Opal

[myxel]

Hi there,
Recently I lost a piece of jewelry that belonged to my Grandmother who received it from my Grandfather. It was two rings that had been put together. It had a very beautiful opal and a pearl on it. I was wondering if anyone on here knew of a good place to find high quality opals? Im trying to find pieces of this ring and hopefully put it back together again. The opal was oval in shape and looked clear until you looked from an angle and it was bright blue and green inside. I dont know if this would constitute as a high quality opal or not but I dont know where to get another one similar. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mastercutgems]

Hello Myxel

It sounds like the typical crystal opal that has blue and green flash. It should not be an expensive gem; unless it is of a large size like 10x12mm or so; you just want enough translucence for the blue and green to show as with many crystal opals until you give it a black or darker backing you lose the coloring of the gem; higher domes can many times bring that out as it gives the light a chance to roll around the inside of the crystal and show the play of color; many Australian and some of the Tanzanian opals show that play of color in a somewhat crystalline composition.
If you get a chance to go to any gem shows in your area I am sure they will have something you like in person as buying opal on line is a very difficult thing to do. You will really need to see it in person and lay it in the ring to see how it performs in that mount.

I hope this helps.

Most respectfully;

Dana

 

[Pandora II]

Try Rick Martin at Art Cut Gems - opal is one of his special interests.

www.artcutgems.com