[Jewelry making - Article 01457] - Re: [Orchid] Storage in Safety Deposit Boxes

[Noel]

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Hi, Mike,

    On the subject of opals, it has become clear to me, over a period of
    years of reading on this forum, that there is considerable
    conviction, but no consensus. What I know personally about opals
    comes from a little experience, and Orchid. There has been
    discussion about storing and coating opals with water, oil, and
    glycerine, keeping them near sources of water or not, and the only
    thing that seems clear is that you're asking for trouble if you put
    them in the sun (duh!) I suspect that asome opals will crack or
    craze sooner or later, and some will not, and the rest of it is
    sympathetic magic at worst and a delaying action at best. 

    I decided to jump in here because I am *not* an opal expert, but
    have read everything that has been posted (and some other stuff I've
    come across) with concern and interest for years. I've also had
    opals that I've held for many years suddenly turn up cracked or
    crazed, and my investment wasted. 

    If there is definitive knowledge, I haven't seen it (or had any way
    to recognize it). My own conclusion is that, if an opal doesn't hold
    up in the kinds of conditions an average person would keep it in,
    without special treatment but also without special abuse (like being
    left on the dashboard of a car-- or maybe a bank vault), then it
    isn't suitable to set and sell. So I hang onto opals for a minimum
    of a couple of years, and if they're still OK after sitting in my
    summer-humid and winter-dry studio with my other stones, then I use
    them. 

--Noel

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