Building a Custom Lab Opal Ring
When a customer contacts us with ideas about building a custom ring it’s important to listen to the customer’s wants and needs and try to put together a plan on how to complete their special ring within their budget. In the case of this lab opal engagement ring, the customer had specific stones they were interested in using- Alexandrite and opal. Because Alexandrite has some very unique color changing properties, it is extremely rare and expensive in larger sizes. This could have been a problem but the customer was flexible and was not opposed to using a lab created Alexandrite to stay within their budget. When I opened the shipping box and saw the lab created Alexandrite, I knew the customer would not be disappointed. It was a beautiful purple-blue color in the natural light and changed to a deeper blue under fluorescent lighting. The stone was perfectly proportioned for the mounting the couple selected and looked even better once it was set in the Continuum silver.
Choosing The Right Inlay
The next step was to choose an inlay material to complement the Alexandrite. They chose for us to inlay the engagement ring mounting with lab created opal. It is also a budget friendly option compared to genuine Australian opal and has the added benefit of being more durable and crack resistant. We have quite a few lab opal color and pattern options available and the couple selected a very vibrant piece that looked great with the Alexandrite. The opal fires and flashes blue, green, red, orange and gold. The opal dances and the colors roll as you move the ring and change the angle the light enters the opal. The combination of the color change Alexandrite and the lab opal makes for a very dynamic and stunning engagement ring.
When you complete a customized ring, especially one as important as an engagement ring, you are always critically judging it and hoping that it meets the customer’s expectations. Not just the quality of the craftsmanship, but overall “look” of the ring. We were very excited about the finished product and were happy to hear from the customer that he and his fiancée were delighted with their new ring. We will be making them a matching lab opal wedding band soon!
Contact us to get started on your perfect ring idea!
John Hileman
(623) 518-6588