[Jewelry making - Article 00368] - Re: [Orchid] Restoring finish to opal

[richard hart]

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>        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. 

James,

    When cutters buy rough, like lapis, turquoise,opal....agate ect,
    they wet the rocks to see what they will look like polished. What a
    rock looks like wet is usually what it looks like polished. 

    Bottles of opal are usually parcels of material that will cut
    similar stones in color, pattern of fire, andprice. Every opal
    dealer I have delt with for 20 years has allowed me to open the
    bottle to inspect each and every piece. Water makes the stones look
    bigger and better, but it is used as a tool for inspection, not
    deception.  I personally have never seen a dealer putting crazed
    australian opals in a water filled bottle.  If someone did that,
    they would lose credibility immediately from any cutters that knew
    what they were doing. 

    I have seen bottles of mexican jelly opal in matrix for sale that
    had some stones in the lot that had crazed or cracked, and that is
    the way that material is sold.  If you are lucky with that material,
    you get a few nice stones and some specimens for kids.  Blasting is
    used to remove material to get at the mexican jelly opal, and that
    causes cracking which is usually easy to see. 

    There is a learning curve to buying good rough. Everyone that buys
    any kind of rough knows this. Part of the thrill and adventure. 


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