[Jewelry making - Article 00139] - Re: [Orchid] Opal Sealant?

[Don Rogers]

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>         I went to a nice gem and rock show recently, and got a small
>     piece of  rock with a thin layer of opal on it that has some really
>     nice fire (from most angles it glows like a green traffic light,
>     with a little blue sometimes). I know the layer is too thin to
>     polish, so I was wondering what might be good to cover it with to
>     use in jewelry. 

    Marcy, it sounds like you got a boulder opal "split".  The opal
    forms in thin seams in the ironstone matrix.  The cutters will find
    a likely seam and cut a chuck of this opal out.  Then they will
    notch the seam with a diamond saw.  Next they split the matrix along
    the opal seam using a cold chisel and a hammer. Usually, the rock
    will split with an almost even amount of opal on both sides.  I have
    seen some very nice earring pairs made from these.  They end up
    being mirror images of each other.  Nothing is used to "seal" this
    stone.  The fractured opal has a surface that almost not polish can
    match.  Any coating will as you expect, will dull the opal and over
    time will usually cloud up to the point of making it worthless. 
    Just shape it to the outline you want and the thickness you want and
    then mount it.  They make some very nice stones. 

    One thing to be careful of though, the ironstone is sometimes not
    very strong.  Usually, the darker it is, the stronger, the lighter,
    the less strong.  If you are bezel setting it, use care to have the
    bezel fit well and use minimum pressure pulling the bezel down. 

Don Rogers

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