QuestionQUESTION: HI, I inherited my handmade Australian opal ring from my late uncle, he made it himself over 50 years ago and since i have owned it it has begun to cloud. I would love to hear your thought on why this is happening and what, if anything, i can do to stop it. thank you for your help
ANSWER: Hi Laura ,
oh what a shame ,... my first thoughts are that it may be a doublet or a triplet , and some moisture is getting into the layers , perhaps the glue has perished between the layers .I am guessing the stone is set in the ring and you cant see the sides of the stone . You will only know this if you can see all sides of the piece. Next please describe the stone is it clear transparent , milky, dark , light ? It could be a white cliffs opal and has some milky properties over a jelly and it may clear up with a bit of heat , indirectly of course . I really have to see it to know more about the opal type ,are you quite sure its Australian ? Are you wearing this ring at present ?
examine it with a loupe ( magnifying glass )first
The only thing I would do is to take some warm clothes or a towel out of the clothes dryer and wrap the ring up in the towel, the warmth of the towel will warm the stone up a little , make sure the towel is not really hot just warm , if its nice and warm you can hold to your face , then thats ok . But no hotter ..
usually opals are starved of water and can craze or cloud , so if you are not wearing it or its been in the safe for long time , give it a drink examine it again
If that has no effect. I think the 1st thoughts are the reason..
hope that helps . Regards Rod Keady
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QUESTION: Hi Rod, im no expert so i couldn't tell you if the ring is in fact Australian opal, thats just what my family has told me it was since i never had the chance to ask my uncle himself. the ring itself looks to me to be one solid oval piece, it was almost a royal blue in color and depending on the way you held it, it would show bright flecks of turquoise. now it has , the best way i can describe it is a fog over it. you can still see the colored flecks but they are dulled. i am currently wearing the ring as i don't have a safe place to put it at the moment. thanks for your time and i hope my description helps a little :)
AnswerHi Laura,
wow ...the fog is a bit of a mystery and really it would have to be seen .Around 50 years ago Australia produced about 95% of all opal and produced some really amazing stones . I cant quite get a picture of your stone in my mind ,whether its semi transparent or has any other telling attributes.
You really should show a jeweller just for an opinion . It very rare for a fogging effect unless it is really porous and unstable . Some early brazilian opal which resembled water bar australian opal , was blue and was like a jelly type.
If you can take a pic of it and email it up It would help but Im afraid Ive gone about as far as I can . hope thats helpful best regards
Rod Keady
