Inherited Opal Rings

[piccolascimmia]

I recently inherited 2 opal rings from my mother. She wore them frequently and didn''t baby them. The 3 stone ring I love wearing, and just need to get it sized to wear it more often. The opals on that 3 stone ring seem uneven, as if they''re worn down? They feel a little rough to the touch. I know I need to be careful with them, but not sure how that should affect how much I wear it?

The other cocktail ring I know I''d rarely wear, and received permission from my father to make it into something I''ll wear more often. I was thinking of using the diamonds in a DBTY type necklace, with the opal as a pendant on the necklace. I wonder if the halo diamonds are too small to work into a DBTY type necklace? I doubt they''re cut well. It''s so hard to tell when I can''t clean the ring as I would my engagement ring.

Should I pay someone to clean/repair or appraise them? And does anyone know of an Atlanta based jeweler who works with opals frequently?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Largosmom]

What a nice legacy, wish I had some advice for you, but maybe someone else will.

My dad gave me an opal from a trip to Australia and I had it set sideways as a simple slide type of pendant that I wear on an omega chain and it''s alwaya gotten comments.

Laura

 

[chrono]

Wearing opals requires a lot of care but since it''s already worn down somewhat, it really doesn''t matter all that much. I''m not sure if there''s anything else you can do at this point other than to continue wearing and enjoying it. Just no cleaners, steamer and ultrasonic cleaners. I have seen some jewellery cleaners that actually say they are safe for opals which you might be able to use.

The diamonds in the halo look rather smallish and may not be suitable for a DBY necklace. If you wear earrings, what about a cluster style earring? Can you convert the opal + halo into a pendant? That way, you can keep everything intact and still get an opal suite to wear.

 

[oddoneout]

Beautiful rings.

 

[ringthings]

I LOVE the ring on the right, and wouldn''t change a thing. It''s a gorgeous antique setting, and I wouldn''t touch it.. I''d wear that puppy all the time! If anything, I''d personally opt to remake the ring on the left (3 stone) into perhaps 3 pendents. But, it is unique and pretty the way it is.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Lovely rings!

I recently reset an opal ring my mom gave me (thread here) and I can see a few scratches on the surface. Thankfully she took pretty good care of it, and I don''t wear it often (and am very careful when I do). I love the idea of making the larger opal into a DBTY pendant - I would probably go with the vendor''s diamonds though (BGD or WF both do lovely DBTYs - I have one from BGD that I adore).

One thing I heard is that opals can get dried out and a little olive oil rubbed in helps - I don''t know if it''ll do anything if the opal is scratched up, but it might smooth out the surface a bit? Could be worth a try

 

[Stone Hunter]

Those are very nice!! I''d probably try to make the larger ring into a pendant but leave the halo around it. The stones might be damaged by a jeweler removing them. Then of course you could hang it on a DBTY necklace or a plain necklace.

TFS!!

 

[y2kitty]

I love these rings and wouldn''t change a thing.

 

[LD]

Ok, first things first! Let''s try a little clean and see how you feel about the rings/settings then. Get some room temperature water, tepid (not cold or hot). Get a baby soft toothbrush and some washing up liquid. Put a tiny drop of the washing up liquid on the toothbrush and then dip it in your tepid water. Then gently brush the setting getting right in between the cracks. The water and washing up liquid won''t damage the opals at all (unless they''re doublets or triplets then you have to be careful with water getting between the layers).

Next step: 3 stone ring. Are some of the prongs missing? I''d also get the jeweller to check out the whole setting when he does the resizing. The ring would also benefit from a polish - it''ll look totally different once, clean, repolished and brought back to new!

Larger ring: If you know you won''t wear it as a ring, then I think taking the head off completing and adding a bale to turn it into a pendant is a lovely idea. Again, this needs repolishing and re-rhodium plating. The darkness you see between the diamonds is probably a combination of needing a clean and need to be re-rhodiumed. If your jeweller is skilled, it might be worth taking the diamonds out, giving them a really good clean and then getting into the nooks and crannies of the setting to polish it back up before putting the diamonds back in. I reckon you''ll be amazed at the difference and again, it should look like new!

I love Opals and as they''re inherited items, you should wear and enjoy them! Please post photos when you''ve done whatever you decide to do, won''t you?