Qué buscar al comprar ópalos

Como hay muchos aspectos a considerar al comprar ópalos, una guía puede ser útil. Habiendo estado asociado con la minería del ópalo., corte y procesamiento de joyería durante más de 40 años, S, Peter Brusaschi, Estoy bien calificado para mostrarle qué buscar al elegir y comprar ópalos que se adapten a sus necesidades..

Cómo distinguir un ópalo de buena calidad. Qué buscar al comprar ópalos? El valor del ópalo por quilate o por pieza es probablemente lo primero que hay que saber, y el precio está significativamente influenciado por el ópalo. presentación, tipo, brillo, juego de colores, patrón, y falta de imperfecciones.

Significado de la piedra ópalo: Diccionario Collins

A continuación describo un análisis exhaustivo no solo de qué buscar al comprar ópalos, sino también de cómo son los diferentes tipos de ópalos y cuál se adapta mejor a su presupuesto y su personalidad..

Valor y tamaño (precio de la piedra de ópalo)

Lo primero que hay que tener en cuenta es que los valores de la piedra de ópalo se relacionan mucho con:

a. si la piedra es un ópalo sólido, un doblete, un triplete, o matriz

b. si es blanco, cristal, roca, o ópalo negro

do. el brillo de la piedra, la cantidad de color, el patrón y la falta de imperfecciones.

Como se sugiere a continuación, desplácese hacia abajo hasta donde el artículo analiza la diferencia entre estas piedras bajo el título y eche un vistazo a este artículo que he escrito sobre el tema

Tamaño se establece normalmente mediante el sistema decimal de milímetros aceptado internacionalmente. La longitud de la piedra se enumera primero seguida del ancho. (es decir. 10×8 milímetros) 10 mm es aprox. 3/8″ tabla de conversión aquí para lectores de EE. UU..

Peso se registra en Carets usando una escala especial. un 10×8 mm de ópalo pesa entre 1 a 1.75 quilates dependiendo de la altura de la piedra.

Precio de la piedra de ópalo generalmente se mide contra el valor del ópalo negro. Puede haber ópalo negro de baja calidad $50 por quilate. Ópalo azul de buena calidad de alrededor. $500 por quilate. Ópalo verde a verde – naranja hasta $1000 por quilate y más.

Las piedras con rojo dominante son los ópalos más raros., combinado con azules, verduras, amarillos y muchas variaciones pueden tener precios desde $5000 a $20,000 por quilate dependiendo del brillo de la piedra y su oscuridad de fondo. Los precios del ópalo de fuego no se discuten porque el término generalmente se aplica a los ópalos mexicanos que a menudo son de un solo color sin juego de opalescencia..

Los precios del ópalo por gramo se limitan al ópalo en bruto, que también se vende en paquetes sin peso..

Presentación de ópalos (cómo distinguir un ópalo de buena calidad)

Primero, una definición de diccionario de la piedra misma. Se ha desarrollado una carta de colores de ópalo, pero esto puede resultar muy confuso y las diferencias sutiles en los tonos del fondo y el brillo a menudo quedan en el ojo del espectador.. En mi opinión, lo mejor es estudiar la imagen detenidamente y decidir si te gusta personalmente o no y comunicarte personalmente con el vendedor.. ÓPALO

La siguiente información le brindará un resumen muy completo de toda la industria del ópalo., Si lo desea, puede pasar a la sección "qué buscar", pero si tiene algo de tiempo y considera que podría estar tomando la decisión de gastar una cantidad considerable de dinero., Los siguientes detalles le brindarán una mejor información para ayudarlo a tomar la decisión correcta..

Encontrar información sobre ópalos es mucho más fácil hoy en día que antes. 20 hace años que, antes de la era de internet. La primera publicación en Internet de www.opalmine.com estaba en 1996 y desde ese año se han hecho muchos cambios en el sitio y por supuesto, Google ha evolucionado hasta convertirse en la increíble fuente de información que tenemos hoy. (2019)

A diferencia de los viejos tiempos, Hoy en día no es tan difícil encontrar información sobre la más sorprendente de las piedras preciosas., ópalo. A menudo los ópalos están asociados con un país., a saber, AUSTRALIA que, aunque desde el punto de vista europeo es sólo un país joven, estar cerca 200 años desde que emigraron inmigrantes de esa zona.

Pero desde un punto de vista geológico, Es muy antiguo y estas fascinantes gemas permanecieron inactivas en el desierto australiano durante mucho tiempo..

Por supuesto, aborígenes, Los primeros habitantes han estado aquí desde hace miles de años., pero estaban más interesados ​​en las cosas de la vida que realmente importan. A saber, encontrar un lugar cómodo para vivir con mucha agua y comida. No estaban tan interesados ​​en las baratijas y probablemente no habrían visto el sentido de cavar en el suelo en busca de trozos de roca..

De hecho, La ciudad minera de ópalo de Coober Pedy recibió su nombre de los aborígenes y significa "hombre blanco en un agujero" y no debe haber tenido mucho sentido para aquellos primeros habitantes que la gente se molestara en cavar en el calor del interior de Australia..

Sobre todo teniendo en cuenta que las herramientas que tenían en aquellos primeros tiempos no consistían en topadoras., retroexcavadoras, y excavadoras. Fue solo un episodio de pico y pala..

Volviendo un poco al tema de "qué buscar al comprar ópalos", es bastante obvio que si va a comprar algo, es una buena idea consultar con alguien que tenga participación práctica en el artículo que se está considerando..

En este caso ópalo. Pero antes de profundizar en eso, echemos un vistazo a los tipos de ópalos que se ofrecen en varios países del mundo., porque Australia no es la única fuente.

Fuentes de ópalo e historia.

La historia del ópalo se remonta a mucho tiempo atrás en la historia.. De hecho, hasta la época de los antiguos romanos, algunos de los cuales apreciaron mucho la piedra. El origen de estas piedras de la antigüedad fue Europa.. Para ser específico, era la época moderna. Eslovaquia. Estos ópalos en el pasado eran conocidos como húngaros, pero eso fue en un momento en que Eslovaquia era parte de la potencia mundial húngara., que no es el caso hoy.

La mayoría de los ópalos de esta zona han sido extraídos.. Hay ópalos de África., Indonesia, México, Brasil, para nombrar unos pocos, y muchas de ellas son joyas muy hermosas. Sin embargo, Los fabricantes y distribuidores de ópalo saben que el ópalo australiano es el más confiable porque ha tenido una larga existencia en las áreas muy secas de este continente y es más seguro que la mayoría de los otros ópalos., muchos de los cuales, ser hidrófano, Son capaces de absorber mucha humedad y son muy porosos.. El precio del ópalo etíope por quilate no figura en este sitio porque no los vendemos y, como se indicó, no fomentamos su uso en joyería..

The color can disappear when soaked in water which is OK if the color comes back. But usually to get the color to return it has to be dried out either in the sun or under a hot which can be risky for this type of opal which can easily craze or crack.

What to know and look for when buying opals online

Internet buying of opal as with a lot of products is very convenient. Particularly if you live in New York or London or some other country a long way away from Australia. Buying direct off the internet means its easier to compare and you can avoid the high costs involved in going to a retail store where overheads are much more expensive than running a shop online.

Some background information about opal in contrast to other gems first. Unlike most gemstones, opal can be cut and polished in different ways with different presentations. Using a diamond, a sapphire, or a ruby for an example, these stones are either real or synthetic. There are no other variations except for sapphires which sometimes have been presented as doublets (in two pieces)

Either your diamond is a real diamond or a synthetic. Your emerald or sapphire is either genuine or grown in a laboratory such as the procedure developed by Pierre Gilson In recent times other laboratory gemstones have been produced which are very difficult for the novice to identify.

Ópalo, Por ejemplo, is now being produced in a laboratory and although based on a plastic process, present a very convincing look-alike that is almost impossible to detect.

To make things even worse, it is noted that even so-called respectable online sites, sell these lab opals as real. Some are more crafty by reporting that they are laboratory-produced but the explanation is often hidden in a barrage of information that is not easily noticed.

In reporting this, it is not our intention to denigrate the beauty of some of the synthetic gems. There is a place for all types of trinkets and stones including fashion jewelry and for those who cannot afford the real things, it’s an excellent alternative. As long as you are not buying something that does not live up to your expectations.

This is why it’s important to deal with an opal company with an excellent reputation earned over many years of time.

How True are online pictures of opals?

Pictures are important in knowing what to look for in buying opals. Opal is one of the most difficult items to photograph. Particularly crystal or white opal. If you put white opal in a white background it looks really sick and sometimes the color nearly disappears as you will notice with some of the dreadful pictures online.

But if you put it on a black background, the stone becomes too stark and washed out. Here the photographer must learn how to get just the right amount of light in a macro lens so that the subtle colors will show.

It’s much easier with black and boulder opal either against a black or white background. But to keep it consistent some sites including opalmine.com use black velvet backgrounds to keep the presentation consistent.

You will notice that a lot of blue opals show a flash of purple that does not exist in the opal itself. Very few cameras are capable of photographing blue opals accurately. Its necessary to try to correct this as much as possible by the seller but just keep in mind that if you are buying a blue on black opal and there is red in it that has not been explained by the seller, be sure to ask if it really is a red stone or you could be disappointed.

We have noticed that smartphone internet search tends to exaggerate the color of not just opal but all graphics. It’s a good idea if you are spending considerable money to, by all means do the search on your smartphone from wherever you are located but try to take a final look and make the order from a desktop if its possible where you will get a more accurate idea of what you are buying and it will be easier to fill in the order details.

The different ways opal is presented

Como se mencionó anteriormente, most gemstones are usually solid pieces of rough material cut and either faceted or fashioned into a dome. The only thing to determine apart from making sure you are not buying a synthetic or man-made gem, is the various qualities of the stone that makes the difference in price.

Sin embargo, opal can be presented as solids, dobletes, triplets or Andamooka Matrix, and its good to know how to identify them. Here is a clear description of what this means:

Ópalo sólido:

As the name implies, solid opal is just what it says. A solid piece of rough opal that has been cut, shaped, and polished. Usually with a dome and rarely as facets. En el caso del ópalo, round-topped or cabochon (French word for ‘head’) shapes are more practical because they are not so susceptible to breaking.

Ópalo doblete:

When a piece of rough opal is not thick enough to cut and polish as a solid, it can be set onto a dark or black background using black opal potch or brown boulder ironstone.

Calibrated doublets are often set on microscope slides. Entonces, one reason for making doublets is to make the best use of expensive rough opal by giving background support to thinner stones.

A second reason is to make the color of the opal more impressive and dynamic because the thinner and opal is on a dark background, often the brighter and more brilliant it becomes, and this is very appealing to the wearer.

Doublets are a way to provide opal for folks who cannot afford to spend thousands of dollars on solid black or boulder opals. Doublets are still genuine, non-synthetic opals at an affordable price.

Ópalo triplete.

The same principle applies to triplet opals except that the opal is usually thinner and often even brighter. The word triplet gets its name from the word triple which implies something in three sections.

Opal triplets are capped with a clear crystal top which protects the stone from wear and also makes it easier to set, particularly when the choice of setting is by claws. Its very difficult cot close claws on a doublet opal without chipping it. Much easier with a triplet.

Opal Value Guide: Cómo saber si un ópalo es sólido, doblete, o triplete

Por supuesto, Los distribuidores acreditados le dirán eso de todos modos, pero si está mirando una piedra fuera de línea, la mejor manera es tomar una foto del borde de la piedra, cárguelo en su computadora y amplíelo para que pueda ver la línea de unión si es un doblete o triplete.

La ampliación mostrará el cemento que mantiene unidas las dos o tres piezas

Si la piedra ya está engastada en un colgante o anillo, Realmente no hay forma de saberlo a menos que hagas pedazos el artículo., entonces en este caso, Tienes que confiar en la honestidad del proveedor., lo que enfatiza la necesidad de tratar siempre con un proveedor experimentado y de buena reputación..

 

Los diferentes tipos de ópalo australiano

Ópalo de roca

Los primeros ópalos encontrados en Australia según las mejores fuentes históricas que conocemos fueron descubiertos en las zonas del interior de Queensland en el noreste del continente.. El ópalo de roca fue la piedra de ópalo original encontrada en este continente a mediados del siglo XIX.

para ser específico, 'hacia el oeste' como se le llama en Australia, cerca de los pueblos de Winton al norte, Blackall hacia el sur, Quilpie mas abajo, Yowah y Koroit hacia la frontera de Nueva Gales del Sur.

Estas asombrosas gemas se encuentran como vetas de los colores del arco iris en cantos rodados de piedra de hierro marrón que pueden variar en tamaño desde metros en los campos del norte hasta el tamaño de guijarros en las áreas de Yowah y Koroit.. Muchos de los campos comparten tamaños de rocas.. Koroit for example also mines similar boulders to Quilpie and Winton.

In the aforementioned opal mines, there are different categories of opal that are presented as follows:

1. Clean faced boulder opal which can have a slight dome or a flat surface. These boulders are also cut with an undulating surface as the result of the opal cutters dental equipment following the various ups and downs of the veins being exposed.
2. These stones are top quality gems which are often sold in carats as well as in sizes. Valuation-wise, they can often be compared with the black opals of Lightning Ridge which we will discuss later.

3. Boulder opal ‘fun stones’

   

   A term assigned to them for the want of some way to describe them. These stones are cut and polished leaving some of the mother ironstone in the foreground giving an interesting contrast been the chocolate ironstone and the opal color.

4. These stones can be very interesting, the ironstone establishing for all to see that the stone is a natural gem, not in any way synthetic.
5. They often come with amazing pictures and abstract patterns that individualize them and give them personality. This type of opal particularly appeals to folks who want to steer away from tradition and display something earthier and more unique.
6. Another appeal is that they are usually a lot cheaper than the clean-faced stones. Pero por supuesto, this depends on the color and pattern of the aforesaid.
7. Boulder Opal Matrix is another variation to boulder opal. The term ‘matrix’ actually comes from the word ‘mother’ or ‘womb’ In this case the small splashes of opal color peep out from between the ironstone.
8. The ironstone becomes the mother to the opal. The color often shows throughout the face of the stone. Both the ironstone and the opal are polished with diamond tools together so that it gives a brown effect with multi-colored highlights.

Opal Value Guide:

What to be careful of when buying Boulder Opal

It is possible to present a boulder opal that is made to look like a solid opal but is, En realidad, un doblete. Manten eso en mente, like black opals, boulder opal color is only on the surface of the stone, not right throughout. The material that makes up the whole stone is the ironstone ‘mother’ which is left naturally on the back of the opal.

Usually to identify a doublet, that is an opal made by cementing a thin slice of opal onto a dark background, you look at the edge of the stone and when you see a straight line joining the opal top to the background, you can see easily that it’s a doublet unless the stone is already in a setting.

But the opal cutter, by mixing some powdered ironstone with epoxy resin, can fill the area in the middle with a mixture that looks like ironstone and leave the edge of the stone uneven. This looks for the world like a solid boulder opal but it is, En realidad, un doblete.

This is fine of course if the seller identifies it as such, pero algunos comerciantes sin escrúpulos pueden no revelar esto y usted podría estar pagando el precio de un ópalo de roca sólida y, de hecho, obtener un doblete que puede valer tan solo una cuarta parte del precio..

Eche un vistazo a la siguiente sección que describe cómo identificar las diferentes formas en que se presenta el ópalo para obtener más información sobre los sólidos., dobletes, y trillizos.

Si necesita ayuda para identificar una piedra como esta, No dude en hacer clic en el botón AYUDA al final de esta página., o deja una pregunta en el blog y Peter hará lo que pueda para ayudarte.. Los beneficios de la piedra ópalo si es australiana es que es un elemento seguro que no perderá su color..

Ópalo de cristal

El término "cristal" no es una forma técnicamente precisa de describir objetos de color claro., translúcido, u ópalo gelatinoso porque el ópalo no es una piedra cristalina. El término fue utilizado por primera vez por los antiguos mineros que necesitaban una forma de describir una piedra que no fuera opaca sino más transparente y supongo que lo primero que les vino a la mente fue quizás un jarrón o vaso de cristal..

Al desarrollar la nomenclatura del ópalo hace unos años., el comité estuvo tentado de eliminar esta palabra y reemplazarla con algo más preciso, pero decidieron conservar la terminología porque se había utilizado durante mucho tiempo y era una parte integral del vocabulario de los comerciantes y joyeros de ópalo..

Tradicional e históricamente, la mayoría de los ópalos estaban en la categoría de cristal.. Se han utilizado otros términos como ópalo blanco y ópalo de leche.. Si nos centramos en los ópalos de cristal australianos, Fueron encontrados por primera vez en White Cliffs, una ciudad en el lado de Nueva Gales del Sur de la frontera con Australia del Sur., no muy lejos de la famosa ciudad del hierro de Broken Hill.

Hubo un tiempo en que este campo de ópalo era el más grande del mundo, pero cuando se acabó el ópalo, fue reemplazado por Coober Pedy, Andamooka y otros campos circundantes como Mintabee y Lamina, todos en el sur de Australia pero existiendo más al norte hacia el centro de Australia, Alicia Springs.

El cristal de ópalo de grado medio se utiliza para fabricar los muy populares trillizos de ópalo y se ha construido una industria muy grande en torno a esa piedra basada en el suministro de Coober Pedy y el procesamiento se realiza a menudo en la ciudad capital, Adelaida, al sur..

Con qué tener cuidado al comprar Crystal Opal

El ópalo de cristal que se encuentra en varias partes del mundo, así como en algunas partes de Australia, donde su ubicación está más cerca de la costa y otras áreas húmedas, es conocido por agrietarse o agrietarse debido a su alto contenido de agua..

Áreas como Tintenbar cerca de la costa de Nueva Gales del Sur producen un cristal realmente hermoso, así como un ópalo de cristal negro, pero en la mayoría de los casos se usa con fines de joyería., al menos en la experiencia del autor, se rompen a tiempo y es mejor evitarlos.

Otros campos en Australia tienen la misma reputación y los distribuidores experimentados son conscientes de ello y evitan comerciar en ellos..

El problema es que si compras fuera de la red, No hay forma de saberlo a menos que se indique en la descripción de venta, en cuyo caso es mejor evitarlos.. You need to deal only with experienced opal distributors with a reputation for guaranteeing products and replacing them should there be a problem.

In recent years a lot of opal has come out of Africa, specifically named ‘Wello’ opal. These gems are really beautiful but can lose color if they come in contact with water and even though it is often stated that they are not cracky again, in my experience, this is not the case.

I recently cut a parcel of this opal for a customer and I could feel that it had a ‘soapy’ feel to it on the grinder and because it had to be cut using water on the diamond grinder, it lost color when the job was complete. I advised the customer to put it in the sun for a while and dry it out.

Con un poco de suerte, the color came back but this sort of result is risky. The problem is that you could spend hundreds of dollars on special settings only to have a stone that has either cracked or loses color. Better to use stones like this as specimens for a collection and not for jewelry.

So if you invest in one of these stones, you will need to be confident that you will either get your money back if it cracks or loses color, or be replaced with a secure Australian Opal.

Keep in mind too that if the crystal opal is very translucent, and if it is photographed on a dark or black background, the resultant color will give a wrong impression and will, En realidad, look more like a black opal than a crystal because the dark background will influence the color of the face of the stone.

If the item being sold is not presented with a lighter background such as the human hand, it’s probably best to request another picture. This would generally just apply if the stone is quite clear, almost glass like. If the white or crystal opal is more opaque, the background will not affect the foreground as much.

Black Opal stone

Lightning Ridge and black opal are synonymous. When this stone was first discovered in this western NSW town, again it was a challenge to know what to call it. El color, when found in the rough, was associated with black rather than white or pale potch (ópalo informe) By leaving the black potch in the background of the color, as mentioned before in the discussion about boulder opal, the result was a more stunning outstanding gem.

And because it was the black potch in the background that created the effect the decision was to call it black opal. Desafortunadamente, the term can be very confusing for the novice because it sounds like black opals are black which is anything but the case.

So just to clarify. Black opals are called such because they have a black or dark background. The foreground is full of color which can be any shade of the rainbow.

The term ‘black opal’ can rightly be shared by stones from Lightning Ridge as well as boulder opals from the Queensland field, even though traditionally the name is assigned only to the Ridge.

Reasoning on the subject though, because boulder opal is backed naturally by dark, sometimes black boulder ironstone, Se logra el mismo efecto y por eso con razón se les puede denominar ópalos negros.. Por supuesto, Esto solo se aplicaría si el fondo es lo suficientemente negro como para dar el mismo efecto que la variedad Lightning Ridge..

Opal Value Guide:

Con qué tener cuidado al comprar Black Opal

Como con todos los demás ópalos., El principal foco de atención con el ópalo negro es la calidad del color.. Se ha establecido un sistema de clasificación en función del tono corporal y el brillo de la piedra.. En la experiencia del autor., Intentar utilizar un sistema como este en línea sólo confunde al comprador..

Las variaciones entre una piedra en un gráfico como este suelen ser muy sutiles y no fáciles de identificar.. Las pantallas de computadora varían en la forma en que se muestra el color.. En nuestra opinión, its best to just look at a stone and if it appeals to your eye it is the right opal for you.

You can always request more pictures and if there is an international guarantee in place you can always return it for a replacement or cash.

The one thing you have to be careful of is if the supplier sells you an unset stone and does a design and manufacture of the stone into a finished piece of jewelry, the piece is probably not returnable because in this case other partner jewellers are involved in the process who would have been paid for their work and it is impossible to return.

Entonces, if this is your concern, make sure the stone is definitely the one you want. Even if you the shipping to inspect it before the job is done, it could be worth the outlay. Por supuesto, if the job that is completed is in itself not up to standard, there would be a correction of the problem without cost.

Ópalo matriz

There are two types of matrix opal. We have listed and explained natural boulder opal matrix above so this does not need to be repeated. But the other type is called ‘Andamooka Matrix’ and this is a totally different kind of stone. Although it is also a natural stone, it has been treated with a sugar solution that changes the stone from a pale to a dark color, giving it a black opal appearance.

De nuevo, this method of enhancing the stone is acceptable as long as the dealer tells you what it is so that you can make sure you are not paying expensive black opal prices for something that is not a true black opal.

Puede ser difícil distinguir una piedra matriz de Andamooka de un ópalo negro si eres principiante, pero en términos generales, El patrón Andamooka Matrix es casi siempre (pero no siempre) un patrón de fogata.

Esto significa que el color se presenta en finos pinchazos o puntos en lugar de un patrón más amplio.. Si es un patrón amplio, Notarás pequeñas líneas plumosas entre los patrones que no se ven en ópalo negro sólido.. Sin embargo, si el distribuidor online tiene buena reputación, estos detalles siempre se indicarán. Hoy en día la matriz Andamooka no se vende mucho, por lo que normalmente no es un problema..

Con qué tener cuidado al comprar Matrix Opal

Lo principal a tener en cuenta es no pagar el precio del ópalo negro por una piedra tratada.. Muy pocas cosas salen mal con Andamooka Matrix. No ha habido informes sobre grietas o pérdida de color..

Cómo establecer el tamaño de un ópalo.

Esto puede ser un problema en línea porque muchas imágenes en los sitios web de Opal son mucho más pequeñas de lo que parecen.. Es fácil para un procesador de imágenes fotografiar una piedra diminuta como algo así como un 7×5 mm ovalado (aproximadamente 3/16”) y haz que parezca enorme en línea e incluso si se indica el tamaño, se vuelve muy confuso.

Entonces, busque vendedores que incluyan algún objeto reconocible en una de las imágenes, como una moneda de diez centavos o la mano o el dedo humano, o una caja de cerillas en una de las imágenes para que de un vistazo puedas imaginar el tamaño de la piedra.

Habiendo dicho eso, the official way of describing the size or weight of a stone, it would be stated in millimeters which is a more internationally recognized measurement. Sin embargo, countries such as the USA and others have retained the fractions system, and this can be confusing.

If you live in the USA and are confused, just look for a live chat help button on the site and ask for more details, if both sizes are not listed.

The other more traditional way of measuring a gemstone is in terms of Carats (not to be confused with Karats which is a gold metal measurement) The Carat was originally the seed of a carob tree. The ancients noticed that each of these seeds are almost the same in weight, so it was a convenient way of measuring small things, en este caso, gemstones.

The carat system is used with opals in many cases and the carat weight is often listed but it has become more the custom with opal to just show the measurement particularly for boulder opals. Its easier to see what you are getting by the tape measure than by something that is more ambiguous.

Carat weights of stones are often not listed if the item you are buying is a piece of jewelry such as a ring or pendant. Often the stone is set before it is weighed so its impossible to know its carat weight after its set. But anyway, as stated the size tells you more than the weight.

Opal Shapes

There are many shapes such as oval, rectángulo, cuadrado, triangular, and free form traditionally the most popular is oval but in recent times the free-form shapes have become very popular, particularly in boulder opal. Freeform means that the stone is of no particular shape.

When the opal cutter processes the stone, he bases the shape on the position of the color and rather than waste precious opal but trimming it away and forcing it into a particular shape, he saves this color and just allows the stone to evolve into a shape of its own.

This practice while making it more difficult for the jeweler who has to hand-make rather than cast each piece, individualizes the stone more and offers much more design potential because the free form shape is very creative and inspires the jeweler to come up with original designs.

Habiendo dicho eso, the originality of the opal stone itself is often enough to inspire a wearer and many prefer to have a plain design and allow the gem itself to make a statement.

Opal Color play

The thing that makes opal totally different from most other gemstones is the variations in color that are presented as the stone changes position. ‘Color play’ as its called refers to this change of color phenomenon. Some opals keep full color in various shades from whatever angle you hold the stone.

This feature is what makes the difference between what is termed a ‘gem’ color and just color by itself. Online, look for graphics that show the stone from at least three directions so that you can see what the stone looks like from different angles.

Colors in opal can be any shade of the rainbow. Some opals seem to have all the colors rolled into one. Others feature theme colors such as blue, azul-verde (predominantly blue), verde azul (predominantly green),, naranja, crimson and red. Color preferences depend on your own personal likes and that is why opal is sometimes called ‘the personality stone’ because it can match your own personality in the matter of fashion.

From a dealer’s point of view, red-themed opals are the most valuable because they are rarer. Then comes orange, naranja-verde, verde, verde azul, blue and blue-green. Combined with the color of opal is the pattern. De nuevo, the rarer the pattern is, the more valuable it becomes.

Recently I was asked by a very rich person to find a harlequin red themed opal that they were willing to pay up to $100,000 para. Desafortunadamente, the sale did not eventuate because the stone could not be found.

Realistically though, most opals in demand have a broad mixed pattern and red stones in this category can be offered for around $10,000 per carat which makes a stone of three carats around the $30,000 mark.

But the beauty of opal is that there are thousands of variations of stones that can satisfy the average person without spending such a large amount. De hecho, at the opalmine site, there are nice little opal triplets with lots of colors for under $50 and they are not synthetic.

Opal Imperfections

When the opal cutter processes the stone from rough to completion, he or she is looking for flaws in the stone that has to be either cut out or sanded down. In the case of crystal and black opal, any potch lines or imperfections are unacceptable unless it is being made a feature of as is the case with boulder opal. But generally speaking, these imperfections must be removed.

Sometimes either a crack or a natural potch line will appear right through the middle of an otherwise perfect stone. This can be very disappointing for the opal cutter and usually, the decision is made to cut the stone in two along the faulty line, making two stones.

Because the two pieces are from the same opal pattern the two pieces can often be made into a pair of matching earrings.

When you are buying opal, you can keep this in mind and make sure you are not buying an inferior product. Sometimes translucent black or boulder opal can show slight marks or lines deep within the stone. Although this may take away from the value of the stone, it is quite acceptable because its part of the stone itself, it’s not a crack.

Por supuesto, if the imperfection is easily seen and is dramatic, this would take away from its value and would normally cause the opal cutter to cut the stone in two along the lines of the imperfection.

Patrones de ópalo

What are opal patterns? What to look for in buying opals involves getting to know about them. Bien, to use a piece of cloth used for making a dress as an example. The cloth might have no pattern at all, just plain cloth, or it could have a floral pattern, an abstract pattern, polka dot, striped, pictorial as in someone’s face or an animal. The list is endless. Opal is similar.

The pattern descriptions in opal are based on things in everyday life. A shape or feature might remind you of a face, an ocean scene, a celestial scene, or anything else you can think of. In the case of the harlequin pattern which is the most valuable.

The name is borrowed from the squarish spangles on the outfit of a circus clown.

Harlequin has squarish defined patterns and is extremely rare. It has become the custom in recent times to include patterns that are not always square in the Harlequin analogy. As long as the patterns have defined edges.

Some stones have partial harlequin features and although cannot be described as pure Harlequin, can be described as having these features.

How to tell if an opal is real or-Synthetic Opal

Also known as ‘LAB’ opal short for Laboratory. The creation of synthetic opal began in the early seventies. Inicialmente, it was easy to spot because even though it had good colors, the patterns gave it away as something not natural.

Sin embargo, over the years the process has been refined to the point that the average person would not be able to easily tell the difference which has created a major problem, particularly when buying opal online.

This information is not intended to denigrate the product which has its own beauty, but rather to make sure that shoppers don’t pay for something that they are not getting.

If you are happy to wear costume jewelry made of glass or other pretty trinkets, está bien. Economics often demand control of our buying habits.

Habiendo dicho eso, it is really nice to be able to say that you are wearing a jewelry item that is real, natural, right out of the ground and as mentioned in other parts of this article, there is no need to spend a huge amount of money on an opal if you are limited financially.

You can opt for a nice opal doublet or triplet or an inexpensive white opal and enjoy the brilliance of these stones without having to commit to hundreds of dollars on expensive black and boulder opals.

Since as stated it’s very difficult for the uninitiated to tell the difference, a quick way of knowing is by price. If you are being offered a solid opal as a pendant or ring or something else at a ridiculous price such as $20 or so you can pretty well guarantee that it’s synthetic or another name being ‘lab’ or ‘laboratory’ opal.

Generalmente, ethical retailers will tell you this but the problem is that the detail is often hidden in a lot of explanation which people don’t bother reading. So checking for synthetics is what to look for in buying opals if you don’t want to be disappointed.

Read the fine print and if you don’t have the time contact the seller and ask them frankly.

This article is helpful to identify synthetics and getting to know more about what to look for when buying opals

antes de comprar

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