Obsidian stones shine for all

Obsidian stones shine for all

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Through its unconventional, bold and avant-garde designs, Island
Jewels highlights the natural beauty of a lesser-known, naturally
radiant stone born in the heart of volcanoes: obsidian.

What makes this semiprecious stone attractive is not only its
radiance but also its wide variety of beautiful natural colors,
like deep ambers, aquamarine blues, crystal whites, minty greens,
midnight blacks, light golds, emerald greens and the very rare
brilliant blues.

And Island Jewels presents the radiant stones in simple yet
bold designs for pendants, earrings, chains, rings, bracelets,
belts and other accessories.

"The jewels were designed to meet international tastes and
trends," said Shalini Gopalan Menon, a designer with PT Permata
Nusa.

Shalini's eight initial designs are the Sunflower, the Daisy,
the Clover, the Lava Rocks, the Moons, the Stars, the Hearts and
the Classic collections.

All of the collections are available at Island Jewels newly
opened boutique on the ground floor of Pasaraya Grande, with
prices ranging from Rp 75,000 to about Rp 400,000 (US$8.50 to
$45).

The Island Jewels collections are all combined with classic
handcrafted sterling silver to attract hip and young customers in
the country and soon abroad, with the company eying opportunities
to retail its obsidian jewels at leading department stores in the
United States, Australia and other countries.

The name Island Jewels was chosen simply because the
semiprecious stones are abundantly available in volcanic regions
of the country, especially in Java and Kalimantan.

However, despite the abundant supply, very little is known
about this dazzling semiprecious stone, which admirers believe
protects wearers and wards off negativity, as well as enhancing
self-awareness.

The obsidian stone is created in the natural process that
occurs when volcanic lava cools quickly when it comes into
contact with water. The stones' various colors are determined by
their mineral contents.

In the past, obsidian was used by ancient people to make
cutting tools and weapons and for ceremonial purposes, which has
been determined by evidence found by archaeologists during
excavations.

Shalini, who is also president director of the Interact
Carlson Marketing Group advertising agency, said new jewel
designs would be introduced every other six weeks to meet young
customers' desire for novelty.

And behind the brilliant obsidian jewelry there is a social
and community project, involving the long and meticulous process
of mastering the skill of handling obsidian stones.

While the handcrafted sterling silver is produced by artisans
in Yogyakarta and Bali, the company is providing a two-year
training program for inmates of Central Java's Nusa Kambangan
prison island, to teach them the craft of making obsidian
jewelry.

"It takes practiced hands to carefully cut, shape and polish
these stones to bring out their shiny luster to perfection. It is
a skill few can master," Shalini said, adding that Island Jewels'
boutique also helped market some ornamental stones produced by
small artisans in the Pacitan area.

With its existing resources, the company produces about 300
stones each day, but that figure represents only one-third of its
optimum capacity.

Today, Shalini added, the social project has evolved and grown
to include orphans, local artisans and others in and around
Central Java.

"The profit will be used to cover production costs, the
project's operational costs and improve the welfare of the people
involved in the project and their families," the designer said
with a smile.