Advice on opal ring.. is this real?

[sfilly]

I'll start by saying I know very very little about opals. This ring caught my eye at a consignment store in a pile of costume jewelry. The store focuses on designer bags and brand names so nobody there knew what the stones in the ring were. I was buying a bag so they just added it on for 8 bucks because its an older piece with no designer stamp on it and made out of some random metal.

The stones don't look like any of the fake opals I've seen before, they are little domes that shift from clear whiteish-blue to a white-ish purple with flakes of yellow and orange gold that are randomly placed. Some of the flakes are suspended higher than the other flakes. The backs of the stones are the same colour as the tops, so no black or grey backing on them.

They don't look like opals I've seen in the past, but also don't look like a typical fake opal because the patterns are so random within and between the stones. For the price and the metal they are in I'm assuming just really pretty fakes, but maybe someone here knows a better?

I've attached some photos fro my iphone to show the tops, sides, and the backs (peeking through the bottom)

 

[Tourmaline]

No, it's not real.

 

[chrono]

They do not look like any natural Ethiopian opals I've seen.

 

[LD]

Okay well let me preface this by saying that there is no way to tell from a photo. Opals can be very difficult to photograph and what can look strange in a photo can be very different to what you see. I suspect this is the case because your written description doesn't match the photos.

If I were you I'd take it to a local jeweller to see if they can tell you more. They may well be white opals from Australia. These typically have a white body colour and as you move them you'll see (usually) blues, greens, yellows etc.

 

[LD]

This is a similar looking Ethiopian Opal that has the glitter you describe so there's a possibility the stones are real http://www.opalauctions.com/auctions/ethiopian-opals/item-402561

 

[lambskin]

You said that the metal is not precious (gold, silver, plat). It appears that the ring is also sizable. I recall seeing rings like these sold as costume jewelry in the 70s. The gold inside the stones had a crumpled metal/foil-like appearance I do not believe that these are real opals. I am not an expert and I am not in the trade.

 

[chrono]

Lambskin is very observant to note the resizable setting. Does the setting have any hallmark to show the type and purity of metal? This sometimes can clue us in as to whether the stones are real or not but isn't definitive.