Mexican Fire Opal Question

[LemonMoonLex]

I have a quick question...

Do they make convincing synthetic or fake mexican fire opal these days?

I'm not talking about the obvious glitter and apoxy looking cab buttons made but actual material that's pretty convincing.

I received a necklace that I identified as Mexican fire opal yet when I observed it from the side there's a gap, it's like the top dome of the cab is colorless and the orange color is a slab on the bottom.

No I don't see any seam, so If it's fake it had to have been made together as one solid piece. The colorplay is sooooo realistic though, and there's no pattern or rhythm to it so it's tripping me up a bit.

Set in 14k gold also. When I have some time today I'll add some pics of what I mean but it's very bizarre.

 

[LemonMoonLex]

Attaching a buttload of photos, what is your best guess on what the heck this is? Also it "feels" like an opal. It's hard to describe but jelly/water/crystal opals all have this certain feel to them and it certainly has that.

Can natural material really have that delineation? Where it's clear in one portion and orange in the next. I know there's precious Mexican opal (I have a cab of it) but can they be found together?

 

[LemonMoonLex]

Nevermind. It's natural.

Question answered!

 

[minousbijoux]

Thanks for sharing some good visuals of how that color zoning (calling it that for lack of a better term) looks in both the cut and rough forms.

 

[Mrs_Strizzle]

I was watching this thread because I love your opal but had no idea of the answer you were seeking. I'm glad you realized it was real!

 

[JewelledEscalators]

Sometimes you can get opal doublets, but yours I'm not sure looks like one.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Hmm... just in reading your OP, I was going to suggest the stone was a doublet. But then seeing your photos, the stone looks very much natural to me. Interesting phenomenon though! And beautiful cab!!

 

[Bron357]

beautiful.
As you figured ok, its natural. It’s just how the gem is formed. Fire Opals and Welo opals are more the translucent type. Fire opals benefit from having a translucent section over a more solid section.
Of course there are doublet and triplet opal gemstones where a sliver of precious opal is used but it’s not thick enough by itself.
With a doublet, the sliver of opal is given a “back”, usually dark grey or black in colour or in the case of a triplet, a plastic or glass cap is also put over the sliver.

 

[88_star]

Hmm... just in reading your OP, I was going to suggest the stone was a doublet. But then seeing your photos, the stone looks very much natural to me. Interesting phenomenon though! And beautiful cab!!

I thought the same! The orange section is much thicker than it would be in a doublet (usually it's a very thin layer, just enough to give the stone color face up). Even your clear layer seems like it has some orange tint. What a cool stone @LemonMoonLex

 

[LemonMoonLex]

Neat to see that everyone was as stumped as I was at first!

I would be the first one to call out a doublet or triplet, but this stone didnt have a seam or an edge where you could see two stones meeting, it was all one, which made my quandary even stranger.

I had no idea that the two can form together!

I took some more photos showing the border! It's crazy how perfectly straight the color separation is when viewed from the side.

Now I want a huge Mexican jelly opal or a nice cantera cab with some lovely colorplay!!

 

[landscape]

Some Mexican fire opals are not homogeneous, and there will be some layering. For example, part of this fire opal is dark in color and the other part is light in color


Attached some pictures of Mexican fire opal

 

[stracci2000]

It's a beautiful stone, @LemonMoonLex
Unusual, and exciting!
It's a gorgeous pendant

 

[JewelledEscalators]

Some Mexican fire opals are not homogeneous, and there will be some layering. For example, part of this fire opal is dark in color and the other part is light in color


Attached some pictures of Mexican fire opal

I love the fact that irrespective of the species, @landscape has a large tray of stones for us

You must have a large vault!

 

[Neptune]

Some Mexican fire opals are not homogeneous, and there will be some layering. For example, part of this fire opal is dark in color and the other part is light in color


Attached some pictures of Mexican fire opal

Always enjoy looking at your "boxes".

 

[landscape]

I love the fact that irrespective of the species, @landscape has a large tray of stones for us

You must have a large vault!

Thanks

 

[landscape]

Always enjoy looking at your "boxes".

Thanks

 

[Neptune]

@landscape how do you care for your fire opals?

 

[landscape]

@landscape how do you care for your fire opals?

Store in box like other gems

 

[JewelledEscalators]

Store in box like other gems

What's your favourite gemstone in general? Do you have one?

 

[Neptune]

Store in box like other gems

Are opals easy to crack and fade if left to dry, even in the boxes?

 

[landscape]

Are opals easy to crack and fade if left to dry, even in the boxes?

My opal is not cracked, maybe the weather is not dry here

 

[landscape]

What's your favourite gemstone in general? Do you have one?

I like all kinds of faceted gemstones

 

[icy_jade]

How many of such cases do you have?

 

[landscape]

How many of such cases do you have?

40 in total, 20 filled

 

[icy_jade]

40 in total, 20 filled

That’s over 1000 gems!

 

[landscape]

That’s over 1000 gems!

of course

 

[JewelledEscalators]

of course

Can we come round your house

No?

 

[icy_jade]

of course

I wanna see all the insides…

 

[bright&shiny]

So I just came across a lovely fire opal. At least I think it is. A deep red set in a unique yellow gold setting. What should I be looking for as I evaluate the stone? I’m good with other opal types - but this was so red I thought it was a spinel or in the case…. It’s not what I was looking for, but if the price is right, the color was wonderful!

 

[Autumn in New England]

So I just came across a lovely fire opal. At least I think it is. A deep red set in a unique yellow gold setting. What should I be looking for as I evaluate the stone? I’m good with other opal types - but this was so red I thought it was a spinel or in the case…. It’s not what I was looking for, but if the price is right, the color was wonderful!

You want to look for a saturated and brilliant red, as opposed to an orange or yellow (though both of those varieties are lovely too). The stone should be highly translucent to transparent (rather than too milky), and there should be no eye visible inclusions. HTH!