Opal Type???

[LorettaB]

Can anyone give me any information on the opal type here? @Bron357 @stracci2000 What do you think???

 

[stracci2000]

It's really pretty! Looks like a crystal opal, but origin would be great to know.

I'm sure @Bron357 and @jordyonbass
Can give you some specifics.

 

[LorettaB]

It's really pretty! Looks like a crystal opal, but origin would be great to know.

I'm sure @Bron357 and @jordyonbass
Can give you some specifics.

I know you and Bron are very knowledgeable!! Maybe @jordyonbass can chime in because I’d really like to know.

 

[fredflintstone]

With the pictures it is hard to tell, but I would venture it is an Aussie crystal Opal.

Is the back side gem Opal or matrix?

Possible it is Welo Opal, but I would say Australian.

 

[LorettaB]

With the pictures it is hard to tell, but I would venture it is an Aussie crystal Opal.

Is the back side gem Opal or matrix?

Possible it is Welo Opal, but I would say Australian.

I am woefully uneducated about opals. What is a matrix exactly? The back does not play on the light like the front does but it’s the same color as the front. Does this photo help?? (There is no sunshine here today….looks like rain, again.)

 

[stracci2000]

I am woefully uneducated about opals. What is a matrix exactly? The back does not play on the light like the front does but it’s the same color as the front. Does this photo help?? (There is no sunshine here today….looks like rain, again.)

Ok, so that's called an opal doublet. A secondary darker stone is bonded to the back of a thinly cut opal to intensify the colors.

 

[LorettaB]

Ok, so that's called an opal doublet. A secondary stone is bonded to the back of a thinly cut opal to add strength and also to intensify the colors.

Thank you for that information! I’m learning. Opals are just not hanging around here very much. I don’t see them often.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Can anyone give me any information on the opal type here? @Bron357 @stracci2000 What do you think???

is this your Loretta ?
i really love it

 

[jordyonbass]

An Opal Doublet for sure. The body tone doesn't appear as dark as most doublets usually do and my guess for that is that there wasn't any black oxide powder used in the resin that is glueing the layers together.

 

[LorettaB]

is this your Loretta ?
i really love it

Thank you…..Yes it is. I absolutely buy what I love and this is so pretty and the diamond has huge sparkle. I just don’t know a lot about opals but I don’t forget what I have learned as I go along.

 

[Bron357]

Hi, yes Australian Opal.
While it would appear to be a doublet, do you have a shot “side on”.
Hold it up to a strong light source. If it is translucent it’s solid opal, doublets and triplets will be opaque to light transmission.
Doublets are usually created when the opal slice is “too thin” to mount, so a “backing is added to get it some more thickness. Obviously the thinner the “opal” section the less valuable but I have seen quite chunky opal slices with a bit of “backing”. Doublets often have a “flat top”.
Triplets are the cheapest. That’s an ultra thin piece of opal with a “backing” AND a crystal/glass/plastic done top.
Here are a pair of doublets I have.

 

[LorettaB]

@Bron357

This is under a very bright light….does that help?

 

[stracci2000]

It's gorgeous!
You must give us a neck shot!

 

[prs]

@LorettaB A doublet is made by joining a slice of opal with a perfectly flat bottom to a slice of backing material with a perfectly flat top. I'm not an expert, but to me that means the joint would be a perfectly straight line. The joint lines on Bron's doublets look to be perfectly straight.

The joint line of your opal isn't that clear in your photo, but it doesn't look to be a straight line. Maybe there's still hope you have a solid opal.