The Rhinestone Necklace So Addictive My Best Friend Stole My Sample and Started Her Own Shop

My best friend Sarah and I have been craft buddies since college. We share heat press settings, swap bad design ideas, and laugh about how sublimation ruined our social lives.

Last summer I got my hands on the Dazzling Sublimation Metal Rhinestone Round Necklace Pendant from INNOSUB USA. The blank is metal with a ring of real rhinestones around the printable center – it looks like something from a department store counter, but costs $2.49 when you buy 100.

I pressed one with a simple monogram for myself and wore it to our weekly coffee date.

Sarah’s eyes locked on it the second I walked in. She kept touching it, turning it in the light, asking how the rhinestones didn’t fall off. By the end of coffee she was “borrowing” it to “take better photos.”

She never gave it back.

Three weeks later she texted me a screenshot of her new Etsy shop – with my exact necklace as the hero product. She had ordered 500 blanks and was already at $8,200 in sales.

We’re still friends (barely). She now buys wholesale from me because “your supplier is better,” and I tease her every time we talk.

The blank is stupidly good. The metal takes sublimation ink perfectly, the rhinestones are securely set, and the chain is adjustable. Press at 360 °F for 60 seconds with light pressure and it looks like $80 jewelry.

Customers are obsessed. They buy them for birthdays, bridesmaids, teacher gifts, or just because “it sparkles like crazy in selfies.” I sell mine for $39–$49 and the profit margin makes me smile every time.

If you have a heat press and a friend who “borrows” things, stock up before they do.

Grab the blanks here and keep them close: https://innosubusa.com/products/dazzling-sublimation-metal-rhinestone-round-necklace-pendant

Friendship tested, business approved.