[Jewelry making - Article 00822] - Re: [Orchid] Source for matched fire opals

[Loren S. Damewood]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========


    Beth, 

>        I've checked the opal sources mentioned recently, but they
>     don't have what I need right now.  I have a customer who wants
>     earrings in fire opal, so I need a matched pair.  Any suggestions? 
>     Opals are not something I have done a lot with, so I don't have a
>     reliable source for these.  Thanks! 

    I made a pair of fire opal earrings last year, and I searched
    through lots of displays and sorted many trays full of stones.  I
    finally gave up and picked out a couple that weren't too dissimilar
    in color, and were about the same size. 

    Nobody looks at both ears at the same time.  ;-) 

    I suppose that it's possible to find material that would permit two
    very similar stones to be cut from it, but one of the things that is
    most fascinating about opal, at least to me, is the amazing
    variations from one piece to the next, and even within the same
    piece. 

    You can see the two that I finally decided on at this link: 

    http://www.golden-knots.com/gem_earring.html 

    One of them has a little more green fire in it than the other, but
    they both have similar amounts of orangy-red fire.  I did what I
    could with what I could find. 

Loren
http://www.golden-knots.com/

____________________________________________________________________
T h e   O r c h i d   L i s t
Open Electronic Forum for Jewelry Manufacturing Methods and Procedures
____________________________________________________________________
Orchid FAQ:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/faq.htm
Orchid Archives:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive
Orchid Galleries:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/gallery.htm
Invite a Friend:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm
____________________________________________________________________
Tips From The Jeweler's Bench - Article Archive
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/tip_sear.htm
The Jeweler's Selected Bibliography List
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/jewelry-books
Buy Orchid Jewelry:
~ http://www.ganoksin.com/shop
____________________________________________________________________
-Unsubscribe:
-Email: orchid-request AT ganoksin.com Body=unsubscribe subject=blank
____________________________________________________________________