Luminous, Ethereal Jewelry
OUR STORY
Fade To Black Studio revolves around the concept of light and darkness. The ethereal light in opal, trapped in darkness for millennia, is unearthed and adorned —a representation of our own journey through life. The timeless designs of each piece are inspired by the inherent human desire to reach into the unknown and construct an ode to eternity, the opal representing the radiant light which we seek to surround ourselves.
History
Fade To Black opals are unique. All of the stones used in our collections are ethically sourced from Lightning Ridge and some parts of Queensland, and production is monitored by our designer Tatiana’s Father, Mario Ikasovic, renowned in the opal industry for over 40 years, where his uncompromising expertise and unparalleled level of craftsmanship has made him a top opal supplier to some of the world’s most respected fashion houses and jewellers.
Polishing and cutting of our opal is all done by hand within our company without any outsourcing, guaranteeing complete control over the quality and practice of such a delicate gem.
Australian Opals are a finite source. Often referred to as the ‘Mystery stone’, the illusive gem is incredibly difficult to find and the miner relies on an element of chance in finding an illustrious color bar amidst the limestone in a dim, underground shaft. They are truly one of the last naturally occurring gemstones – they are simply unearthed, cut, and polished without the use of heat or chemicals.
Fade To Black has built close relationships with miners for many years, ensuring that every single piece can be traced back to the very mine they were sourced from and guarantees the stones are conflict free and the miner gets the fairest price for their hard labor.
The Designer
TATIANA IKASOVIC —
Born in Sydney, Tatiana was quickly introduced to the nomadic life, travelling between NYC and parts of Europe as a toddler before settling for a few years in the polar opposite, the swelteringly hot and barren mining town of Lightning Ridge, Australia, where her father procured, cut and sold precious opals. She returned to NYC to attend a prestigious drama school where she nurtured her passion for film, writing and the arts.
Upon returning home, she felt the need to start a modern opal jewelry company, combining her family history in the gemstone industry with her love for the arts to create Fade To Black Studio.
Her unique life and wealth of experience is reflected in her designs, which strive to imbue its wearers with an inner sense of both femininity and sophisticated individualism by blending the organic, elemental nature of opal against modern, timeless designs.
Tatiana currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
Materials & Conscience
As a company, we pride ourselves on quality and price transparency. We use materials that are made to last: We only work with solid, natural Australian opals, Fair mined diamonds, ethical and conflict free gemstones, and solid 14 karat and 18 karat gold in all of our pieces. Our precious opals are sourced as close to the earth as possible, allowing us to cut out the middleman and keep our prices reasonable, whilst using the very best materials to ensure the highest standard of quality every time.
Our skilled team of artisans respect the delicate nature of the materials at hand work consciously to minimise waste by not overproducing inventory and working around the natural, organic shapes of the stones.
Opal mining is as low scale and minimally invasive on the earth as possible. It provides much needed jobs to the local community and the miners are required to refill their mines when they are finished, often planting trees on top of the site. Because of the nature of the sandstone, within years the excavation regenerates to it's prior form.
Our designer pictured in one of the mines we source from in Lightning Ridge, where she grew up.