New to Colored Stones (Opals) - Opinions on this Ring?

[TwinMomOC]

Hi everyone,

This is my first time in this forum, as I'm completely new to colored stones. I've recently been fascinated by opals and love them in vintage / art deco settings. I'm looking for a pretty statement piece, but I'm on a budget and do not know where to even begin.

I came across this ring and while I love it, I have no idea if it's a decent opal or not. Can any opal experts give me any input? The listing states that it's a solid Australian opal that is over 3 carats and measures 10 mm by 12mm.





Thanks!

 

[DDOC]

Australian Opal, average to very average quality.
Probably about $120/$130 per carat aussie dollars here (US$100), cheaper on the fields.
I've seen it for around $80 per carat.(US$50)
Pic below is around $220 per carat, 3.77 cts
The group pic is below average material that would sell fro around $40 per carat aussie, or less.
The big oval is 20.00 cts

 

[Bron357]

Hi, I'm an Australian and while not an opal expert, I'm an opal lover. Firstly, opals are soft ie Mohos 6/7 so they are easily abraided and therefore not suitable for an everyday ring. Opals also don't like hand lotion, oils, soap and never clean them with a chemical solution or ultrasound. Opal come 3 ways solids ie all opal and doublets and triplets. The later are assembled gems using layered opal slices to get the "look". Then they come in white, black, crystal,Boulder and jelly. These are background or base colours and White is most common, black is most expensive. Black opal actually has a dark grey base colour. Crystal opal is translucent, jelly even more clear and Boulder is streaks or lines of opal in matrix ie rock. Most common colour plays are green and blue. Then orange, yellow and purple. Most desirable colour is red. A great opal shows all colours in a bright and lively way. Opals are reasonable brittle and can chip, they are also prone to cracking or crazing. Never store opals in a hot dry environment. Any shop window display of opal jewellery will include a glass of water! Ethiopian opals are all jelly type and normally with a yellowish base, they are apparently very suspectible to cracking. Hope this helps.

 

[Bron357]

this is my opal pendant. Not a great opal but it's 7cm long by 4 cm wide and 8mm deep.

 

[aprilzephyr]

I adore the ring setting!

Opals are appreciated most for their color of play - warm colors being more desirable than cool colors (green being the most common color) and the livelier /brighter the display of colors, the more desirable it is. Based on the one photo, this opal looks ordinary, but that said, opals are notoriously hard to photograph! Edited to add that I agree it looks to be of Australian origin.

I would buy this ring for style (and maybe its gold value) rather than buying it for the opal. The positive is that if something ever happens to the opal, it shouldn't be too expensive to replace.