Jewelry Item of the Week: Australian Opal and Sugilite Pendant

This Week’s Item:  Australian Opal and Sugilite Inlay Pendant

Australian opal and sugilite sterling silver inlay pendant

This week’s item is a large sterling silver pendant inlaid with Australian opal and purple sugilite.   The top piece of inlaid Australian opal fires blues and greens and the other pieces of opal fire red, green, blue orange and yellow.  The sugilite is a deep purple and is very high quality with an excellent polish.  The lower areas of the silver have been oxidized black to accentuate the highly polished details.  The pendant measures 34mm wide and is 63mm long including the hinged bale.  The bale will accomodate most chains and smaller diameter beads.  The pendant is stamped sterling and hand signed “MMH” on the reverse by Mark McBride Hileman.  This style pendant is also available by special order in other inlay colors and without the silver oxidized.    This beautiful piece is currently available at our Etsy shop.  Please go to  http://www.etsy.com/listing/28587677/large-sterling-silver-pendant-inlaid  for more information or to purchase this piece.

Don’t forget to enter the coupon code to get your 10% off discount at check out.

10% off coupon code:  WEEKLYSALE081511

Visit our websites to see all of our handmade jewelry designs in 14k gold and sterling silver.  Keep in mind that if you don’t see exactly what you are looking for, we do custom jewelry work as well.

www.TheHilemanCollection.com

www.HilemanSilverJewelry.com

Thank you!

John and Mark Hileman

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Australian opal inlay jewelry is our specialty!

We spend a lot time and effort promoting our sterling silver jewelry and sometimes neglect giving our gold jewelry equal time in the spot light.  Actually, it is our incredible Australian opal inlay jewelry designs that the Hileman name is known for in the jewelry industry.   Hileman jewelry is recognized for the unsurpassed quality of the Australian opal and the superior craftsmanship used in creating our bold inlay jewelry designs.  Our opal inlay jewelry can be found in the jewelry boxes of celebrities, CEO’s and opal jewelry collectors around the world.

This remarkable opal pendant is a great example of our top of the line opal and outstanding workmanship.  This handmade pendant is inlaid with the finest crystal opal Australia has to offer. The pendant’s opal inlay alternates between bright blue green opal sections and red multicolor sections of opal. Opal of this quality is quite rare and is becoming harder to obtain at any price, making this pendant a real collector’s piece. The center stone is a spectacular 13.25 carat shell fantasy cut Swiss blue topaz. The faceting on the topaz is very unique. The top is slightly domed with only one facet with the bottom has all the facets and notches to create the pattern viewed from the top. The opal inlay and topaz are accented by 28 pave` set diamonds. The diamonds are VS clarity and G/H color and have a total weight of .60 carats.

Take a closer look at this amazing opal pendant at http://www.etsy.com/listing/58803270/australian-opal-inlay-pendant-with-topaz or visit our opal jewelry website at TheHilemanCollection.com .

Thank you for supporting handmade jewelry artists!

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