Longtime kama'aina jewelry store Hallmark Jewelers left a void at Ala Moana Center when it closed in April, but another local jewelry business is taking its place.

Opal Fields, which operates a store at Ward Warehouse, plans to expand with a second location later this month in the space emptied by Hallmark Jewelers, which had been in business 97 years.

Tom Wheeler, owner of Opal Fields, said he plans to hire the majority of the roughly dozen employees formerly with Hallmark Jewelers to help staff his new store slated to open June 15.

"Friendly, well-known faces will be there," he said.

Opal Fields was started by Wheeler in 1984 in Wisconsin to sell black opals from Australia. The company relocated to Hawai'i in 1989 at Restaurant Row, and for the past decade has been at Ward Warehouse, which is part of Ward Centers.

Wheeler said his company long ago diversified with a broad selection of jewelry and services, though the emphasis is still on black opals.

"We're going to bring that splash of color to Ala Moana," Wheeler said.

The lease deal was approved by General Growth Properties, which owns both Ala Moana and Ward Centers.

The new Opal Fields store will be about 1,100 square feet, slightly larger than the 1,000-square-foot Ward Warehouse location.