[Jewelry making - Article 01451] - Re: [Orchid] Storage in Safety Deposit Boxes

[The Doctor]

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>         I had heard once ( and have no idea at all how true it is) that
>     opals could be stored in very small quantities of mineral oil for
>     long term storage. It was supposed to protect the stones as well as
>     retain or enhance the colors in the stones. I honestly do not know
>     the accuracy of this. It just seems that a certain degree of
>     climate control could be maintained in a small air-tight container
>     of some sort. 

    Michael, As I mentioned in a previous post, opal can, indeed, be
    stored in an airtight container with liquid to help prevent or deter
    thermal shock (or you can call it "a certain degree of climate
    control"). The vast majority of opalholics do agree that opal can
    "re-hydrate" most liquids and, since the diffraction of light in
    opal is caused by the water between the stacked silica spheres
    within, water is usually the liquid of choice. Most, but not all,
    opalholics agree that mineral oil, or any oil can be absorbed into
    an opal, possibly discoloring it. If you believe that opal can
    re-hydrate, you must also believe it can soak up oils. 

    This begs the question: If opal can soak up mineral oil, then why do
    they recommend I wear it daily to prevent crazing by wicking out my
    body's natural oils? I can't answer that one, but it does beg
    another question from me: If you bought opal jewelry, why on earth
    wouldn't you want to wear it? That's the opalholic in me talking :-) 

>          My second question here is, what about all the other types of
>     jewely out there that do not use opals? How would the air
>     conditioning systems affect them if at all? 

    Good question. Opal is pretty much the only gemstone that can be
    severely affected by dehydration, but thermal shock can affect quite
    a few. Fortunately, it takes a fairly extreme temperature change to
    make a difference. Also, opal dehydration can take a long time, and
    that varies from piece to piece. It could take weeks or years. 

    Since all emeralds are oiled before they leave the mines, a lot of
    people store them in some type of oil. I believe the most common
    emerald oil treatment consists of Canada balsam (occasionally dyed,
    as well), but there may be newer techniques. Air conditioning, safe
    deposit boxes, etc. won't have much of an effect on most jewelry.
    However, there are lots of period pieces with such stones as
    foilbacks that can suffer from humidity changes. If anyone has
    valuable gems or jewelry of any kind, they should always insure them
    for this purpose, and other obvious ones. 

>          As I said, I am very ignorant on these subjects (especially
>     about opals and other stones) because I use primarily metals only
>     at this stage of my learning experience. Inquiring braincells are
>     thirsting for knowledge here. 

    If you'd like to learn a lot about opals, look into Paul B.
    Downing's books Opal Identification and Value, and Opal Adventures.
    Fred Ward also has a good one, I believed titled simply Opal by Fred
    Ward. The archives will list them, I'm sure. These will give you a
    great start. One of the many web sites that specialize in gemology,
    www.yourgemologist.com has a tremendous amount of information about
    most common gemstones. And, you can always ask here. 

James in SoFl

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