Video 4 Opal Education

Opals have fascinated people for centuries. As early as the first century AD, the Roman Pliny wrote of opals: "In them, you shall see the living fire of the ruby, the glorious purple of the amethyst, the sea-green of the emerald all glittering together in an incredible mixture of light’’. In comparison to other gemstones, there are none more fascinating and sought after then the opal; born from the red dust of the Australian outback as a result of incredible fossilisation, opals currently stand as the only gemstone that allows someone to hold - both literally and figuratively - a rainbow.
Types of Opals

There are three distinct types of opals: natural opals, composite or enhanced opals and man-made or synthetic opals.
NATURE OPALS

The four natural types of opal found are White Opal, Black Opal, Crystal Opal and Boulder Opal. White opals have delicate, pale colours on a lighter background. Black opals (very rare and valuable) have a dark background and colours ranging from brilliant red through to greens, blues and purples. Crystal opal is the only opal formed from pure hydrated silica which means it is transparent. Boulder opals are cut with the natural host rock, ironstone, on the back. Opal artefacts several thousands of years old have been discovered in East Africa. As early as 250 BC the Romans prized opals, thought to have come from mines in Eastern Europe, the ancient world's main source of opals.
COMPOSITE OPALS

Opal triplet (Source: Geoscience Australia)
Opal Triplets are thin slivers of precious opal about 0.5mm thick which are sandwiched between a backing made of black plastic, industrial glass or black (potch) opal and a transparent domed top, made from glass or clear quartz. The best triplets have black potch opal as the backing and clear quartz for the top. These layers are glued together using a suitable epoxy resin and the life of the opal is only as good as the glue that binds the layers together. The transparent cover magnifies the opal colour pattern and the black backing reflects the light through the assembly giving enhanced brilliance to the opal. These opals are commonly seen in Australian jewelry stores, particularly at airports and are sold at a fraction of the cost of solid opal gemstones. Most triplets are constructed to specific calibrated sizes, so they can be fitted into mass-produced, necklace, pendant or earring settings.
Rounded colourful opal gemstone

Opal doublet (Source: Geoscience Australia)

Opal Doublets. A slightly thicker opal slice, usually greater than 2mm, is glued to a black base and then shaped and polished to a cabochon style. These are less commonly seen in the market and are more expensive than opal triplets.
MAN-MADE or SYNTHETIC OPALS

This type of gemstone is created in controlled laboratory conditions. They have the same chemical composition and physical properties to that of the natural gemstones.
Anyone who sells Opal generally wants 2 things. The client to be happy, and a returning customer. That keeps the industry going! At Australian Opal Cutters, our lifelong motto is "do to others what you would have them do to you”. We spare no effort to make sure everyone come to us know what opal to buy because there are various types of opals. It is important for us to help our customers learn about different types of opal in order to determine the value, quality and the price. We provide free on-site opal lessons and a free mini online opal course to help you make informed decisions about buying opal and experience a Happy purchase!
Join Australian Opal Cutters FREE online opal course on https://www.opal.org.au/
Explore Australian Opal Cutters huge range of opal types and in stunning variety of hand-made opal jewellery collections on https://australianopalcutters.com/pages/opals.
Come and visit us at Level 3,295-301, Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Our trained and professional team are there to help you discover the most beautiful germ in the world and match you with your perfect opal.
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Видео Video 4 Opal Education канала Australian Opal Cutters