Opal

FaceBook:

We have a wide selection of our work on FaceBook. Some pieces are shown in various stages of completion. When we do a special piece for a customer we often send them image of waxes. This makes it easier for them to understand what we are doing. It also allows us to work together and insure the creation of something special: https://www.facebook.com/Postgate-Fine-Jewelers-111540785537658/photos/?view_public_for=111540785537658&ref=page_internal

Details:

Our finest opals come from Australia. Our favorites come from Lightning Ridge in New South Wales and Mintibe Australia. These stones are among the most durable and stable opals available. Some experts contend that these two sources are the only places where true black opals can be found.

Crystal Opals:

I began working as a professional jeweler in 1970. Mexico was the source of the finest crystal opals know to me then. These stones were called “crystal” because the finest examples looked like perfectly clear glass crystal that was filled with flecks of bright colors. The colors just floated inside the stones making them as beautiful as any opals I had ever seen. Those stones were also very expensive. Yellowish and orange stones from Mexico also had the unfortunate problem of crazing. I had the misfortune of purchasing several stones that had been perfect when I bought them but later were filled with cracks and ruined.

Ethiopian Opals”

In recent years Ethiopia has emerged as an important source of fine opals. The stones look like fine crystal opals from Mexico. These stones are very well priced and haven’t shown any signs of being unstable like some of the Mexican stones had. Even the yellow and orange bodied stones have been stable.

Opal History:

Well a brief one anyway. Opals are among the first gemstones to attain the most desirable status in ancient civilizations. They were equal with emeralds in ancient Greece and Rome as well as being highly prized in China and other cultures. They have been found in artifacts that were several thousand years old in East Africa. The British began a campaign to popularize the stones when fine specimens began coming from Australia. A tale by Agatha Christi in which a cursed opal was responsible for a death and a few other tragedies linked to the stone started a belief that opals should only be worn by those born in October. The stones were always under suspicion by some because no one could figure out where the magical colors came from?