[Jewelry making - Article 00017] - [Orchid] Strange opal experience

[david]

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Dear all,

    David, the gentleman I work with, has recently created a mounting
    for a piece of dark opal.  It is a very attractive piece of black
    opal, and David assumed it was a piece he had sold the client, as
    she has purchased several opals from us in the past. After further
    checking, we find that she purchased it for about $200.00 on a
    cruise. We would have estimated the value to be much higher, based
    on visual observation. The stone weighs 1.02 carats. It has a dark
    brown body color, with very good play of color- large, distinct
    flashes of red and green. 

    Here is the weird part: when David got the stone wet during cleaning
    of the finished piece, it turned very dark and lost its play of
    color. We had the ring soaking in warm ultrasonic solution, though
    the ultrasound was not running. The stone looked dark when we dried
    it off, but then  returned to its original appearance within
    approximately 5 minutes. It also seems softer than regular opal,
    with the finish being disturbed even with routine, careful polishing
    of the metal around it. We have never seen or heard of anything like
    this. Have any of you? 


    We hope you had a great holiday. 

Take care and keep in touch.

Brenda
david lee jeweler
Golden Touch Jewelry
Mason City, Iowa 

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