About Us

Painting by Artist Tim Peterson, Spearfish South Dakota

Painting by Artist Tim Peterson, Spearfish South Dakota

Shankar Jewelry’s owners, Georgette Ohayon and Phil Breland, have been traveling the far reaches of our world for the past 35 years, designing and collecting extraordinary handmade jewelry like no other.

Headquartered in the historic gold mining camp of Deadwood in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota, Georgette and Phil travel 3 to 4 months a year searching the villages and bazaars of Asia and Africa for unique gemstones and designs to use in the Shankar pieces offered through this website and their Deadwood studio.

Each Shankar and Collection Georgette piece is distinguished by meticulous attention to detail, culturally centered workmanship, and the finest gemstones direct from the cutters’ wheel. A Shankar or Collection Georgette piece connects the wearer with some of the most gifted artisans working today in cultures where personal artistic expression is still valued more highly than mass produced sameness.

We invite you to view each of these works of art and to share with us the magic of beautiful and unique jewelry.

 

The Shankar Family:  “STAAAFF”

Debbie: Our manager offers customer service par excellence; she will solve all your problems while wearing fabulous high heel shoes (a minimum of 6 inches).

Nicknames: The Bossy One, The One With The Tattoos, The One With The Heels

David: Our Certified Bench Jeweler. He had his professional training in Portland, OR and spent three years designing custom pieces under a master jeweler in Poulsbo, WA. Custom design, repairs, ring sizings, and stone cutting are some of his many specialties. 

Nicknames: Kevin, The Jeweler, The Rock Head

Phil: Mr. Travel. He loves finding the fine unusual gemstones. His second love, after Georgette, are the Tee Pee Canyon and Fairburn agates, found in and around the Black Hills of South Dakota. If you can pry Phil off the computer where he is constantly searching for the cheapest tickets to India and Nepal, he is a skilled bench worker and fine jewelry repair person.

Nicknames: Dad, The Dude, The Guy With The Ponytail

Georgette: Travel, culture, languages and design make her happy. She loves combining old cultural designs in her work to create her unique pieces for her own Collection. Please don’t get her started on speaking other languages, exercise programs or sharing her recipes.

Nicknames: Mom, The Short One, The Boss,

 

We would love to hear from you! To contact us please call (605) 578- 3808 or email us at Shankarjewelry@ymail.com

 

Store Hours

Monday- Saturday: 10:00am-6:00pm

Sunday: – Closed