Help with this opal?
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Kaleigh
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My first guess would be a triplet from Spencer Idaho. The pattern has the look of Spencer material and the hazy look makes me think the opal color is passing through a quartz or glass cap over the opal. Does the pattern look distorted when viewed from an angle other than straight down? That''s a triplet indication. Is the metal Sterling siler instead of platinum or white gold? If so it''s probably a triplet.
Hold the ring up to a light-colored surface with plenty of light and look through the stone from the side. Can you see right through it? If so it''s a triplet. If the stone passes these tests then it''s either a solid opal or a doublet. Telling which would require a personal inspection.
Hold the ring up to a light-colored surface with plenty of light and look through the stone from the side. Can you see right through it? If so it''s a triplet. If the stone passes these tests then it''s either a solid opal or a doublet. Telling which would require a personal inspection.
Richard Sherwood
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The black background might be influencing the perception of the body color. From the photo presentation it could be black, semi-black, or crystal opal with the black background creating a black crystal look. It could also be a doublet with a black backing.
It's tough to tell from a photo, but my guess is a natural with semi-black body color and Australian origin. If the piece is geniune Edwardian (circa 1910) the stone might be from the Lightning Ridge mine, which was a main producer at that time. It does have a Lightning Ridge look to it. If the piece is a more recent reproduction though, it could be a Coober Pedy crystal with the black background (or black doublet backing) making it look darker.
I see nothing in the photo to indicate synthetic opal or opal triplet. I think you can safely rule those two out. You can't tell from the photo if it's a doublet, but that would be obvious under a loupe if the mounting has an open back and sides.
The play-of-color is good, with a nice splash of red in there. Good to fine quality (6?) possibly [on a scale of commercial 1-2-3-4, good 4-5-6, fine 6-7-8, gem 8-9-10], with a visual observation determining whether it falls more towards the "good" category or "fine" category. Possibly even better.
How much are they asking for it? Price is often a good indicator, of several things.
You want to have the stone checked for any possible crazing (fine network of cracks due to the opal "drying out"). This affects the price considerably.
It's tough to tell from a photo, but my guess is a natural with semi-black body color and Australian origin. If the piece is geniune Edwardian (circa 1910) the stone might be from the Lightning Ridge mine, which was a main producer at that time. It does have a Lightning Ridge look to it. If the piece is a more recent reproduction though, it could be a Coober Pedy crystal with the black background (or black doublet backing) making it look darker.
I see nothing in the photo to indicate synthetic opal or opal triplet. I think you can safely rule those two out. You can't tell from the photo if it's a doublet, but that would be obvious under a loupe if the mounting has an open back and sides.
The play-of-color is good, with a nice splash of red in there. Good to fine quality (6?) possibly [on a scale of commercial 1-2-3-4, good 4-5-6, fine 6-7-8, gem 8-9-10], with a visual observation determining whether it falls more towards the "good" category or "fine" category. Possibly even better.
How much are they asking for it? Price is often a good indicator, of several things.
You want to have the stone checked for any possible crazing (fine network of cracks due to the opal "drying out"). This affects the price considerably.
belle
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Thanks everyone-
Richard- I do have some answers to some of the items you raise.
The seller states the mounting is circa 1900''s and is 16kt gold so he thinks it to be European. He also agrees that it is of Australian origin. It is definately a solid opal as there is some crazing on the underside of the opal. How much should this affect it''s pricing and how do you feel about the integrity of the stone? I can''t send it for a pre-purchase check like I did that sapphire
which I still haven''t made my mind on.
Thanks
Richard- I do have some answers to some of the items you raise.
The seller states the mounting is circa 1900''s and is 16kt gold so he thinks it to be European. He also agrees that it is of Australian origin. It is definately a solid opal as there is some crazing on the underside of the opal. How much should this affect it''s pricing and how do you feel about the integrity of the stone? I can''t send it for a pre-purchase check like I did that sapphire
which I still haven''t made my mind on.
Thanks
Richard Sherwood
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Again with the caution that you can''t hang your hat on photo ID''s, the mounting does have the appearance of an authentic Edwardian piece.
How much the crazing will affect the value depends on how badly it''s crazed. The factors would be:
How large an area does it cover?
How deep does it go into the stone?
How delicate or pronounced is the crazing?
How much does it look like it affects the durability of the stone?
Does it look like it''s finished crazing, or just getting warmed up? (The history of the stone would come into play here. If it is a 100 years old and the crazing hasn''t progressed any in the past 95 years, then you know it''s probably finished.)
Major crazing might put the value of the stone at 10% of what it would be non-crazed. Minor crazing might put the value at 80% of what it would be non-crazed. It''s a judgement call. Some dealers will tell you any crazing destroys the value of the stone, but most would say it discounts the value to one degree or another.
Durability is definitely affected. It''s just a matter of how much. Could be minor, could be major. I could tell you better if I saw a photo under magnification with back lighting.
Good looking ring.
How much the crazing will affect the value depends on how badly it''s crazed. The factors would be:
How large an area does it cover?
How deep does it go into the stone?
How delicate or pronounced is the crazing?
How much does it look like it affects the durability of the stone?
Does it look like it''s finished crazing, or just getting warmed up? (The history of the stone would come into play here. If it is a 100 years old and the crazing hasn''t progressed any in the past 95 years, then you know it''s probably finished.)
Major crazing might put the value of the stone at 10% of what it would be non-crazed. Minor crazing might put the value at 80% of what it would be non-crazed. It''s a judgement call. Some dealers will tell you any crazing destroys the value of the stone, but most would say it discounts the value to one degree or another.
Durability is definitely affected. It''s just a matter of how much. Could be minor, could be major. I could tell you better if I saw a photo under magnification with back lighting.
Good looking ring.
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Currada,
I noticed the crazing in the photo. Fairly common, though not universal, in stones of that age. In a loose stone, crazing would reduce the price by 80%. When the stone is mounted in an original period piece the game changes.
I have seen badly crazed opal in period pieces sold at auction with little or no regard for the fact that the opal is crazed. The antique market seem to assume that old opal pieces will be crazed and more or less ignores the fact. As a gem guy I get nervous and never buy an antique or period piece that is crazed but that is, I guess, my hangup. Makes the whole issue of valueing even more complex.
The stone in your piece appears to be either semi-black or black crystal but under the new system accepted by the Austrailian Opal Association the classification would either be "dark" or "crystal" depending upon the level of translucency. The old system was easier because a "black" opal had to be opaque when held to the light.
I noticed the crazing in the photo. Fairly common, though not universal, in stones of that age. In a loose stone, crazing would reduce the price by 80%. When the stone is mounted in an original period piece the game changes.
I have seen badly crazed opal in period pieces sold at auction with little or no regard for the fact that the opal is crazed. The antique market seem to assume that old opal pieces will be crazed and more or less ignores the fact. As a gem guy I get nervous and never buy an antique or period piece that is crazed but that is, I guess, my hangup. Makes the whole issue of valueing even more complex.
The stone in your piece appears to be either semi-black or black crystal but under the new system accepted by the Austrailian Opal Association the classification would either be "dark" or "crystal" depending upon the level of translucency. The old system was easier because a "black" opal had to be opaque when held to the light.
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Whatever this is, the broad patches of intense color have the looks of very fine opal - and this one must be right on top of it''s class, whichever that might turn (crystal or not).
The picture shows it a bit hazy, is it ? I know it is so hard to take decent photos of opal...
From the picture, I can''t tell whether those hairline marking are cracks or potch lines and definitely not if they are structural problems or not. Old opal is expected to have some crazing (as Richard says in his detailed lesson above
) - if it doesn''t crumble, how much harm those are remains a matter of how strong the potential buyers feels about them.
It can''t be too hard to obtain a professional appraisal of the piece. That can''t be done remotely, no matter how professional this Pricescope thread gets !
The picture shows it a bit hazy, is it ? I know it is so hard to take decent photos of opal...
From the picture, I can''t tell whether those hairline marking are cracks or potch lines and definitely not if they are structural problems or not. Old opal is expected to have some crazing (as Richard says in his detailed lesson above
It can''t be too hard to obtain a professional appraisal of the piece. That can''t be done remotely, no matter how professional this Pricescope thread gets !
Hi- had to bump this thread as I decided to buy this opal ring. I just received it and had to thank all those that
responed to my questions- everyone was so helpful. Well to my surprise the opal is even better than the original picture
that I posted from the seller. The colors are amazing and the haze seen in the first picture is no where to be found. The setting is unbelievable so I tried to get a close up for everyone. It's hard to tell from the picture but each filligree box throughout the setting has deep milligrain detail. But what really amazed me was the size- somehow when going back and forth with the seller
I thought the measurements he gave was for the entire ring when really it was just of the opal.
responed to my questions- everyone was so helpful. Well to my surprise the opal is even better than the original picture
that I posted from the seller. The colors are amazing and the haze seen in the first picture is no where to be found. The setting is unbelievable so I tried to get a close up for everyone. It's hard to tell from the picture but each filligree box throughout the setting has deep milligrain detail. But what really amazed me was the size- somehow when going back and forth with the seller
I thought the measurements he gave was for the entire ring when really it was just of the opal.
This is the opal ring next to my rosecut diamond so you can see it to scale. It's very large- There is a lot of red in the opal that the pictures do not show- outside in daylight the red is everywhere. As you can see there is more red in one of the pictures just by turning it the other direction. Would this opal be considered harlequin?- I'm not sure. I'd love to hear your comments.
Thanks
Darlene
Thanks
Darlene
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widget
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gemnut
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glitterata
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Wow! That is just incredible! Wow, wow, wow! Please post more pictures. I want to see the back, I want to see it on your hand, I want to see it in sunlight. I wish I could see it in person.
That rose-cut diamond ring is beautiful, too. Is it also Edwardian?
What other treasures have you been hiding from us?
That rose-cut diamond ring is beautiful, too. Is it also Edwardian?
What other treasures have you been hiding from us?
belle
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The ring is lovely. While I am no expert, I understand that opals can be dated by an expert by their patterns, as the quality of opals being mined has changed over the years, (as is the case with Columbian emeralds). The fine harlequin patterns were more frequent at the time your opal is dated. Again I have only been told this and cannot defend the position.
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Hi all- thanks for the wonderful comments- hope to post some outdoor pictures soon (waiting for sunnny day)
My indoor pictures are always so dark need to find a better light source
Ana- glad you posted again- thanks again for your pre-purchase help
Widget- posting some more pictures of the rosecut just for you. I know from your previous posts you''re partial to the oldies. I posted on it before but it was awhile ago. Once again these pictures are kinda dark but for this piece I think it helps to see the cut of the diamond better.
Darlene
My indoor pictures are always so dark need to find a better light source
Ana- glad you posted again- thanks again for your pre-purchase help
Widget- posting some more pictures of the rosecut just for you. I know from your previous posts you''re partial to the oldies. I posted on it before but it was awhile ago. Once again these pictures are kinda dark but for this piece I think it helps to see the cut of the diamond better.
Darlene
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You’re confusing me, Richard. I didn’t notice this comment when it was first posted. Are you saying the new system makes a distinction between base color tone and translucency?
The only thing that counts is body tone when viewed face-up as I understand the system. Dark opal, for instance, can be crystal opal (transparent) or it can be translucent to opaque, including boulder opal. The terms "semi-black" and "jelly opal" have been “officially” abolished although they''ll certainly remain in colloquial use. Assuming this stone is crystal and it graded as, say, an N5 dark opal it would be classified as “N5 dark crystal opal.”
The nomenclature committee decided to retain the term "crystal opal" due to its wide usage to describe transparent stones even though opal is amorphous with no crystal structure. Judging whether opal is transparent is fraught with problems I won''t go into in this short space.
Richard M.
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It''s a beautiful stone -- what a difference between these last images and the one you originally posted! Still it''s dangerous to make any judgments based on images, as everyone knows.
All gem grading is ultimately subjective (one person''s or a committee''s opinion) and opal grading is probably the most subjective of all. As Ana''s great tagline says, it depends on what you''ve seen and are comparing against.
I think some graders might call the color pattern in your stone "harlequin" although I see it as more of a "multicolored broad flashfire" pattern. True harlequin, as shown in the image, consists of square or angular blocks of color set closely together. When the blocks are very large they''re sometimes called "flagstone harlequin."
Richard M.
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widget
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Thanks, Darlene! The ring is gorgeous! I think it would be so much fun to have a bigger rose cut diamond.
I don''t remember seeing it elsewhere...but that doesn''t mean much....the older I get, the more I don''t remember.
Richard: Thanks for the explanation and pics of harlequins. I''d always thought it had something to do with an opal''s colors rather than angular "blocks" of color. The term makes sense now!
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