More Opals......

[bright&shiny]

How fun - I absolutely love this on you! Wear it in good health.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

How fun - I absolutely love this on you! Wear it in good health.

Thank you @bright&shiny and @mellowyellowgirl
Ive never had so much fun looking down at my hand

 

[Bron357]

I will post more pictures as i take better pictures
I would like to get the hako looking like it did being Cinderella's coach when i first opened the package
I think this picture is inside by the bedroom window late afternoon
That little white line at 8 o'clock ? An inclusion maybe ? is not visible to the naked eye and the surface of the stone feels luxuriously smooth

My pleasure to share the beauty of Opals with my NZ PS Pal

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My pleasure to share the beauty of Opals with my NZ PS Pal

It is so beautiful in 1000 different ways

One day when all this craziness is over maybe my ring and your earings could meet up for ladies lunch

 

[Acinom]

Stunning opal pieces!!! Great find.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

It is so beautiful in 1000 different ways

One day when all this craziness is over maybe my ring and your earings could meet up for ladies lunch

Can I come too I'm in Sydney as well!!!!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Can I come too I'm in Sydney as well!!!!

Are you kidding !
Your bringing the lychee cake and the cups & saucers
(I think i just invited us to your place so we can ogle the jade ! )

 

[glitterata]

I followed your lead and ordered a $100 opal ring from that seller. It has a halo of colored sapphires and tiny colorless/pale blue sapphires, if the description is to be believed. It's as good in real life as it looked in the seller's pictures, and much better than it looks in my pictures. I can't believe how nice this opal is! Can it REALLY be real?

The sapphires are very nice too--some saturated reds, yellows, oranges, and pinks. It all seems too good to be true.

The sapphires fluoresce the colors they're supposed to with my little UV flashlight--red for the pink ones, orange for the yellows, nothing for the blues and whites--and they register the same as my natural sapphires with my electronic diamond tester, so I believe they're sapphires, but how can they be so cheap? Are they synthetic? Heavily treated? The larger ones look like they're maybe a quarter carat apiece, and there are 18 of them, plus a whole lot of teeny tiny white/pale blue ones.

The silver setting is tarnishing already, but I actually like the contrast between the dark metal and the bright gemstones, so I don't mind that.

Question for you opal experts (@Bron357 , @fredflintstone ): How do I keep the ring clean without damaging the opal? The sapphires are sure to get smudgy and need cleaning, but my usual cleaning method--lukewarm water with a little squirt of dishwashing liquid and a soft toothbrush--sounds like it could damage the opal, yes? So how do I clean the sapphires?

Here are some photos. The ring is even better in person.

 

[Bron357]

I followed your lead and ordered a $100 opal ring from that seller. It has a halo of colored sapphires and tiny colorless/pale blue sapphires, if the description is to be believed. It's as good in real life as it looked in the seller's pictures, and much better than it looks in my pictures. I can't believe how nice this opal is! Can it REALLY be real?

The sapphires are very nice too--some saturated reds, yellows, oranges, and pinks. It all seems too good to be true.

The sapphires fluoresce the colors they're supposed to with my little UV flashlight--red for the pink ones, orange for the yellows, nothing for the blues and whites--and they register the same as my natural sapphires with my electronic diamond tester, so I believe they're sapphires, but how can they be so cheap? Are they synthetic? Heavily treated? The larger ones look like they're maybe a quarter carat apiece, and there are 18 of them, plus a whole lot of teeny tiny white/pale blue ones.

The silver setting is tarnishing already, but I actually like the contrast between the dark metal and the bright gemstones, so I don't mind that.

Question for you opal experts (@Bron357 , @fredflintstone ): How do I keep the ring clean without damaging the opal? The sapphires are sure to get smudgy and need cleaning, but my usual cleaning method--lukewarm water with a little squirt of dishwashing liquid and a soft toothbrush--sounds like it could damage the opal, yes? So how do I clean the sapphires?

Here are some photos. The ring is even better in person.

Very nice choice.
The Opals are real, Welo Opals. The sapphires I suspect are treated but for the price I think that’s fair enough.
You can clean both the sapphires and opal with a soft toothbrush moistened with water a a dab of liquid soap. Dry with soft cloth. Don’t soak the opal in liquid (wear swimming etc) or use an ultrasonic cleaner. Opals are pretty soft so it’s more a special occasion type ring.
I think they are fabulous value for money.

 

[Bron357]

I can’t help myself and bought another one. Silly me misread the sizing so it’s a bit small for my ring finger. I’ll wear it on my pinky.

 

[glitterata]

Thank you, @Bron357 ! Love your new ring! Yes, I agree--for the price, I don't mind WHAT they did to the sapphires. Now I know what I'm getting everybody for their birthday this year...

 

[glitterata]

@Bron357 , do you have advice about what to look for when choosing an opal from that seller (or a Welo opal generally)? Is it the body color? The variety of colors in the color play? The shape or depth of the stone? Something else? Or just whatever appeals visually from the photos?

And what do you think about that seller's "black" opals? Are they probably dyed? Will they look as opaque in real life as they do in the photos? Should I stick to the crystal ones?

What about other sellers with similar-looking offerings--have you tried any others?

Thanks for your guidance!

 

[fredflintstone]

I followed your lead and ordered a $100 opal ring from that seller. It has a halo of colored sapphires and tiny colorless/pale blue sapphires, if the description is to be believed. It's as good in real life as it looked in the seller's pictures, and much better than it looks in my pictures. I can't believe how nice this opal is! Can it REALLY be real?

The sapphires are very nice too--some saturated reds, yellows, oranges, and pinks. It all seems too good to be true.

The sapphires fluoresce the colors they're supposed to with my little UV flashlight--red for the pink ones, orange for the yellows, nothing for the blues and whites--and they register the same as my natural sapphires with my electronic diamond tester, so I believe they're sapphires, but how can they be so cheap? Are they synthetic? Heavily treated? The larger ones look like they're maybe a quarter carat apiece, and there are 18 of them, plus a whole lot of teeny tiny white/pale blue ones.

The silver setting is tarnishing already, but I actually like the contrast between the dark metal and the bright gemstones, so I don't mind that.

Question for you opal experts (@Bron357 , @fredflintstone ): How do I keep the ring clean without damaging the opal? The sapphires are sure to get smudgy and need cleaning, but my usual cleaning method--lukewarm water with a little squirt of dishwashing liquid and a soft toothbrush--sounds like it could damage the opal, yes? So how do I clean the sapphires?

Here are some photos. The ring is even better in person.

All the opal needs is a dry clean clean cloth to wipe clean with if no substance is on it. If you get something on your Opal, oil, lotion, soap, condiments, rinse in hot water and wipe off with a clean dry cloth, then repeat. The sapphires, a wet toothbrush, but no soap as it can get on to the Opal & into the Opal if left on to dry. Clean water will be fine for Sapphires and leaves no film. Dabb off with clean cloth.

 

[Bron357]

@Bron357 , do you have advice about what to look for when choosing an opal from that seller (or a Welo opal generally)? Is it the body color? The variety of colors in the color play? The shape or depth of the stone? Something else? Or just whatever appeals visually from the photos?

And what do you think about that seller's "black" opals? Are they probably dyed? Will they look as opaque in real life as they do in the photos? Should I stick to the crystal ones?

What about other sellers with similar-looking offerings--have you tried any others?

Thanks for your guidance!

I think this seller has the best offerings. ive made 4 purchases now and have been delighted with them all.
Check the photos carefully. I’ve seen some rings with slightly askew prongs and mismatched stones.
With the black Opals I’m not so sure. They could be treated, a lot of them seem to show “honeycomb effect” which I dislike. I prefer the translucency of the white/blue body toned ones. Not a big fan of the yellowish body tone ones though I did buy earrings with them.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the ebay sellers with similar rings aren’t connected. Some of the other sellers don’t do photos as well and/or the stones look more “meh” to my eye.

 

[glitterata]

I think this seller has the best offerings. ive made 4 purchases now and have been delighted with them all.
Check the photos carefully. I’ve seen some rings with slightly askew prongs and mismatched stones.
With the black Opals I’m not so sure. They could be treated, a lot of them seem to show “honeycomb effect” which I dislike. I prefer the translucency of the white/blue body toned ones. Not a big fan of the yellowish body tone ones though I did buy earrings with them.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the ebay sellers with similar rings aren’t connected. Some of the other sellers don’t do photos as well and/or the stones look more “meh” to my eye.

Thank you, Bron!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

I can’t help myself and bought another one. Silly me misread the sizing so it’s a bit small for my ring finger. I’ll wear it on my pinky.

Wow !
That's a party piece
Or a day at Royal Ascot

 

[Catmom]

I can’t help myself and bought another one. Silly me misread the sizing so it’s a bit small for my ring finger. I’ll wear it on my pinky.

Oh I love this ring!

 

[Bron357]

@Bron357 , do you have advice about what to look for when choosing an opal from that seller (or a Welo opal generally)? Is it the body color? The variety of colors in the color play? The shape or depth of the stone? Something else? Or just whatever appeals visually from the photos?

And what do you think about that seller's "black" opals? Are they probably dyed? Will they look as opaque in real life as they do in the photos? Should I stick to the crystal ones?

What about other sellers with similar-looking offerings--have you tried any others?

Thanks for your guidance!

Ok, so I’ve been bad again and I wanted to check out their black opal wares. This ring I thought very pretty, for $109 US that’s a great price. Lucky no one else bid against me.
I’ll do more photos when I get it, about 3 weeks.

 

[glitterata]

Ok, so I’ve been bad again and I wanted to check out their black opal wares. This ring I thought very pretty, for $109 US that’s a great price. Lucky no one else bid against me.
I’ll do more photos when I get it, about 3 weeks.

Ha! I ALMOST bid against you. I'm glad I didn't.

 

[Bron357]

Ha! I ALMOST bid against you. I'm glad I didn't.

Ha ha. Thank you but All’s fair of course!
Ill post up my other “picks“ from the current listings. That other black opal one, similar, that has 7 bids on it is nicer than my one but I only want to win them at listing price!

 

[chroman]

Lucky no one else bid against me.

When do you start teaching an ebay masterclass?!!

 

[glitterata]

Got another ring, this time all opals. I love these stones so much!

I would love to buy some similar quality Welo opals loose to set in higher quality settings. Does anyone know where to find them at comparable prices? @Bron357 , any advice? I guess I could stalk the auctions, buy some rings, and take them apart, but that seems inefficient.

Another question: Are high quality Welo opals much better than these? If I find better ones, will I be blown away? Or will they just be a little nicer and a lot pricier?

 

[Cinders]

Got another ring, this time all opals. I love these stones so much!

I would love to buy some similar quality Welo opals loose to set in higher quality settings. Does anyone know where to find them at comparable prices? @Bron357 , any advice? I guess I could stalk the auctions, buy some rings, and take them apart, but that seems inefficient.

Another question: Are high quality Welo opals much better than these? If I find better ones, will I be blown away? Or will they just be a little nicer and a lot pricier?

I think this is one of the rings I had been eyeing! How does it feel to wear? I was a little concerned about the width with the opals on each side. It's very lovely & I'm thrilled to see it (sort of) IRL!

 

[glitterata]

I think this is one of the rings I had been eyeing! How does it feel to wear? I was a little concerned about the width with the opals on each side. It's very lovely & I'm thrilled to see it (sort of) IRL!

It's a big ring, and the prongs on the very edges are a bit scratchy in between my fingers, but not too bad. They have this style pretty often--I think there's one available now, in fact.

 

[Cinders]

Yes, they do! I foolishly hastily bid on & won a different ring though, so I need to be better behaved right now. Plus, it seems like they are not listing many Welo opals, which I did not realize until it was too late. They describe them as fire opals & I think those tend to cost less overall. I quite like fire opals. I'm just frustrated with myself for making such a poor decision & I don't even love the ring! (I kept losing the auctions so it triggered the competitive impulse to not lose yet another, ugh.)

Enjoy your ring!

 

[Bron357]

I’ve looked around at other vendors with Welo Opals and the quality is definitely variable. Jim McCormick has a few Welo Opals but the prices are very high. They are however very nice examples. I prefer to wait and watch with Milano to buy what I like at bargain prices.
My Almond Blossom ring is an exceptional example but I paid many thousands for that ring.
I also decided to try an amethyst ring, just for fun. Again I don’t know if it’s hydrothermal quartz (lab) or natural but for $80 it’s just for fun. My mum buys those Swarovski rings, hundreds of dollars, and they are glass and base metal. I know what I prefer!

 

[fredflintstone]

Got another ring, this time all opals. I love these stones so much!

I would love to buy some similar quality Welo opals loose to set in higher quality settings. Does anyone know where to find them at comparable prices? @Bron357 , any advice? I guess I could stalk the auctions, buy some rings, and take them apart, but that seems inefficient.

Another question: Are high quality Welo opals much better than these? If I find better ones, will I be blown away? Or will they just be a little nicer and a lot pricier?

Welo Opals are like any other stone, the better the quality the higher the price.

A Welo Opal for say $100.00 a carat would be an easy $1000.00 or more a carat if Aussie and that is wholesale pricing. Retail of that Welo Opal would also be $1000.00 a carat at a high end jeweler B & M mounted. I used to sale them retail for that. I've seen them wholesale up to $350.00 a carat, though that was with large American wholesalers (won't mention names, but many here are familiar with those names) whose prices were high to begin with, yet the trade bought them, I did not. You pay for what you get.

 

[glitterata]

Welo Opals are like any other stone, the better the quality the higher the price.

A Welo Opal for say $100.00 a carat would be an easy $1000.00 or more a carat if Aussie and that is wholesale pricing. Retail of that Welo Opal would also be $1000.00 a carat at a high end jeweler B & M mounted. I used to sale them retail for that. I've seen them wholesale up to $350.00 a carat, though that was with large American wholesalers (won't mention names, but many here are familiar with those names) whose prices were high to begin with, yet the trade bought them, I did not. You pay for what you get.

@fredflintstone, where is a good place for someone not in the trade to look for nice, unset Welo opals? Will I be able to find any as good as the in my rings for similar prices? Or is it a good idea just to buy Milano jewelry, take the opals out, and reset them?

 

[fredflintstone]

@fredflintstone, where is a good place for someone not in the trade to look for nice, unset Welo opals? Will I be able to find any as good as the in my rings for similar prices? Or is it a good idea just to buy Milano jewelry, take the opals out, and reset them?

I could not say how good the quality is on Milano, Welo Opals they use in their jewelry, but if you are paying $20 a carat or so, they are not the quality of much higher priced Welo Opal. I’m sure they are still very nice commercial stones though. Great thing about Welo Opal is it is reasonable and even the better commercial quality stones are very pretty.

The big problem is most people do not know how to photograph any Opal well enough to show their true colors. Most pictures and video use way too much light and that washes the colors out of white or whitish crystal Opal to the camera. So, it is hard to judge.

As far as where to get great Opals, I used to get mine from an Ethiopian dealer that would sale only to the trade. Your best bet is to ask people here. I'm retired and just don't keep up with all the sellers many buy from here.

Sorry, I wish I could be of more help.

 

[glitterata]

I could not say how good the quality is on Milano, Welo Opals they use in their jewelry, but if you are paying $20 a carat or so, they are not the quality of much higher priced Welo Opal. I’m sure they are still very nice commercial stones though. Great thing about Welo Opal is it is reasonable and even the better commercial quality stones are very pretty.

The big problem is most people do not know how to photograph any Opal well enough to show their true colors. Most pictures and video use way too much light and that washes the colors out of white or whitish crystal Opal to the camera. So, it is hard to judge.

As far as where to get great Opals, I used to get mine from an Ethiopian dealer that would sale only to the trade. Your best bet is to ask people here. I'm retired and just don't keep up with all the sellers many buy from here.

Sorry, I wish I could be of more help.

Thank you, Fred!