Opal Jewelry
Opal jewelry!……. Peter has been processing opal in Australia for the last 40 years or so and has put together a gallery of his best productions at this site.
If you just want to see what is for sale, you can just go HERE
If you want to learn a lot more about the opal stone and the way it is presented as a jewelry item, read on.
You will learn how to find the finger size you need if you are considering purchasing a ring.
You will learn about pendants and their chains as well as bracelets and the different styles of earrings and what to do if you don’t have pierced ears.
Putting aside the ‘opal’ word for a moment, this term ‘Jewelry’ can be a pain. It’s one of those words that folks find difficult to spell.
Is it jewelry, jewellery, jewlry, jewellry, or what? Fortunately, Google understands our limitations in this area and you can pretty well type in any of these words and it will give you an accurate result.
But OPAL jewelry, that’s another matter. When you combine opal and jewelry it should be obvious what you are searching for but if you just search for ‘opal’ it can get confusing. There are so many things named ‘opal’ nowadays that the focus has been taken away from the gemstone itself.
There is opal fuel. Opal basketball, Opal services, Opal care, and of course the term is used as a Christian name.
I actually thought that Oprah Winfrey’s first name had something to do with Opal but according to this article it’s a Hebrew name meaning ‘fawn’
But to focus back to the opal gemstone first what does the term mean and what is its appeal when associated with jewelry (American spelling) or jewellery? (U.K and Australian spelling)
Opal is a gemstone consisting of hydrated silica, typically semi-transparent and showing many small points of shifting color against a pale or dark ground. A dictionary definition as follows:
The 1590s, from Middle French opalle (16c.), from Latin opalus (Pliny), supposedly from Greek opallios, possibly ultimately from Sanskrit upala-s “gem, precious stone.” Used in Middle English in Latin form (late 14c.).
Various types of opal jewelry
Like all jewelry, opal is designed to adorn the neck as a pendant, hanger, or necklace, the finger as rings, the ears as earrings or the garment as brooches.
In the line of popularity, from our point of view based on online sales, pendants are by far the most popular because they are often purchased as gifts and unlike rings do not have to be a particular size.
Opal Jewelry – Pendants
As mentioned, Pendants don’t have to be sized. Chains usually come in either 18” (approx. 45 mm) or 16” (approx. 40 mm) if worn as chokers.
The most popular is 18” and we use this as a standard. If you prefer the choker size please let us know.
The choice in opal pendants is immense of course and you can only decide by spending time at the opalmine jewelry store online and take a look.
If you want to ask a question just click on the pink “offline, leave a message” box on the bottom right of each page. Peter will get back to you promptly.
If you are buying a gift for someone, you could think about the type of person in question. Does this person like traditional or ‘old fashioned’ concepts of dress styles and ideas, or do they take a more modern adventurist approach to life?
Do they like jewelry that looks a bit like what you see in the showcase at a jewelry store. Or do they like something more unique, perhaps with a more ‘out of the earth’ look?
With this information, Peter will be able to assist, or you can decide for yourself if you know the person well enough.
Opal Jewelry – Rings
Rings are next in popularity but the buyer must go to the effort of finding out the right finger size.
Finger sizes are different depending on your country. The full explanation is here but if this looks a bit complicated there is another way of doing it which we can help you with and it’s not difficult.
It can be done at home by using the method described here. We can find out the size in jewellers terms as long as we get the diameter which can be done with a simple ruler. In millimeters preferably.
All you need to do is “borrow” an existing ring from the person you are giving the gift to someone. Or if it’s for yourself, just use your own ring. Its just a matter of laying it on a piece of paper on a table and measuring across the inside area of the ring like this:
You will notice that the straight lines of the ruler don’t fit exactly into the round gold so allow an extra millimeter to make up for that.
So, in our example, this ring measures 16mms, plus one, making 17 mm. On the chart under the European column, the closest to that is 17.1 which means in British terms, its size “n”.
In USA terms the closest is 17.3 which is size ‘7’ so the ring is size N or 7 which is accurate enough. But you don’t have to bother with that. All we need is the diameter and we can work it out from there.
Opal Jewelry – Earrings
Earrings come in two basic shapes. Either the gem is attached to the ear itself (studs) or they dangle like a pendant (drop earrings)
There are examples of both on this site. Most girls have pierced ears but some prefer not to do that so if you prefer screw or clamp settings, in most cases the earrings can be changed to suit.
Again, if you need to talk about that, go to the pink box at the bottom right.
Opal Jewelry-Bracelets
Most of our bracelets consist of multiple or clusters of opals. Some have a single large opal.
Most of them fit most sized wrists because fitting, in this case, is not as crucial as with a ring on a finger, but if you are concerned about this matter again go to the pink box.
Opal Jewelry – Brooches
Again, most of our brooches have more than one stone but there are some single settings as well.
The turtle brooch to the left is one of our most popular items, particularly for folks from Asia who consider turtles very special.
The cute little opal box serves as the ‘mother’ to the brooch and there is an attachment at the back of the head so that it can be used as a pendant as well as a brooch. It comes with a free chain and free shipping of course.
