141,00 € TTC
Natural Australian opal from the Koroit mines, 32.5 carat ovoid opal mounted on a 925 silver bezel and polished on both sides; its dark matrix highlights its iridescence and areas of vivid hues.
In stock
What does an opal offer over another gem? Whether you’re a professional or a private customer, choosing an opal can be based on a number of criteria: a love affair with the gem, a preference for one category over another, but also the desired use (jewelry, specimen for a mineralogical collection, marquetry, cutlery…).
Each stone is cut according to a preferred orientation to maximize its brilliance and color, and therefore suggests that it be used at a well-defined angle to maximize its fire; others can be worn regardless of their orientation (however, even if an opal has fire regardless of its orientation, changing the angle alters the dominant hues, and one hue may be favored over another).
To appreciate this characteristic, follow the white stain of the light’s impact on the stone and deduce its angle of incidence and preferred exposure.
Opal setting takes into account the shape and possible use of the stone in jewelry (pendants, rings, bracelets…) and of course our jewelry is designed to highlight the opal according to its principles.
Opals naturally contain a certain percentage of water, which contributes to their brilliance, and must be preserved. Wear your opal and don’t expose it to excessive heat.
The opals we sell are stable.
Opal’s hardness on the Mohs scale ranges from 5.5 to 6.5, a value that allows it to be used in jewelry, but has its limits in the event of impact or contact with a surface of higher hardness: avoid shocks! (for example, sand made of quartz scratches opals, as do all materials made of quartz: cement, etc.).
Washing in lukewarm water is ideal for maintaining your opal.
Mounted opals can also be cleaned with warm water and a little mild soap (not hot or too hot).
After a short overnight soak and a chamois cloth (especially not a toothbrush) and some gentle wiping, an ultrasonic bath is available from your favorite jeweler or from us – please contact us.
Generally speaking, we recommend that you look after your jewelry by storing it in its box when not in use, washing it from time to time, and checking that everything is in order with a professional from time to time.
To preserve the jewel, avoid shocks, contact with liquids, creams, etc., and store it in its jewel box when not in use.
For cleaning, use a small make-up brush or cotton bud to dust the stone and pearls on the pendant.
For metal primers, use a chamois cloth.
The NB scale was developed by the Opal Association, the Australian Opal Association, to promote opals.
This scale for visualizing the body tone of N opal and its brilliance level B is used in opal classification. It is not unanimously accepted throughout the world, and is not contractually binding, but we use it because it allows us to characterize certain properties and thus classify them.
N-body tonality runs from note 1 to 9, and by superimposing the matrix of your opal on this scale you determine whether it’s a black opal (N1 to N4), a dark opal (N5 and N6) or a light opal (N7 to white N9).
The gloss level scale is more subjective; here are a few illustrations of these levels:
AG925 or silver 925 or silver 925 thousandths is the best quality used in jewelry.
Indeed, while 950 silver jewelry contains a higher silver content, it has the disadvantage of darkening and deteriorating more quickly than 925 silver jewelry.
The K (carat) is here a measure of purity (quantity of gold in a mixture of metals) and not a unit of mass as for opal (cts). We express the mass of metal in grams (gr) and its purity in carat (K).
Gold deemed pure 24K is qualified by 24 parts of gold out of 24.
OR18K or 18-carat gold is an alloy made up of 18 parts pure gold and 6 parts other metals (silver, copper or palladium), then lightly tinted yellow, pink or white.
OR18K is therefore made up of 75% pure gold and (if yellow) 10 to 20% silver and 5 to 15% copper.
14-carat gold, also known as 583/1000 gold, has 10 parts gold out of 24, i.e. a pure gold content of 58.3%, and is more fragile and less durable than 18K.
Dimensional measurements are made by hand, using calipers and precision scales for weights.
Length=largest dimension measured in millimeters (mm)
Width=second largest dimension measured in millimeters (mm)
Height, thickness=maximum thickness measured in millimeters (mm)
Precision balance (to 0.01 carat) used: JS-VC (max capacity 20 g), weight measured in carats, result rounded to the tenth according to the rules of rounding and then calculated in grams for shipping purposes.
Le choix d’une opale, son orientation privilégiée
Qu’apporte une opale plutôt qu’une autre gemme ? Que vous soyez professionnel ou particulier, choisir une opale peut répondre à bien des critères ; coup de cœur pour la gemme, pour une catégorie plus qu’une autre mais aussi en fonction de l’usage souhaité (bijouterie, spécimen pour collection minéralogique, marqueterie, coutellerie…).
Chaque pierre est taillée selon une orientation privilégiée pour maximiser ses éclats et ses couleurs et suggère donc son utilisation selon un angle bien défini qui maximise ses feux ; d’autres peuvent être portées quelle que soit leur orientation (cependant même si une opale a des feux quelle que soit son orientation, le fait de changer d’angle modifie les teintes dominantes et on peut privilégier une teinte par rapport à une autre).
Pour apprécier cette caractéristique, suivez la tâche blanche de l’impact de la lumière sur la pierre et déduisez en l’angle d’incidence de celle-ci et son exposition préférentielle.
La mise en scène de l’opale tient compte de la forme et de la l’utilisation éventuelle de la pierre en bijouterie (pendentifs, bagues, bracelets…).
Conseils d'entretien de votre Opale
L’opale contient naturellement un certain pourcentage d’eau qui participe à sa brillance, elle doit le conserver, portez votre opale et ne l’exposez pas à une chaleur trop intense.
Les opales que nous vendons sont stables.
La dureté de l’opale sur l’échelle de Mohs est de 5,5 à 6,5, cette valeur permet son utilisation en bijouterie mais a ses limites lors d’un choc ou d’un contact avec une surface d’une dureté plus élevée : évitez les chocs ! (par exemple, le sable constitué de quartz, raye l’opale ainsi que tout matériau constitué de ce dernier : ciment, etc…)
Un lavage à l’eau tiède est idéal pour entretenir votre opale.
Choosing an opal, its preferred orientation
What does an opal offer over another gem? Whether you’re a professional or a private customer, choosing an opal can be based on a number of criteria: a love affair with the gem, a preference for one category over another, but also the desired use (jewelry, specimen for a mineralogical collection, marquetry, cutlery…).
Each stone is cut according to a preferred orientation to maximize its brilliance and color, and therefore suggests that it be used at a well-defined angle to maximize its fire; others can be worn regardless of their orientation (however, even if an opal has fire regardless of its orientation, changing the angle alters the dominant hues, and one hue may be favored over another).
To appreciate this characteristic, follow the white stain of the light’s impact on the stone and deduce its angle of incidence and preferred exposure.
The setting of the opal takes into account the shape and possible use of the stone in jewelry (pendants, rings, bracelets, etc.).
Maintenance tips for your Opale
Opals naturally contain a certain percentage of water, which contributes to their brilliance, and must be preserved. Wear your opal and don’t expose it to excessive heat.
The opals we sell are stable.
Opal’s hardness on the Mohs scale ranges from 5.5 to 6.5, a value that allows it to be used in jewelry, but has its limits in the event of impact or contact with a surface of higher hardness: avoid shocks! (for example, sand made of quartz scratches opals, as do all materials made of quartz: cement, etc.).
Washing in lukewarm water is ideal for maintaining your opal.