Faceted fire opal

[Double E]

Got a chance to buy a bright orange faceted fire Opal at very good price, how do you think about $80 for around 1.5ct stone?

Don’t wanna disclose the seller, but he’s a well regarded one, do wish to get some opinions.

Something more about my expectation, I am not looking for colour play that more high end opals or even premium fire Opal are famous for, but it’s a clean stone and somewhere between translucent and transparent. Plus very good cutting. I like bright and vibrant stones, and is curious about a combination of such colours and translucent material.

I realised it’s not a hard gem variety and may not be suitable for ring. I probably will keep the stone loose for a while and at best set it as a pendant later.

Do you think it’s a reasonable cost? Or it’s too low to get a quality stone of this size?

 

[T L]

It’s a reasonable price, but cannot tell you much more without seeing a photo. Mexican fire opal is the most neon.

 

[Double E]

It’s a reasonable price, but cannot tell you much more without seeing a photo. Mexican fire opal is the most neon.

It’s a Brazilian stone, Understood it’s difficult without a pic, I got a single photo but it seems there’s some problem going on for all the editing functions for my posts. I’ll try to figure it out.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I always liked fire opal. With their very low refractive index, they can be a challenge to cut and have it perform well.

Keep in mind if you get it set, that these are heat sensitive. Jewelers love to blast the item with steam when they are done to clean it up. Doing this will most likely cause the stone to shatter into a million pieces. So make sure whoever sets it is aware of how soft it is, and no heat around the stone.

 

[T L]

I always liked fire opal. With their very low refractive index, they can be a challenge to cut and have it perform well.

Keep in mind if you get it set, that these are heat sensitive. Jewelers love to blast the item with steam when they are done to clean it up. Doing this will most likely cause the stone to shatter into a million pieces. So make sure whoever sets it is aware of how soft it is, and no heat around the stone.

Good point! I have instructions to my jeweler never to steam or use an ultrasonic cleaner after setting any of my stones.

 

[Double E]

I always liked fire opal. With their very low refractive index, they can be a challenge to cut and have it perform well.

Keep in mind if you get it set, that these are heat sensitive. Jewelers love to blast the item with steam when they are done to clean it up. Doing this will most likely cause the stone to shatter into a million pieces. So make sure whoever sets it is aware of how soft it is, and no heat around the stone.

Thanks for the setting tips Gene~ Will keep that in mind

And agreed that cutting's essential for feceted fire opal. I've recently come across one in Richard Homer's inventory that he also mentioned this. Just it's been sold when I was aware he had a stone like this. And its a stone he claimed it's transparent without haziness.

 

[Double E]

Here are the photos of the two I found.




The first looks a bit more orange and darker, but I like the cut more.

Just Brazilian not Mexico opal. is it a big difference? Let me know your thoughts. Thank you!

 

[icy_jade]

Got a chance to buy a bright orange faceted fire Opal at very good price, how do you think about $80 for around 1.5ct stone?

Don’t wanna disclose the seller, but he’s a well regarded one, do wish to get some opinions.

Something more about my expectation, I am not looking for colour play that more high end opals or even premium fire Opal are famous for, but it’s a clean stone and somewhere between translucent and transparent. Plus very good cutting. I like bright and vibrant stones, and is curious about a combination of such colours and translucent material.

I realised it’s not a hard gem variety and may not be suitable for ring. I probably will keep the stone loose for a while and at best set it as a pendant later.

Do you think it’s a reasonable cost? Or it’s too low to get a quality stone of this size?

Depends on the color and how much you like it. I’ve realized that setting costs quite a bit so sometimes it’s worth just paying a bit more to get a stone that I really love rather than going for a cheap buy.



The top ring on my index finger is a fire opal. I set it as a ring anyway as I like the bright vivid color. Anyway all the stones on the hand are opals, I just try to be very careful when I wear them.

 

[Double E]

Depends on the color and how much you like it. I’ve realized that setting costs quite a bit so sometimes it’s worth just paying a bit more to get a stone that I really love rather than going for a cheap buy.



The top ring on my index finger is a fire opal. I set it as a ring anyway as I like the bright vivid color. Anyway all the stones on the hand are opals, I just try to be very careful when I wear them.

Your opals are lovely. I like the top fire opal more than the lower one. You're absolutely right for the cost consideration of a setting, that's also what I've been thinking about. A fire opal or other opal species with more multi-colour play is on my wish list also for a pendant when I have more fund later.

And meanwhile, I am really open to relatively low cost but good (to me^^) buy. Orange or orangy yellow appeals to me. So spess, fire opal, even citrine (an even cheaper variety?) come to mind and I just found these two, and actually some other citrine from the same seller, and want some thoughts. also faceted fire opal just looks like totally different and sort of another gem type for me compared to cab or freeform ones, without that colour play, the only thing left to consider seems like the saturation of orange colour and transperancy of the stone, and I guess this also leads me to lower cost spent, am I right?

 

[Double E]

And as we just started to touch and talk about citrine, its RI is said to be a bit higher than fire opal, while their hues is slightly different from fire opal. How do you guys compared these two varieties?

I attach below a citrine from the same seller for reference

 

[icy_jade]

The two that you posted isn’t to me a “good” color for a fire opal. It’s all very subjective and but they are not orange. More like burnt yellow which may not look great in real life. Personal preference of course. I like fire opal that have that bright neon color.

 

[Double E]

The two that you posted isn’t to me a “good” color for a fire opal. It’s all very subjective and but they are not orange. More like burnt yellow which may not look great in real life. Personal preference of course. I like fire opal that have that bright neon color.

Thanks! Do you mean it's not a so called trade ideal or top grade colour of fire opal? what do you think it will look like irl, like muddy yellow with lower brightness?

*I was thinking that although it's more on the yellowish side, but can still look bright and vibrant.

And I definitely have a common problem as many consumers, we are not experienced to determine how good or bad a stone is when see one, I agree.

 

[icy_jade]

muddy yellow with lower brightness

Yeah I think so. Fire opals are not sparkly so you need a strong color else the stone wouldn’t be impressive looking irl.

Some examples here:

Fire Opal - Pictures and Definition of Fire Opal

Fire opal is defined by its fiery yellow, fiery orange or fiery red background color. Many people see the word 'fire' and immediately think of the play-of-color displayed by precious opal. The name fire opal refers to a fiery red, orange or yellow background color. Fire opal is all about...

geology.com

@OTL has a stunning one:

3.9ct Mexican fire opal ring

I am loving this fire opal ring lately. Center mexican fire opal is 3.9ct, set in platinum. It's a really heavy ring, but pretty comfy. Definitely the best fire opal cabochon I have seen. Fire opal is very stable and should value more IMHO. It's not easy to find good cabochon with such color...

www.pricescope.com

@jezebelle has a neon looking one too:

New Mexican fire opal ring w/pics!

My birthday present is finally here! I'm totally in lurrrrrve with it! I've been wanting a fire opal ring for a while now. I almost never wear yellow gold, but I'm really starting to appreciate its beauty. Now to buy some YG and gemstone eternity bands to stack next to it... :halo: It's set...

www.pricescope.com

More examples of color in this post:

Fire opal with color play... how much??

I'm curious how much / ct a nice deep vivid orange color fire opal with a lot of color play would cost. I found a cutter with gorgeous stones and he sent a picture of a stone that I am absolutely drooling over. It's uncut but wow... :love: I can only imagine what the final thing will look...

www.pricescope.com

Someone else has another gorgeous precious opal but I can’t find the thread.

 

[2Neesers]

My personal preference is for a more orange colored fire opal like the one below, but you might prefer a more yellow orange.

Fire Opal – 1.46ct – Jeff Davies & Son Gemstones

jeffdaviesandson.com

 

[Double E]

Yeah I think so. Fire opals are not sparkly so you need a strong color else the stone wouldn’t be impressive looking irl.

Some examples here:

Fire Opal - Pictures and Definition of Fire Opal

Fire opal is defined by its fiery yellow, fiery orange or fiery red background color. Many people see the word 'fire' and immediately think of the play-of-color displayed by precious opal. The name fire opal refers to a fiery red, orange or yellow background color. Fire opal is all about...

geology.com

@OTL has a stunning one:

3.9ct Mexican fire opal ring

I am loving this fire opal ring lately. Center mexican fire opal is 3.9ct, set in platinum. It's a really heavy ring, but pretty comfy. Definitely the best fire opal cabochon I have seen. Fire opal is very stable and should value more IMHO. It's not easy to find good cabochon with such color...

www.pricescope.com

@jezebelle has a neon looking one too:

New Mexican fire opal ring w/pics!

My birthday present is finally here! I'm totally in lurrrrrve with it! I've been wanting a fire opal ring for a while now. I almost never wear yellow gold, but I'm really starting to appreciate its beauty. Now to buy some YG and gemstone eternity bands to stack next to it... :halo: It's set...

www.pricescope.com

More examples of color in this post:

Fire opal with color play... how much??

I'm curious how much / ct a nice deep vivid orange color fire opal with a lot of color play would cost. I found a cutter with gorgeous stones and he sent a picture of a stone that I am absolutely drooling over. It's uncut but wow... :love: I can only imagine what the final thing will look...

www.pricescope.com

Someone else has another gorgeous precious opal but I can’t find the thread.

Thanks very much. There're many gorgeous examples out there! I originally thought that shifting more to yellow could brighten it abit, and that's my impressionby seeing the photos I posted and related videos, but obviously I might be wrong.

 

[Double E]

My personal preference is for a more orange colored fire opal like the one below, but you might prefer a more yellow orange.

Fire Opal – 1.46ct – Jeff Davies & Son Gemstones

jeffdaviesandson.com

Haha, I definitely saw the one you are posting~It may not be only your perence, as this costs more than the two I posted actually. Just a squarer shape is not what I am looking for, so I may need to rethink about that now.

 

[peacechick]

These pictures seem to be taken under very bright lighting so I wonder if in normal conditions whether the stones would look that vibrant of an orange. I see brown modifiers so my guess is the fire opal would be more the colour of cognac or amber with yellow flashes. The citrine has much of the same look.

 

[peacechick]

Oh btw, did you see this listing on LT? That’s a small but really bright orange spinel.

Neon Neon Art Nouveau inspired Neon Orange Spinel Ring US5 | Loupe Troop

loupetroop.com

 

[Double E]

Oh btw, did you see this listing on LT? That’s a small but really bright orange spinel.

Neon Neon Art Nouveau inspired Neon Orange Spinel Ring US5 | Loupe Troop

loupetroop.com

Wow! That’s a really nice colour, especially what’s shown in those pictures when light it sunlight hit it~ I just wonder what it will look like under sun or bad light.

 

[icy_jade]

Something like this?

1.65CT Wonderful Natural Unheated Mexican Fire Opal-loose - Etsy Singapore

This Gemstones item by gloriousgemworld has 7 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Thailand. Listed on 17 Sep, 2023

www.etsy.com

 

[PrecisionGem]

For fire opal, the more red, the better (at least in the trade). Just watch out for large windows, being such a low refractive index fire opal will window like crazy if not cut correctly.

 

[T L]

Here are the photos of the two I found.




The first looks a bit more orange and darker, but I like the cut more.

Just Brazilian not Mexico opal. is it a big difference? Let me know your thoughts. Thank you!

They’re more of a yellowish orange, not a pure orange. Nothing wrong with that if that’s the hue you like. They’re both very pretty.

 

[T L]

For fire opal, the more red, the better (at least in the trade). Just watch out for large windows, being such a low refractive index fire opal will window like crazy if not cut correctly.

Also buy from a reputable dealer as I think they can be dyed as well, but not sure. I know they can dye hydrophane opal, like Welo. Correct me if I’m wrong.

 

[2Neesers]

I have just one that I bought from Barry B three years ago.

It looks great even in lower lighting. The below picture was taken after dark, in not great lighting in my kitchen, along with a peridot from Barry


I see there are a lot of faceted fire opals listed on Opal Auctions. A lot of them aren’t great, but I did see a few with potential sprinkled in there.

Faceted Mexican Fire Opal - Buy Faceted Mexican Fire Opal Online | Opal Auctions

Opal Auctions sells verified Faceted Mexican Fire Opal online in all shapes and sizes. Select your favorite Faceted Mexican Fire Opal and choose to 'Buy Now' or place a bid. Our individual sellers are located all over the globe to bring you the most ...

www.opalauctions.com

 

[Double E]

I have just one that I bought from Barry B three years ago.

It looks great even in lower lighting. The below picture was taken after dark, in not great lighting in my kitchen, along with a peridot from Barry


I see there are a lot of faceted fire opals listed on Opal Auctions. A lot of them aren’t great, but I did see a few with potential sprinkled in there.

Faceted Mexican Fire Opal - Buy Faceted Mexican Fire Opal Online | Opal Auctions

Opal Auctions sells verified Faceted Mexican Fire Opal online in all shapes and sizes. Select your favorite Faceted Mexican Fire Opal and choose to 'Buy Now' or place a bid. Our individual sellers are located all over the globe to bring you the most ...

www.opalauctions.com

The cut of your Opal is very nice! It especially caught my attention when you say it performed the way in the picture under not good lighting. Am I right the stronger the saturation the more likely it can keep performing in more lighting scenarios?

 

[Double E]

Something like this?

1.65CT Wonderful Natural Unheated Mexican Fire Opal-loose - Etsy Singapore

This Gemstones item by gloriousgemworld has 7 favorites from Etsy shoppers. Ships from Thailand. Listed on 17 Sep, 2023

www.etsy.com

That’s also a very strong orange, even stronger than the more orange square cushion 1.46ct from Jeff.

 

[Double E]

For fire opal, the more red, the better (at least in the trade). Just watch out for large windows, being such a low refractive index fire opal will window like crazy if not cut correctly.

Thanks and got it! Talking to experienced consumers and professionals in the trade always learn something~

 

[2Neesers]

The cut of your Opal is very nice! It especially caught my attention when you say it performed the way in the picture under not good lighting. Am I right the stronger the saturation the more likely it can keep performing in more lighting scenarios?

Thanks! I like it too and had planned to set it as ring until my local jeweler brought up the potential issues that Gene mentioned above. I’ll have it set in a pendant, someday. I’m not an expert on these things, but I would think you’re right about stronger saturation and performance.

 

[Double E]

Thanks! I like it too and had planned to set it as ring until my local jeweler brought up the potential issues that Gene mentioned above. I’ll have it set in a pendant, someday. I’m not an expert on these things, but I would think you’re right about stronger saturation and performance.

Btw, May I know which vendor exactly you are referring to of Barry B?

 

[2Neesers]

Btw, May I know which vendor exactly you are referring to of Barry B?

Yes it’s Barry Bridgestock of AC Stones. Barry passed away last year unfortunately. He cut stones beautifully and at affordable prices. If you’re ever searching older threads, you’ll see his stones pop up quite often.