repeat pic -> Larimar and Opals

[Buena Girl]

hi,
I posted this pic in another thread. I thought I would add it to the colored gemstones folder.

The pendant is Larimar and the round stones are opals. The colors blew me away in person!!!

The Larimar looks a bit washed out in the pic due to my camera flash.

There''s a little more info on page 2 of this thread.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

Cool photos. Are you sure those are opals? I've never seen those body colors before.

Do the strands feel light, or heavy?

 

[Buena Girl]

Oh, no! I don''t know enough about gemstones to tell the difference. The "opals" are only 4mm each, but I would have to say the strands feel light. I bought them from Opex Opal. They had a rainbow of colors available. The price depended on which color was purchased. I''m looking at the receipt now and it says 4mm SymBeads. Do you think that means they were simulated?

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 8/22/2005 2:16:24 PM
Author: Buena Girl
The ''opals'' are only 4mm each, but I would have to say the strands feel light. I bought them from Opex Opal. They had a rainbow of colors available. The price depended on which color was purchased. I''m looking at the receipt now and it says 4mm SymBeads. Do you think that means they were simulated?

USUAL DISCLAIMER: you can''t ID gems from a photograph. But...

Like Richard Sherwood, I''ve never seen natural opals with those body colors in many years of opal experience.

I do know that Opex has been supplementing its line of natural opals with synthetics in the past few years. It may even be carrying some of the new imitation opals trade-named "Opalite" which confusingly is also the name of a type of natural opal without play of color.

There''s a type of man-made "opal" (experts refuse to call it a synthetic because it has no water content, unlike natural opal) that has fantastic play of color but is feather-light. I imagine it could be tinted to a "rainbow" of body colors but don''t know for sure. Just some ideas...

Richard M.

 

[valeria101]

Date: 8/22/2005 2:16:24 PM
Author: Buena Girl

Do you think that means they were simulated?

I think so... and surely hope you didn''t have to pay anywhere close to what such stuff would cost if natural. The comment reffers to the dark beads, assuming they are black with some play of color, the pink material does not have any natural equivalent I know of.

The good part is they seem very cute

and I can''t say I get to see ''syntetic'' (quotation marks used to keep in line with what Richard says) opal beads all that often. And I really have only encountered one or two strands of natural black opal with good play of color in total. Of course, not that good... As far as I know even Gilson Opal is not all that oftenmade into strands (never seen one).

This is about all I know

 

[gemnut]

Since you guys mentioned it, can someone tell me a little more about Gibson opals? I was recently gifted an absolutely beautiful ring that I thought was opal until I found out that the certificate said Gibson Opal. I researched it enough on the net to find out that it is a man-made stone, but it''s just so beautiful that I''m having a hard time believing that it''s not valuable!

By the way, Buena Girl, natural or manmade, those necklaces look absolutely yummy!!

Gemnut

 

[njc]

I agree with GemNut... no matter what they are still gorgeous and im STILL jealous!

As i was walking around yesteday i was trying to find something to go with this pendant (ring or earrings)... which seems to be the same color as your beads and why i am jealous... so now im a little curious. But my mom got it appraised once and it is real opal... so who knows!

And random question... are you an October baby?

 

[Richard M.]

You''ll have better luck learning about those opals if you Google "Gilson" instead of "Gibson."

There''s a source of information HERE

Gilson opals were first made in the 1970s and were among a number of man-made stones emanating from Dr. Pierre Gilson''s French lab. He is one of several persons credited with synthesizing emerald. He also manufactured turquoise and several lab-made stones I can''t recall at the moment.

There are now many types of "synthetic" opals on the market from Japan, Russia and probably other sources. Controversy swirls in gemological circles over whether they''re true synthetics, corresponding to natural precious opal in every respect.

Richard M.

 

[gemnut]

OK, Richard, don''t spank me for the typo!

Thanks for the link, nice pics but it still doesn''t answer my question regarding the value of a Gilson black opal ??

Gemnut

 

[Richard M.]

No spanking intended!

Just Google Gilson Opal or Gilson Opal Price and you should find lots of people selling it and prices for comparison with yours. Value depends on many factors: size, body color, intensity of color play, imperfections if any, etc.

Richard M.

 

[Buena Girl]

Date: 8/22/2005 3:51:06 PM
Author: njc
I agree with GemNut... no matter what they are still gorgeous and im STILL jealous!

As i was walking around yesteday i was trying to find something to go with this pendant (ring or earrings)... which seems to be the same color as your beads and why i am jealous... so now im a little curious. But my mom got it appraised once and it is real opal... so who knows!

And random question... are you an October baby?

Oh, I L

VE the colors of that opal!!! You''re right. I think the beads would match really well. Did you see the large ones they had for sale there which were half drilled so that they could be made into earrings?

No, I''m not an October baby, but I have adored opals since I was a little girl.

 

[Buena Girl]

Thanks for the info everyone! What would a fair price have been if these are man-made opals? Their retail price for 1 blue or pink 4mm bead is approximately $3.30. I paid approximately $1.30 for each 4mm bead, which they said was their wholesale price.

For future purchases, what is the best way to tell the difference between real and man-made opals? Just feel how heavy they are? Would I be able to ask a jeweler to tell me if one was real or man-made? Do most jewelers usually have the tools/knowledge to tell the difference?

 

[Buena Girl]

Any opinions on the price I paid per 4mm bead? Thanks!!

 

[fatafelice]

I don't know much about synthetic opals, but I do think that seems a little high ($1.30/bead) for something that is not a real stone.

For comparison's sake, real opal beads are hugely expensive...or at least that is what I found when I was looking a few months ago for a mother's day gift.

These are listed as $8/ct. for 6mm rounds (which I *think* was about $6/bead) from this site

 

[fatafelice]

These rounds range from 3mm to 6mm and the entire strand is listed as being 49cts. The total price is $1250, which makes it an average (depends on size of bead) of $14/bead.

 

[fatafelice]

Okay, maybe I was wrong...

My Rio Grande catalog has 4mm imitation opal (lucite treatment) beads for $2.05-2.50/bead, depending on the quantity you buy. They can have high prices, but not usually unreasonable ones.

 

[fatafelice]

Okay, last thing...

Opalite beads (in the beading world, these are glass beads made to look like opal) seem to average less than $0.10/bead in the 5mm range.

So, I guess the real question lies in what your beads are made of. If they are light, then they are probably not glass, so it is a possibility that you got a good price.

No matter what, I think those are great looking beads! Do you have a project planned for them?

 

[valeria101]

I used to see Gilson beads around $150 to $500 each depending on size (4mm to 8mm, I do not remember to have looked for larger). A shop called opalopal.com lists some. And natural opal can be any price depending on what kind it is: from dollars to thousands - black beads are not common beacuse thick pieces of opal needed to make them are not.

Actually, I am surprised at the looks of the beads - are they translucent as the picture shows ?



PS: FF take a look at Opalopal.com actually. They have a several strands of a similar material to the one you posted and call them 'honey opal'. And there are more of the kind around.

There are some fun bits about opals in 'Doc's pages' down the long scroll menu, and then... this looks like one of those small shops who take it up close and personal while building websites so there's less technical stuff included

I hope they keep it this way!

But... I still do not know what is and where does 'honney opal' come from!

 

[Buena Girl]

fatafelice- That is great info! Thank you!! The color opals like the ones in your pics were 3 times more expensive at the vendor than the ones I bought. Beads like that at 4mm would have cost around $12 each retail and $4 each wholesale from them. It''s all a bit confusing

I''m pretty sure they are not glass, but that is definitely something I might look into for future purchases.

valeria- Yes, they do look translucent! They really had me fooled!! I''ll try to take some better pics this weekend, perhaps outside with natural light.

My plan for the beads is for them to be used in a bracelet. My mom makes bracelets similar to this EK Designs bracelet:

 

[Blue824]

Buena - can you contact the vendor you bought them from to find out more about the beads? Even if they aren''t real and you don''t end up finding out what they are, you''ll end up with some beautiful jewelry. They were very pretty in person, and unique, the colors were just so vibrant!