A few opals (for TL)

[Ren]

LD,

Your opals are gorgeous! Being a very superstitious woman my mother has always shied away from opals and I've never seen any in person. Your matrix opals especially caught my eye - someone mentioned they look like dragon eggs and I would have to agree. Though stunning, I don't see many for sale. Are synthetics/heavy treatment an issue with these kinds of opals?

 

[LD]

Starzin

Are you sure it's the glue that has caused the crack? The only reason I say this is because opals can crack quite easily if they're not hydrated. In an old opal this could easily happen. You're supposed to let them be near (not in) water or be worn, to allow them to absorb moisture and remain "supple" for want of a better word.

Also, unfortunately glueing and backing opals is more common than you may think. There may be a chemical or process that could unglue the stone but I don't know enough about that I would assume (big assumption here) that your opal could absorb some of the unglueing stuff in the process.

I would definitely ask a few jewellers (and perhaps even an opal specialist) what to do because it's a beauty with a lovely history.

 

[chloeishere]

Thanks LD,
Your opals are awesome. I just love them. I have a couple of fire opals, as this one below, which is bright neon orange, but has no colorplay. I also have a white opal with colorplay, but I haven't set it because it's a white opal and I never appreciated it that much. I also have an Ethiopian orange opal with magnificent color play, but you can only see it in certain lighting.

This is my neon Mexican fire opal, with some demantoids, in a box. I really want to set this, despite the fact it has no colorplay. My dream is to get one this color, but with lots of colorplay. I love the color of your Mexican fire opal in the matrix. That is gorgeous.

I set an Uli stone into a bezel (by JAnishJewels on etsy), and she did a great job, in my opinion, of following the contours of the stone. You might not want it bezeled, but just an FYI for anyone considering setting an odd-sided Uli stone. It's really hard to take color-accurate photographs of the stone (one of those silky grossular garnets Uli had that are a radioactive green), but here's a link to the listing: https://www.etsy.com/transaction/107852499 which has a photo of the setting.

I have a tiny golden based trillian opal (from the Villiam mine in Slovakia) but I don't have a good photograph of it.

 

[Starzin]

ilovegemstones
Sorry Starzin! I loved your idea though!
Thank you! Although I thought it was a good idea at the time, as I've grown older I tend to think I would prefer it left as a bar brooch, contrary creature that I am

Chrono
Oh Starzin, it breaks my heart to see such a lovely large opal treated as such. I'm so sorry. Unfortunately, the other sections of PS (including the jewellery section) can be very slow, with only 1 post per day at best and I've never seen any Trade person post in the Jewellery sub-forum.
Thank you for the commiserations Chrono - it breaks my heart too. Thanks also for confirming that the jewellery sub-forum is a bit slow (I still haven't managed to get over there since my post to TL - been busy!)

 

[Starzin]

Starzin

Are you sure it's the glue that has caused the crack?
No, not sure the glue itself caused the crack, but 99.99% positive the jeweller did it when setting it.

The only reason I say this is because opals can crack quite easily if they're not hydrated. In an old opal this could easily happen. You're supposed to let them be near (not in) water or be worn, to allow them to absorb moisture and remain "supple" for want of a better word.
This may be true of hydrophane (e.g. Welo) opals and it's certainly fun to watch them disappear in water. While I know this is popular advice on PS, for Australian opals it simply isn't true. While they do contain water, the majority do not absorb water because they are not porus.

See Opal facts & Myths - lots of very good, straight forward information on this site under the "Learn" tab for anyone reading along who wants to know more about opals.
See also Is Australian or Ethiopian stable when it is Cracked?

Also, unfortunately glueing and backing opals is more common than you may think.
No, I'm quite conscious of the fact that many lesser opals may be treated this way and of course, doublets and triplets. No jeweller who knew anything about Australian opals would dream of setting an opal of this quality in that way. In fact a gem dealer I took it to shortly after discovering the crack said "This is criminal and that jeweller should not be in business".

There may be a chemical or process that could unglue the stone but I don't know enough about that I would assume (big assumption here) that your opal could absorb some of the unglueing stuff in the process.
Yes, that's the big question mark

I would definitely ask a few jewellers (and perhaps even an opal specialist) what to do because it's a beauty with a lovely history.
Thanks LD, jewellers here don't bother to stock opals (and probably don't know that much about them either) because of the number of opal specific stores which either have mines themselves or who are associated with mines at the the opal fields. It isn't hard to find an opal specialist where I live so maybe I should just get off my butt, bite the bullet and get some opinions.

Edited for spelling

 

[Starzin]

I forgot to say thanks LD, I appreciate you are trying to help and apologise if this has hijacked your thread somewhat.

 

[chrono]

Hijacked or not, I learned something new here and got a bit of extra eye candy.

 

[Starzin]

Thanks Chrono.
That Opals Down Under website will repay spending some time there

 

[pregcurious]

Starzin, sorry to hear of your opal saga. Sad.

LD, your opals are lovely. I am partial to the boulder opals and the ones with a dark background in general. They are so stunning.