Why Is Opal Jewellery Unique?

Opals in Australia are formed by silica bearing water stuck inside any type of rock. The silica gel in the rock precipitates at low temperatures forming layers or nodules of opal in fissures, veins and cavities of volcanic or sedimentary rocks. Opal is a form of silica, chemically similar to quartz but containing three to twenty-one percent water within its mineral structure. Opals are gemstones that contain six to ten percent of water.

There are mainly three types of opal. Opal jewellery is made using precious opals which are identified by change of colour within a particular stone as it is rotated or tilted. The fire opal is a transparent opal that has a colour range from yellow to bright orange to dark red. Common opal, also known as potch is usually a colourless or white stone (may look grey, brown, yellow or red because of impurities). This type of stone which has no commercial value accounts for eighty to ninety percent of all opals. Most of the world’s precious opals come from Coober Pedy and Andamooka fields in southern Australia.  

The precious opals are known for their play of colours which is caused by diffraction. Silicates in the soil dissolve in water to form silicate rich solution, which on entering a cavity deposits as tiny small balls. The layers of precipitated silica spheres form a jelly like water mass, producing diffraction grating when spheres are even in size and well ordered. A rainbow of sparkling light can be seen within the stone because of diffraction.

The play of colours is mainly due to uniformity of tiny balls (one-tenth of a micron) in the stone. A common opal is formed if the balls are random in shape and arrangement. The colours caused by regularly packed spheres depend on sphere size and space between them. If you move the stone, light hits the stone in different angles creating play of colours.

Rough Outline Of Black Opals And Other Varieties

An opal stones always bursts with life and vitality, the dazzling, hypnotic play-of-colour, makes it the queen of all gems, as it captures a rainbow in one stone. Generally these stones are naturally available, but to make them strong and to last stronger, a layer of black material is attached to the back of the stone, that variety of stone is known as doublet opals (because of double layers). 

The other types of opals are

Black opals: This variety of opal is the most valued variety of opal that comes mainly from the Lightning Ridge of Australia. These high quality stones are very rare to be found are quite expensive. The blackness of the body tone makes it easily distinguishable from fake ones.  These dark coloured gem stones show a play of different colours within them. When viewed from the top, black opal can either be a crystal or opaque. Few black opals have a light crystal colour bar on dark opal potch, giving it a unique look. Black opals exhibiting bright flashes of red are extremely rare variety.
Light/White opals: Natural opals with a base colour ranging from colourless to medium grey are called light opal. Light opals make up the bulk of precious opal. This range of gems may be transparent through to nearly opaque. A milky appearance is commonly found in light opals.
Boulder opal: Boulder is a variety that has the host rock forming naturally as a part of the gem. It mainly occurs in specific locations and they occur as in-fillings of cracks or voids usually in ironstone boulders.
Matrix opal: The matrix opal is commonly used where the opal is intimately diffuses as infillings of pores or holes between grains of the host rock in which it was formed.

Depending on the taste and budget one chooses these gems for jewellery.

What Are the Different Opals Used In Opal Jewellery?

Opals are gemstones consisting of a quartz-like form of hydrated silica that is semi-transparent, showing many small points of shifting colours. This stone is a precious, used for making of opal jewellery. This form of jewellery is expensive and sought after by many as the design offered by these pieces is unique and colour of stone keeps on changing. 

For making jewellery, the stones are modified to make them stronger and enhance their look. The most common form of opals used in jewellery are:

• Doublets 
• Triplets

Doublet opals: These man-made stones consist of two layers which are attached with strong glue. The first layer is a black backing made up of industrial glass, black potch (colorless opal), hard plastic, brown ironstone or at times vitrolite. The second layer is a slice of opal. The thickness of opal in a doublet can vary; generally the layer is thicker than the layer in a triplet. The edges of opal layer are rounded off to give the stone a domed top.

These man-made opals can be identified by looking at the side of opal. A straight line can be seen at the place where the opal and the black material are adhered. If a doublet is set into jewellery with sides covered, then the doublet would resemble a real opal stone. Since the top of the stone consists of pure opal, it therefore resembles an opal stone and thus doublets have a more natural appearance than a triplet. 

Caring of doublets differ from solid opals. Solid opals can withstand prolonged exposure to water while doublets or triplets cannot withstand a prolonged exposure to water.  The main reason is that glue is used to attach two or more layers for these two varieties.

If you want to purchase opal jewellery, you can visit sites online or a shop in nearby locality to possess one.

Have A Memorable Anniversary With The Help Of Black Opals

In order to have a time of life when it comes to any sort of occasions, you need to have the help of experts who will ensure sure shot outcomes with the money spent. All you have to do is to come up with the ideas to ensure amazing outcomes to deal with. 

Get in touch with them and they will offer ideas about gifts that will make the beloved very happy and take the occasion to a whole new level. The sort of jewelry can be any or any other gift item, but nothing beats the gem when it comes to such occasion. The black opals are one such rarity that is found in some places of Australia and very few places across the world. It is due to such that they are highly regarded in the context. 

All you have to do in the end is to find a service provider with a trusted name in the market as due to the rarity of the gems, there are many who sell counterfeit ones and that is why, you need to get in touch with trusted providers of such. The Australian opal jewelry is here to take the occasion to new level and the glitter in the eye of beloved will be worth the effort.

Visit the in-store or online option and you will be served with an amazing range of results to be taken into account. Find them today by going over the internet and you will be glad to have made the right choice.