[Jewelry making - Article 00332] - Re: [Orchid] Restoring finish to opal

[The Doctor]

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>         On a slightly different topic: I have heard that it is
>     possible to "hide" crazing fractures in an opal. Does anyone know
>     about this? 

    Oil and wax have been used to disguise crazing for quite a long
    time. Plastics and epoxy resins such as Opticon are being used often
    now. Since two-part epoxies also harden, they are considered a good
    stabilizer for opal, turquoise and other porous stones. Whichever
    the desired result, be it stabilization or to hide crazing,
    non-disclosure is considered unethical. 

    I recently went up to Mississippi to visit, and ran across a friend
    with a simple Lightning Ridge opal pendant I made years ago. The
    little black stone had developed a crack (as in 'deeper than a
    craze') from one edge up over the top a little. I offered to update
    the setting for her, and mentioned that while I had the opal
    removed, I could treat it with a resin, which could help restore
    some durability to her opal. She agreed, and I must say I was as
    happy as she after seeing it's appearance. Most of the crack was
    invisible from the top over the side, and the rest was under the
    bezel. 

    I believe this was a happy experience due in major part to
    disclosure of the treatment. I explained that we weren't trying to
    hide the crack, rather trying to stabilize it before it went any
    further. Treatments have their purpose, but "hiding" inclusions and
    imperfections is not an ethical one. Besides, I've seen many crazed
    opals that were far more interesting because of this "defect." 

    James in SoFl 

    P.S. Oh, and don't forget about water for hiding crazing in rough.
    Seldom do I see rough opal for sale outside of a water-filled bottle
    of some sort. 


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