Opulent Opal Jewellery
I have cracked opals at my bench. Decades in, it still happens.
They are soft, they do not forgive a heavy hand, and they are worth the trouble anyway. Nothing else does what an opal does with light. So I work slowly, set them the safest way I know, and am honest about what they can take. Every piece here is made by hand in my studio on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.
Why do yours not look like the opals I have seen?
Because I am not drawn to the classic white opal with rainbow flecks. The moodier the stone, the better.
- Owyhee blue From Oregon. Dense, moody, opaque blue. A newer one for me and I am taken with it.
- Peruvian pink Soft pinks that look like a sunrise. Sometimes carved rather than left plain.
- Ethiopian welo The one with rainbows moving inside it, and the most affordable way in.
Mexican fire opal is a favourite too, though it comes and goes. For how each type actually forms, I wrote a guide to opal.
How do you set a stone you might crack?
Bezel, always. A rim of silver folded over the edge holds the stone without a single point of pressure on it, which is what a soft stone needs. Prongs concentrate force. Glue hides problems.
It also decides what I make. Opal goes into pendants and earrings far more than rings here, because a pendant lives a gentle life and a ring takes every knock your hand does.
Where should I start?
Welo, usually. It has the rainbow play people picture when they think of opal, it is the friendliest on price here, and it comes strung as beads as well as set.
You will also find opalized fossil wood here, which is ancient wood turned to silica. Same material as opal, much tougher, and it lives in my fossil collection too.
After that it is entirely about which stone stops you. Each one is chosen on its own and most of these are the only one, so when a piece sells it is gone. I do take commissions, though only in my own style. Tell me what you are after.
Questions about opal
Are these solid opals, or doublets?
Every opal here is a solid stone. A doublet or triplet is a thin slice of opal backed, and sometimes capped, with another material to make it look larger and survive better. There is nothing dishonest about them when they are described properly, but they are not what I sell, and plenty of shops stay quiet about which they are. If I ever do stock them I will say so.
Does opal need special care?
A little. Keep it off for gardening, cleaning and washing up, never put it in an ultrasonic cleaner, and do not leave it somewhere that swings from hot to cold. A soft cloth and nothing else. Treated kindly an opal lasts generations, and my opal guide goes further into it.
Do you make opal engagement rings?
I would gently talk you out of it. Opal is soft enough that a ring worn every day for decades will show it, and an engagement ring is the hardest life a piece of jewellery can have. If you want that look in something built to survive, a rose cut stone from my sapphire and ruby collection is far better suited. I would rather say so now than repair it later.
Galaxy Opal Necklace IV • Sterling Silver
From $225.00
Galaxy Opal Necklace II • Sterling Silver
From $225.00
Galaxy Opal Necklace • Sterling Silver
From $225.00
