Opals

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#31
I love opals, and I spit in the face of superstition. :p

Mine are vintage from the 1960s and were purchased by my father when he was working in Australia. They are doublets, but very nice ones, with a thick layer of opal and a dark quartz sandwiched behind it.
 
#34
One thing to be cautious with - if you live in a very cold climate, you might want to store your opals for a while.

My mother had a pair of opal earrings shatter when she wore them out in below-freezing temperatures.
 
#35
I love opals, as long as they have plenty of fire and color in them that is. I can't stand the white ones that so many of the jewelery stores sell, they have no colour and look so boring. I have an opal and diamond band that is absolutely beautiful. Only trouble is I lost a stone out of it. I managed to get the stone repaced, but the second stone has now cracked. I'm not in a position where I can go and get yet another stone put in it yet.
I highly recommend opals as long as they're good quality stones, just be really careful what you do when you're wearing it.
 
#38
restricter said:
I did. I bought a ring at Zales or Kay and the opal shattered. It put me off opal jewelry for a long time. Of course, I was really young then and probably didn't take proper care of the opal.
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That's possible. :) It's also possible the ring wasn't made well and contributed to it. You never know.
 
#39
opal is my birthstone but somehow i dont like them ,even though i have a pendant with black opal and diamonds ,havent seen the light of the day .Just dont know why .i dont like pearls either maybe becuase i heard they are for tears .
My favourite has to be the diamond .
 
#40
Yes, opals are very delicate but also very beautiful. Another thing is that since they are organic like pearls the same care should be exercised when it comes to chemicals, you must ensure that no chemicals come into contact with your opals, i.e., when wearing a ring take it off before you are cleaning with household cleaners, make sure no hairspray or perfume is applied after you put on eaarings with opals and the like. Except for very mild soap a ring with opal should be taken off when washing hands too. And yes they are sensitive to draught and can crack easily too. A very unique and gorgeous stone though. Yes there was an old tradition of opals being associated with death (ooh, sorry) but I think that should be ignored, know ladies who love opals and have had no bad luck.
 
#41

click on the photo to make it large
opals are my absolute favorite stone ever since i was little looking in my grandmothers jewelry box its her birthstone so she had alot of them some of it is even from my great grandmother and over the years she gave them to me the details on the bracelet are beautiful most of this is at least 50 years old so you know if you take care of it it will last

a few things i know are to never get them wet , get them cleaned by a jeweler and dont sleep in them also somthing to know when buying new opals is most now are man made not natural if you want good natural opals with alot of fire i think the best thing to do would be to buy antique jewelry
 
#42
^ I love them all, fab collection, liz.

Sarni said:
I would love to see some pictures of your opals!

:useless:
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I got these solid opal studs when I visited Lightning Ridge in 1980, so they're pretty old but they still look good.
opalstuds.jpg


The other two opal pics were taken with my phone, so excuse the craptacular pics without a flash. The first pic is of an opal stud earring and pendant set, in 9ct gold, which I bought from Coober Pedy in the 80s. I remember they cost me $98. The second pic is of a black opal gold brooch my aunt gave me a few years ago. When I get a new camera I'll post better pics of it because it's much nicer than that crappy pic shows.
opalset.jpg


opalbrooch.jpg
 
#43
I went to my jeweler the other day and she showed me a black opal ring that was $9000 US. It was stellar and my DH looked at her like WTF?! Don't show her things like that!
LOL....

Was Lightning Ridge awesome?!
 
#45
Kitsunegrl said:
Was Lightning Ridge awesome?!
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It was a few years ago now but I remember it being a really interesting place. I have some pics I took, I must find them one of these days (and maybe even post them). I've been to Coober Pedy too, which is another well known opal area, so I've bought my pieces from both places. The opal set I bought at Coober Pedy is still in the original little clear plastic box I bought them in, complete with the price tag of $98. I never bothered removing it for some reason, and I still keep them in that crappy box. :D
 
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