Your Opal Ring: What You Might Not Know About It

If you have your heart set on an opal ring, you are not alone, Opals are a very popular gemstone, and are used in many jewelry designs, like opal engagement rings, opal pendants, and opal earrings.  The gorgeous colors in an opal seem to glow from within with no apparent light source.  Here are some interesting facts about opals that you probably didn’t know.

Opals are made of a mineraloid gel that has solidified.  It has a high water content, usually between 3-10%.  Precious opals have an internal structure containing ordered silica spheres that produce the seemingly glowing colors inside by causing interference with and diffraction of the light passing through the gem.  Common, opals, sometimes called potch opals, are milky and do not have the lively play of colors that are seen in precious opals.

Precious opal is often found in thin veins, and so several techniques for preparing the stones for use in jewelry have been developed.  Sometimes the opal is backed with a dark mineral such as ironstone.  The dark backing causes the colors in the opal to be more evident.  This type of opal is called an opal doublet.  These produce a gem which is often used to create black opal rings.  Genuine black opals are very rare and very expensive, so they are not often used.  Another technique is to back an opal with the darker stone, and also add a cap over the top of the opal, either, quartz or sometimes plastic.  These are called triplet opals.  The top layer protects the relatively soft opal, and also magnifies the opals colors.  Because they have an artificial look to them, triplet opals are not classified as a precious gemstone.

Fire opals are transparent to translucent and usually have a warm orangey-yellow color.  They don’t have the interior play of color that precious opals have, but may occasionally have a flash of green color present.  They are often faceted, whereas most precious opals are cut into cabochons, which show off the play of colors to their best advantage.

Opals that do not have the protective quartz or plastic dome should be handled with care, as they are not particularly hard.  If precious opals dry out, they may crack and/or craze.  Storing them in a sealed plastic bag is recommended.  Cleaning should be just a quick wash with mild soap and room-temperature water.  They should never be put into commercial jewelry cleaner.  Also, opals shouldn’t be exposed to quick temperature changes.  Be careful when going from a warm house to very cold temperatures outside suddenly, because opals have been known to crack under those circumstances.  Because of the fairly fragile nature of an opal ring, they should be reserved for wearing on special occasions, and not worn on a daily basis.  Opal engagement rings which will be worn continuously should be of the triplet variety, so that there is a protective layer for the opal and it won’t be damaged by the daily wear and tear it will receive.

White gold opal rings would look absolutely beautiful with cubic zirconia rings, or even a ruby ring, and would also look great with vintage jewelry.  They are versatile, yet it is good to remember that they are also fragile and must have some special care.  Now that you know some interesting things about opals, it’s time to go shopping, don’t you think?