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.
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