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02571.0 - HUGE Handmade and UNIQUE 14 Kt Yellow Gold Pendant 55 x 35 mm Set with 23.00 carats Treated Opal Matrix from Andamooka Opal Fields
02571.0 - HUGE Handmade and UNIQUE 14 Kt Yellow Gold Pendant 55 x 35 mm Set with 23.00 carats Treated Opal Matrix from Andamooka Opal Fields
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This Treated Opal Matrix is from the late 1960's.
Due to it's size I decided it would be best to design it with a minimal amount of gold work around it and rather let the Opal "speak" for itself. I had the gold setting made in the late 1980's.The Andamooka Opal Fields, near Lake Torrens in South Australia, produced a certain type of Opal in a matrix form which could cause the whole stone to be very porous. The rough stone would have a chalk like white appearance which would overwhelm the tiny granules of colourful Opal mixed within and the two would be blended together so that it was hard to see anything else but white. Such stones could be treated to enhance the colours of the Opal mixed within it. If a stone was so porous that if touched by one's tongue and it would stick to the tongue, then it was definitely treatable.The treatment was basically to soak the stone, after having been cut and polished, in a sugar solution, which the stone would absorb. The stone would then be taken out and left to dry and once completely dry there would be sugar left inside. The stone would then be soaked in acid which would burn the sugar black. With that, the Opal would be readily visible against the black background.(PLEASE NOTE; AS TREATING TYPE OPAL MATRIX HAS TO BE POROUS FOR THE SUGARY SOLUTION TO ENTER INTO THE STONE, THE SAME POURS ARE ALSO VISIBLE UNDER MAGNIFICATION AS TINY PIN HOLES, EVEN AFTER THE BEST OF POLISHING. THIS PARTICULAR STONE HAS A VERY HIGH, GLASS LIKE POLISH, WHICH INDICATES THAT IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TREATED OR, IF ATTEMPTED TO TREAT, ONLY LIMITED CHANGE ACHIEVED. THE BOTTOM LINE BEING; HIS MAY BE A MORE OR LESS NATURAL BLACK OPAL MATRIX WHICH IS MORE COMPACT AND HARDER... AND RARE... COMPARED TO THE REGULAR POROUS TREATING TYPE OPAL MATRIX.) Notwithstanding the above, I am DESCRIBING and SELLING it as being TREATED, just in case!This is basically the same principle behind making Opal Doublets and Opal Triplets; take a thin slice of white Opal, paint the back of the slice black and the colours become very strong and visible, even in low grade Opal.A solid Black Opal with an appearance anywhere near like this pendant, would be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Some of these Treated Opal Matrix stones were so good that they were passed on as Black Opal, which they are not. We do not import, promote or sell Synthetic or Man Made Opal, nor any non-Australian mined Opal.On 27 July, 1993, The Australian Government proclaimed Opal as the National Gemstone of Australia!
Due to it's size I decided it would be best to design it with a minimal amount of gold work around it and rather let the Opal "speak" for itself. I had the gold setting made in the late 1980's.The Andamooka Opal Fields, near Lake Torrens in South Australia, produced a certain type of Opal in a matrix form which could cause the whole stone to be very porous. The rough stone would have a chalk like white appearance which would overwhelm the tiny granules of colourful Opal mixed within and the two would be blended together so that it was hard to see anything else but white. Such stones could be treated to enhance the colours of the Opal mixed within it. If a stone was so porous that if touched by one's tongue and it would stick to the tongue, then it was definitely treatable.The treatment was basically to soak the stone, after having been cut and polished, in a sugar solution, which the stone would absorb. The stone would then be taken out and left to dry and once completely dry there would be sugar left inside. The stone would then be soaked in acid which would burn the sugar black. With that, the Opal would be readily visible against the black background.(PLEASE NOTE; AS TREATING TYPE OPAL MATRIX HAS TO BE POROUS FOR THE SUGARY SOLUTION TO ENTER INTO THE STONE, THE SAME POURS ARE ALSO VISIBLE UNDER MAGNIFICATION AS TINY PIN HOLES, EVEN AFTER THE BEST OF POLISHING. THIS PARTICULAR STONE HAS A VERY HIGH, GLASS LIKE POLISH, WHICH INDICATES THAT IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TREATED OR, IF ATTEMPTED TO TREAT, ONLY LIMITED CHANGE ACHIEVED. THE BOTTOM LINE BEING; HIS MAY BE A MORE OR LESS NATURAL BLACK OPAL MATRIX WHICH IS MORE COMPACT AND HARDER... AND RARE... COMPARED TO THE REGULAR POROUS TREATING TYPE OPAL MATRIX.) Notwithstanding the above, I am DESCRIBING and SELLING it as being TREATED, just in case!This is basically the same principle behind making Opal Doublets and Opal Triplets; take a thin slice of white Opal, paint the back of the slice black and the colours become very strong and visible, even in low grade Opal.A solid Black Opal with an appearance anywhere near like this pendant, would be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Some of these Treated Opal Matrix stones were so good that they were passed on as Black Opal, which they are not. We do not import, promote or sell Synthetic or Man Made Opal, nor any non-Australian mined Opal.On 27 July, 1993, The Australian Government proclaimed Opal as the National Gemstone of Australia!
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