[Jewelry making - Article 01163] - Re: [Orchid] Boulder Opal Polish

[Rick Martin]

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>       When I was suggesting using a blade to remove an opal from a
>     setting, I was not thinking of boulder. 

    This is a near certain path to disaster for ANY opal, not just
    boulder. The slightest uneven pressure or twist of the blade will
    crack or chip the stone. If you want to salvage any bezeled opal, saw
    or otherwise cut the bezel wire off along the base plate -- very
    carefully.  The customer should be warned that many problems may be
    encountered in this kind of job because... 

    ...some people use epoxy in bezels.  I think this is one of the
    worst practices in jewelry-making.  Either the bezel should be built
    to conform to the base of the opal, or the opal should be modified to
    fit the base. The only compromise I would even think of making is the
    occasional use of a layer or two of the thin plastic foam that's used
    in shipping.  I don't know the name of the stuff but it's about half
    a millimeter thick.  It cushions against slight irregularities and
    also adds a little upward "spring" to the stone so it can't rattle in
    the bezel. I never use it in gold items and only rarely in silver
    except for inexpensive turquoise pieces. Epoxying stones is
    disrespectful of any person who works on the jewelry in the future
    IMO. Even soaking jewelry in solvents can damage certain opals,
    especially doublets set with only the precious opal part showing. 
    And there are a lot more doublets posing as "bouler opals" on the
    market than most people suspect.  I know a guy who sells them as what
    they are, but they're so expertly made they could easily fool
    secondary owners -- and innocent repair people. 

Rick Martin

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