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Help! Solid opal or doublet?

Bron357

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Relax, it’s a Solid AND very beautiful.
it needs a gentle clean, both sides. Just use a soft toothbrush and ordinary water. Mild soap is ok, rinse well. No chemical cleaners and no ultrasonic cleaner.
you can use an impregnated cleaning cloth to polish off the tarnish from the gold setting.
 

Pinkmartini87

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@Bron357 Just curious, how much do you think an opal of this size (about an inch in length) is worth? This is my first foray into opals and I’m quite excited!
 

GliderPoss

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Oooh it's lovely - more pics please!!!

Looks a bit similar to a pendant I have so I'm keen to learn more. Mine was about $AU150 from an antiques sale but I suspect it's worth more. :think:
 

T L

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Nice opal!!!
 

Pinkmartini87

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@GliderPoss and @T L Thanks! But sadly it’s not mine. I was planning to bid on the auction today but things got crazy at work and I couldn’t it went for about just over $360 so @GliderPoss i think you did really well pricewise with yours! Would love to see a photo of your opal if you have a moment!
 

GliderPoss

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@GliderPoss and @T L Thanks! But sadly it’s not mine. I was planning to bid on the auction today but things got crazy at work and I couldn’t it went for about just over $360 so @GliderPoss i think you did really well pricewise with yours! Would love to see a photo of your opal if you have a moment!

These are both mine - the one I'm referring to is on the right hand side. Seems to have similar leaves on the setting. It's a solid crystal opal - can look right through it when held up to the light.

677939
 

Pinkmartini87

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@GliderPoss how lovely! Thank you for sharing. I especially love the fierce red flashes of color in the left one, and the right one reminds me of the magical Aurora Borealis. They look sort of like fraternal twins!

Hope you enjoy wearing them—I can see them pairing well with something causal or something fancy!
 

jordyonbass

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Relax, it’s a Solid AND very beautiful.
it needs a gentle clean, both sides. Just use a soft toothbrush and ordinary water. Mild soap is ok, rinse well. No chemical cleaners and no ultrasonic cleaner.
you can use an impregnated cleaning cloth to polish off the tarnish from the gold setting.

Hi @Bron357 :wavey:

Just trying to find the telltale signs of a solid that you can see in the photos? I don't think it is a triplet as the cap can cause a shadow effect when photographed, but other than that I feel like this could be either a doublet or solid (unless my phone isn't showing something that you can see).
 

OpalGalaxy

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@Pinkmartini87 The back looks like its a solid opal - doublets usually have either an ironstone, potch (colourless opal) or hard black plastic backing. The back of that does not look like any of those. Also you can tell some different colouring in the back which all point to signs of a solid opal. Looks very nice curious to know the size and weight of it if you want to know an estimated value!
 

OpalGalaxy

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@Pinkmartini87 The back looks like its a solid opal - doublets usually have either an ironstone, potch (colourless opal) or hard black plastic backing. The back of that does not look like any of those. Also you can tell some different colouring in the back which all point to signs of a solid opal. Looks very nice curious to know the size and weight of it if you want to know an estimated value!

Also more photos would help too :)
 

Bron357

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Hi @Bron357 :wavey:

Just trying to find the telltale signs of a solid that you can see in the photos? I don't think it is a triplet as the cap can cause a shadow effect when photographed, but other than that I feel like this could be either a doublet or solid (unless my phone isn't showing something that you can see).

youre much more expert than me!
i figured it was not a triplet, no dome cap and more likely a solid as the back isn’t perfect, showing uneven colour potch.
It would be a sneaky and deceptive seller who went to the trouble of fashioning a piece of potch backing to look like that!
but as we all know, anything is possible these days.
 

jordyonbass

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youre much more expert than me!
i figured it was not a triplet, no dome cap and more likely a solid as the back isn’t perfect, showing uneven colour potch.
It would be a sneaky and deceptive seller who went to the trouble of fashioning a piece of potch backing to look like that!
but as we all know, anything is possible these days.

Colourless, black potch is often used as the backing when making doublets so it will appear to have a natural Opal back, because it does. So unfortunately seeing natural Opal on the back isn't always an indicator that the stone is solid. I wouldn't say it is sneaky, but rather a good way to make use of colourless black potch material that would otherwise have no value. I had been given a whole lot of doublets to cut that had been made like this a few years ago, large pieces of black potch with a big flat side and thin crystal colour bars glued to each piece.

This is largely why I sell mostly loose Opals and very little Opal jewelry, especially anything with a bezel. Buyers are very wary of the solid/doublet/triplet issue, so it's best that I present a product where that can easily be determined by a buyer upon receiving.

@OpalGalaxy, good to see you here as well mate :mrgreen:
 

Pinkmartini87

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@jordyonbass @OpalGalaxy @Bron357 Thank you all for taking the time to comment and give your opinions!

Unfortunately I forgot to bid on the auction for the opal that day as work got busy. Too bad, would have really loved to buy it (it went for just over $350 which IMHO was a good price)
 

paragon1234

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@Pinkmartini87 I think this is a massive coincidence, but I think I just bought the opal pendant in this thread! I saw a 9ct gold opal pendant on eBay from a UK seller, loved the colours, and when I googled to try to find out more about this vintage style I saw your photo and thought it looked remarkably similar.

Now that I have it in hand I think it's the same one!

The person I bought it from says she got it from a fair a few years ago. When you were looking at the auction was the seller in the UK?

The only difference I can see between my pendant and your photo is that mine has a leaf missing on the right hand side and it's cleaner.

Could it be possible this is not a real opal and there are duplicates out there? Or maybe you did buy it and I just bought it from you.

I'm thinking up all sorts of crazy theories.
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paragon1234

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By the way it is not see through from the back and I can't tell whether it's a doublet or solid.

@OpalGalaxy I'd love to get an estimate of it's worth as a solid opal and as a doublet please. It measures 2cm by 1.4cm.
 

MMtwo

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@Pinkmartini87 I think this is a massive coincidence, but I think I just bought the opal pendant in this thread! I saw a 9ct gold opal pendant on eBay from a UK seller, loved the colours, and when I googled to try to find out more about this vintage style I saw your photo and thought it looked remarkably similar.

Now that I have it in hand I think it's the same one!

The person I bought it from says she got it from a fair a few years ago. When you were looking at the auction was the seller in the UK?

The only difference I can see between my pendant and your photo is that mine has a leaf missing on the right hand side and it's cleaner.

Could it be possible this is not a real opal and there are duplicates out there? Or maybe you did buy it and I just bought it from you.

I'm thinking up all sorts of crazy theories.
IMG_20201202_145255__01.jpg
IMG_20201202_145242.jpg
IMG_20201202_145730__01.jpg
IMG_20201202_145821__01.jpg IMG_20201202_145853__02.jpg

I think you're right - the patterns in the potch on the back match. Hold it up to the light and you may see translucent light through the opal?

PS: It's a very lovely opal. I love the red flashes.
 
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paragon1234

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That is a glorious stone. :)

I have never seen an opal like this in person before. It shows a lot more red than in the video. Must be something about my hob extractor lights :D (which needs a clean now that I review the video!)
 

paragon1234

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Can anyone please give me a rough value of this pendant? I think I got it at a very reasonable price and I hope I'm not wrong... Maybe @jordyonbass ?
 

jordyonbass

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Can anyone please give me a rough value of this pendant? I think I got it at a very reasonable price and I hope I'm not wrong... Maybe @jordyonbass ?

@paragon1234 It's hard to say for the Opal without knowing if it is solid or not as that can greatly affect price. I'm a lapidary, so jewelry costs are not something I specialise in unfortunately. I'm just a simple Opal cutter :mrgreen:


I think it might actually be against forum policy for me to do so as a trade member as well, so there is that too.
 

paragon1234

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Is it signed? Marcus & Co. or Walton & Co.?

No I can't see any markings other than a 9ct on the bail. I took some more photos today with my DSLR to show better close ups. Google tells me it's in the style of Rhoda Wager with the leaves and flowers. If you can spot anything else that I've missed that would be great.
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MMtwo

Ideal_Rock
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No I can't see any markings other than a 9ct on the bail. I took some more photos today with my DSLR to show better close ups. Google tells me it's in the style of Rhoda Wager with the leaves and flowers. If you can spot anything else that I've missed that would be great.
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DSC_3131.JPG DSC_3126.JPG DSC_3128.JPG
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That opal is pretty epic. I would pay an appraiser for an estimation. My gut feeling is that this is not an "every day" opal.
 

yssie

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I see a fair amount of what looks like crazing in the top view, but nothing of the sort on the underside... Wouldn’t crazing convey to the underside of a solid stone? That makes me think doublet, at least. But I'm not an expert.

Honestly, there is also the reality that a solid stone of this size, with this colour play, most likely would not have been missed by enough eyes to wind up selling for a bargain bin price on a public auction site. It's not impossible - just, I think, quite unlikely.

Agree that an appraisal would be the surest way of settling these questions!
 
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Pinkmartini87

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If I remember the price this went for in auction, I think you got a good deal.

However, I’ve since then seen several similar variations of this same design with opals. That, and combined with the low carat of the gold, makes me suspect this is not a super pricy opal and I agree with @yssie that a doublet is more likely.

When I think of the perfect luxe opal I think about the Cartier opal ring that @missy has. https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/1972-cartier-black-opal.166505/

@paragon1234 In your case, an opal with this much color play if solid would most likely be snatched up by a designer like Cartier, or at least be set in higher carat gold or a more expensive setting.

Does not detract from the incredible beauty of the piece however—you are lucky to own it!
 

2Neezers

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I just saw this pendant (when searching google images for a different opal) and the 9k setting reminded of the one in this thread. The opal in the below listing is listed as a doublet. That doesn’t mean the gorgeous opal above is, but I just thought it was a good reference.
 
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