53485.0 - Very Rare Opal Australian Treated Matrix Set in Pure Silver Gold Plated Total Weight 55.6 carats 40 mm x 23 mm

53485.0 - Very Rare Opal Australian Treated Matrix Set in Pure Silver Gold Plated Total Weight 55.6 carats 40 mm x 23 mm

Andamooka Treated Opal Matrix:
The Andamooka Opal Fields 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.

A solid Black Opal with an appearance anywhere near like this pendant, would be worth tens of thousands of dollars and some of these Treated Opal Matrix stones were so good that they were passed on as Black Opal, which they are not.

This "Silverform" pendant: This particular piece is one of just a few "Silverform" pendants made with Australian Treated Matrix. It is in fact a very unique piece as no other pendant we made was quite the same and no other will ever be made again..

We made our "Silverform" Jewellery here in Australia between the mid 1970's to about mid 1980's. Only Australian Gemstones were used.

The making of our "Silverform" products involved painting the areas of the stone that we wanted to be Silver with a special type Silver based paint.

We then immersed the item in an electroplating tank. But, rather than a flash plating, which can literally be rubbed off (like Gold Plating sometimes wear off cheap watches etc..), we let the plating process go for many hours, sometimes days, to allow the Silver to build itself up until it becomes a thick layer which would not wear off in a life time, even Centuries, for that matter.

Because our "Silverform" products were made with Pure Silver (999), it is much more resistant to oxidization than Sterling Silver (925). It is also far stronger than silver items that has been made by the casting process (mass production from a mold) and even items made from sheet metal Silver.

As a bail or jump-ring for the chain can not actually be created in a plating tank, a Sterling Silver (925) bail or jump-ring had to be attached to the stone. It also enabled the item to be hung on to the hooks of a plating rack. Once the plating process started, the bail got covered with Pure Silver, just like the rest of the Silver painted areas of the pendant.

"Silverform" distinguish itself from other somewhat similar products in that we did NOT use copper to build up the metal thickness, then followed it up with a flash of Silver or Gold plating; our metal is pure and solid Silver right through. Attempts were made by others to copy our "Silverform" process, but without full knowledge of the process and our specially designed equipment, they just painted the item with a thick layer of electrically conductive paint, like copper, then gave it a quick Silver or Gold flash plating... No Silver at all, but nevertheless advertised and sold as Silver! The 1960's and 1970's was like the Wild West, you might say...