 |
|
| >>click
to enlarge<< |
|
| carved opal |
|
| opal beads |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
PRESENTATION
OF OPAL |
 |
|
| Carved
Opal |
| Opal
is seldom found in large pieces, and, if
of good quality its value is so high that
it is seldom carved. However material of
somewhat lower quality, such as light or
clear opal showing some greens and blues,
may be carved
from time to time. Furthermore, skillful
carving allows the occasional imperfections
to be removed. Large carved pieces are thus
not common, but smaller pieces to be worn
as ornaments are usually available. These
make beautiful and unusual ornaments and
jewellery. |
Faceting |
Rarely,
an opal may be faceted. This generally
does little for precious opal showing
diffraction colours, although it can
be quite effective for some opals
of uniform colour, such as the fire
opal from Queretaro in Mexico. While
similar coloured stone is occasionally
found in Australia, it is seldom used
by the trade. |
| Beads |
Opal
is sometimes cut as beads.
The main problem is to obtain enough
matching opal to make a necklace,
especially with high quality material;
in the latter case, the value of the
jewellery would be high. Striking
necklaces can also be made from boulder
opal matrix material. |
|
 |
| |
|
 |
|
