Designing Your Unique Turquoise Engagement Ring

Steps To Customizing Your Turquoise Engagement Ring

White sapphire and turquoise engagement ring by Hileman Silver Jewelry.

Hileman Silver Jewelry has many engagement ring designs that feature turquoise inlay accented by gemstones such as topaz and moissanite.  By choosing the turquoise, the center gemstone, and the metal used for the mounting, you can customize your turquoise engagement ring to your tastes.  Our engagement ring designs are all made to order in your specific ring size so you will need to allow 4 to 6 weeks for us to make your new  ring.

Pick Your Ring Style

We offer quite a few turquoise engagement ring styles to choose from.  When browsing our website keep in mind that any of the rings you may see inlaid with other stones such as dinosaur bone or lab opal, can be inlaid with the turquoise of your choice.  The same is true with the center gemstone.  Just look for a ring shape and style that you like and think of it as a blank canvas to add the colors of your choice.  Most of our engagement rings are labeled with a ring style number that will help you describe which ring you like and make sure we are on the same page.

Pick Your Turquoise

You may also customize your turquoise engagement ring by selecting the turquoise you would like for us to inlay in your new ring.  Our turquoise comes from various mines in the Southwest in colors ranging from greens to blues.  Some turquoise has dark veining or matrix running throughout the stone that creates a spiderweb pattern.  The turquoise pictured below is a beautiful blue color and has a faint birdseye pattern.  Because

Birdseye turquoise rough from Kingman Arizona.

turquoise is a natural stone, the colors and the spiderweb pattern will vary from stone to stone and even from cut to cut within the stone.  This is important to understand when requesting a specific turquoise  color or spiderweb pattern.  We will always do our best meet your color and spiderweb pattern requests but nature may not always fully cooperate.  Find one of our turquoise ring designs that has the turquoise you would like and we will let you know if it is available and will get to work on a price quote for your ring.

Pick Your Center Gemstone

Most of our engagement ring designs have center gemstones in a variety of shapes and sizes.  In many cases the ring design is set up for a specific size and shape that cannot be changed without major wax customization or in some cases a whole new master carving.  However, you can almost always change to a different color of gemstone or colorless option such as a diamond, moissanite or white sapphire in the same size and shape.  The most popular choice that looks great with turquoise is blue topaz.  The topaz we use is available in several shades of blue with the lightest being sky blue, medium being Swiss blue, and the darkest being London blue.  Many of our customers choose to be more traditional for their engagement ring and go with a white or colorless stone.  We have options for white gemstones such as white topaz, white sapphire, moissanite and diamonds.  We highly recommend moissanite because of its incredible scintillation, affordability and durability.  Moissanite is almost as hard as a diamond and actually has a higher refractive index, which means more sparkle.  It is a lab created stone so any concerns about mining or being conflict free are resolved.  At a fraction of the cost of diamond, it is a great alternative that is budget friendly without compromising on beauty or durability.

Pick Your Metal

We offer metal options for just about any engagement ring budget.  The most affordable metal option would be sterling silver.  Sterling silver is the softest of the precious metals and can also tarnish.  Sterling silver will hold up to daily wear if you are careful and remove your ring before any rough activities.  We offer a new sterling silver called Continuum silver.  It’s a relatively new silver alloy that is more durable than standard sterling silver and is also tarnish resistant.  Continuum silver is approximately 30% harder than sterling silver and will provide a more secure setting for your center gemstone.  We highly recommend upgrading to Continuum silver for all daily wear rings such as wedding and engagement rings.  Other metal options include white or yellow gold, platinum and stainless steel.  Stainless steel is also an affordable option and is very durable.  Because 316L stainless steel is so hard, it is not available as an option for all of our ring designs.  Some gemstones are not hard enough to be set in stainless steel without breaking them.  Contact us with your ring style and stone choice and we will let you know if stainless steel is a possibility.  White gold is our most popular choice.  It’s durable and provides a secure setting for your gemstones.  White gold and yellow gold are considerably more expensive than sterling silver so we will need your ring size to estimate the gold weight and give you an accurate price quote.  Platinum is the heaviest of the precious metals and combined with the fact that most platinum alloys are 95% pure platinum, makes it by far the most expensive metal option for your turquoise engagement ring.  Platinum provides a very secure setting and will hold up to daily wear and tear very well.

Let’s Get Started

Contact us with your choice of ring style, the metal you would like (and your ring size), the gemstone you prefer and your favorite turquoise type and we will get to work on a price quote for your new turquoise engagement ring.  In some cases we may be able to send you a photoshop mock up of what your new ring will look like with your stone choices.  Once we have all the design details worked out, we collect payment and begin work on your ring.  The production process will take 4 to 6 weeks with 3 -5 days for shipment so please plan ahead.  Contact Mark or John to get started on your new turquoise engagement ring today!  (623) 518-6588

HilemanSilverJewelry.com

info@HilemanSilverJewelry.com

 

 

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Wedding Season is Here!

Dinosaur bone wedding ring set with black diamond accents.

Wedding season is here and this is typically our busiest time of the year for making wedding rings for our customers.  If you are searching for a unique symbol of your love and commitment, our handmade inlay wedding rings are a great choice.  All of our rings are created by hand in our Arizona jewelry studio using only the finest materials and craftsmanship.  We offer a wide range of inlay stone choices including turquoise, dinosaur bone, black onyx and lab created opal and many other colorful stones with or without colorful gemstones to accent the inlay.  Take a minute to browse through our website www.HilemanSilverJewelry.com and check out our wedding ring designs and keep in mind that any of the ring designs you see on our site can be made in sterling silver, yellow or white gold, stainless steel or platinum.  Many of our customers choose our dinosaur bone bands as their wedding rings with our turquoise wedding rings being a close second.  We have a variety of dinosaur bone colors to choose from ranging from grays to reds.  What could be more unique than a dinosaur bone wedding ring!  Our wedding ring designs are made to order in your specific ring size, inlay stone choice and metal selection so we will need 4 to 6 weeks of lead time to get your rings completed in time.  All of our rings are available in his and hers, hers and hers, and his and his wedding sets.  If by chance you don’t see exactly the ring you are looking for, contact us about making the custom wedding ring of your dreams.

Have it your way! Semi-custom jewelry by Hileman Silver Jewelry

You have scoured the internet and local jewelry stores looking for that perfect piece of jewelry but just can’t quite seem to find it.  Working with a jeweler to create a “custom” piece of jewelry might seem like too daunting of a task.  The extra time involved and costs incurred to create a custom piece may also be prohibitive if you are short on time or on a limited budget.  What if you could get involved in the design process of your jewelry by  selecting the color of the inlay stones used, as well as the arrangement of the stones, to create a semi-custom piece of jewelry just for you at no additional charge?   Hileman Silver Jewelry will work with you to do just that.  We will guide you through the design process and advise you on which stones are appropriate for your chosen casting style and if any of the stones selected are an upgrade.

All of our sterling silver jewelry is easily customized to our customer’s inlay color choices or arrangement.  Every style ring, pendant, bracelet or earring casting is a blank canvas with almost unlimited choices of colored stones to inlay in the combination of your choice.  If the jewelry piece has a faceted gemstone to accent the inlay and you want to change the color scheme, a different color stone of equal value may be substituted for the original.  Additional charges are only charged if the accent stone or the inlay material is an upgrade to a more expensive stone.

You might notice our style numbers on some of our jewelry descriptions.  The style numbers only designate the casting/mounting used and not the inlay material used or its arrangement.  Here are some examples of our gent’s ring style “M200” and the different inlay color combinations we have done recently.  As you can see the look and feel of the ring changes dramatically with the inlay color and pattern variations.

Here is the M200 ring casting inlaid with black onyx and Australian opal.  This is one of our most popular color combinations for our men’s rings.

Sterling silver ring inlaid with black onyx and Australian opal

Another option available is inlaying the entire ring with all the same material such as all dinosaur bone, lapis or spider web turquoise like these three rings.

Sterling silver man’s band with blue lapis inlay.

Sterling silver ring inlaid with gem dinosaur bone.

Sterling silver man’s ring inlaid with spiderweb turquoise

A combination of inlay materials is also an option.  Here are a couple of multi-color examples.

Man’s sterling silver ring inlaid with sugilite, gem silica and spiderweb turquoise

As you can see there are many different colors of stones to choose from and many multicolored combinations.  Let us know your color preferences and we can suggest stones that work well together.  Most semi-custom orders can be completed in 2 to 4 weeks.  In most cases it is easier to discuss and complete these orders by phone to clear up any possible questions or concerns before beginning work on the order or taking payment.  Please visit our website for more information about Hileman Silver Jewelry and see photos of our jewelry.  www.HilemanSilverJewelry.com

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

Here comes the bride (and the groom)!

Sterling silver and white sapphire his and hers handmade wedding ring set inlaid with Australian opal

Hileman Silver Jewelry’s focus lately has been on creating an alternative to mass produced, cookie cutter wedding ring sets. We have created several his and hers wedding sets in sterling silver featuring white sapphires, black diamonds and blue sapphires for the center stones. We have accented them with inlaid black onyx, Australian opal and bright blue lapis.   So far, the new handmade wedding sets have received rave reviews, so we are working to expand our color palette and introducing a few more style choices. Look for several new wedding band sets to hit our shop page in the next week or two. Buy handmade!
Mark

Check out the new wedding set at  http://www.shop.hilemansilverjewelry.com/Wedding-Rings_c7.htm

Welcome to Hileman Jewelry’s blog!

Amethyst sterling silver ring inlaid with sugilite and Australian opal.

Hello and welcome to Hileman Jewelry’s blog!  We are a small family business consisting of Mark, John and Matt Hileman.  We all have our parts we play in the production of our jewelry designs and company operations.  We produce two lines of jewelry.  Our gold line consists of rings, earrings, bracelets, pendants and necklaces inlaid with the finest Australian opal.  The opal line is available in upscale galleries and jewelry stores across the country.  The silver line is sold via our direct sales site http://www.HilemanSilverJewelry.com  It features sterling silver inlaid with turquoise, sugilite, Australian opal, dinosaur bone and other colorful stones.

Our blog will hopefully be informative to those interested in specific designs we are working on and educational to consumers looking for more information about the jewelry design and manufacturing process.  This is our first attempt at blogging so please forgive us as we attempt to get things rolling.