and hers lab created opal wedding ring set.

This set is available for purchase in our Hileman Etsy shop or our new Lab Opal Jewelry website.  Please allow us 4 to 6 weeks to make your rings in your exact sizes.  See more lab opal colors on our Hileman Flickr page or on our lab opal Pinterest board.  If you are interested in natural Australian opal take a look at our Australian opal jewelry website featuring only the finest Australian opal inlaid in our bold 14 karat gold designs.

Gilson created opal makes for a stunning pendant

Sterling silver pendant inlaid with Gilson created opal and onyx

Last week we were trying to decide what inlay materials to use to create a unique contemporary pendant for a special customer.  After some thought Mark decided to break out some Gilson created opal that he purchased thirty years ago and had only used a few times since then.  The result was a very striking pendant with Gilson opal so bright you would think that there had to be a bulb in it.  Because Australian opal inlay is our specialty, we rarely use man-made opal.  In this case, natural opal of this quality would be far too costly to inlay in a sterling silver pendant, so Gilson opal was a logical choice.  We were so pleased at how this pendant came out, you might be seeing more pieces with the Gilson created opal inlay in the future.  There are differences in the quality of other lab grown opal and Gilson created opal.  The Gilson created opal was invented by Pierre Gilson of France in 1974 and is considered by many gemologists to be the world’s finest laboratory grown opal. The growth process takes from 14 to 18 months, and the colors are natural with no treatment or enhancements. Its unique properties and brilliance set Gilson opal apart from all other man-made opal. Unlike natural opal which contains 3 to 21% water, Gilson opal contains no water. Gilson created opal is much tougher than natural opal and is not prone to breaking or cracking. 

If you would like more information about this Gilson opal pendant or if you want to order one go to  http://www.shop.hilemansilverjewelry.com/Silver-pendant-inlaid-with-red-Gilson-opal-and-onyx-P400ssGilOpalOnyx.htm

-John Hileman

Are those real or fake?

Diamond and Australian opal band

Are those real or fake?  We are talking opals here.  Recently I was walking through a craft fair and stopped at a booth with a rather large display of silver jewelry.  I noticed that the inventory was divided into four or five color groups of “opals”.  I knew at first glance that it was not real opal, but thought I would ask the woman behind the counter what the beautiful stone was.  She responded that it was opal.  Not lab created opal or simulated opal- just opal.  I picked up a pendant and looked it over and noticed the mediocre craftmanship and totally uniform pattern of the “opal” as well as the $30 price tag.  Anyone who knows anything about opal knows that you can’t make a large pendant with genuine opal inlay for $30.  There was a good 3 or 4 hours of work in the piece as well, which I am assuming had to be made in China for that price.  What bothers me most is that this woman was selling this garbage between a great display of handmade raku jewelry and another man selling his nice fused glass pieces.  Not only was she misrepresenting the fake opal as real, but she was also projecting the image that she was a craftsperson or artist.  Please don’t support people selling this misrepresented junk jewelry as their craft.  There are a lot of talented people out there trying to make a living selling their art, their passion and their dream that deserve your support.   Buy handmade!

-John Hileman