Crystal White Opal Statement Necklace
♡ DETAILS:
Beautiful color display in our one-of-a-kind statement or layering necklace, which is a hand carved teardrop free form, Precious Crystal White Opal! We hand carved & polished this 6.39 carat AAA grade precious gem. This is a natural, un-treated opal. A very meaningful jewelry gift for anyone born in October, as Opal is the October birthstone. Also the perfect gift for a Libra.
Since this is a special stone, it deserved a special setting, so we hand-made a bold free form pendant using Argentium fine jewelry silver, which is purer than sterling & very tarnish resistant, requiring only an occasional wipe with a soft cloth. We kept the handmade prongs long, to wrap and hug the gem securely. We added a hidden loop/bail on the back to create a slider pendant & to keep the clean look.
-Lastly, we added an 1.7mm, 18 inch Argentium chain, with lobster claw clasp in the wheat design. This is our favorite chain, both from an aesthetic view & owing to the strength of the wheat chain design. Pendant length 1 1/4 inches x 3/4 wide.
♡ STONE DETAILS:
Material: Natural precious crystal white opal
Dimensions:23 X 13 X 7
Weight: 6.39 carat
Grade: AAA
♡ GIA GEM FACTS:
- How Opal Forms: Opal is known for its unique display of flashing rainbow colors called play-of-color. There are two broad classes of opal: precious and common. Precious opal displays play-of-color, common opal does not.
- Play-of-color occurs in precious opal because it’s made up of sub-microscopic spheres stacked in a grid-like pattern—like layers of Ping-Pong balls in a box. As the light waves travel between the spheres, the waves diffract, or bend. As they bend, they break up into the colors of the rainbow, called spectral colors. Play-of-color is the result.
♡ OPALS:
- Although experts divide gem opals into many different categories, five of the main types are:
- White or light opal: Translucent to semi translucent, with play-of-color against a white or light gray background color, called body-color.
- Black opal: Translucent to opaque, with play-of-color against a black or other dark background.
- Fire opal: Transparent to translucent, with brown, yellow, orange, or red body-color. This material—which often doesn’t show play-of-color—is also known as “Mexican opal.”
- Boulder opal: Translucent to opaque, with play-of-color against a light to dark background. Fragments of the surrounding rock, called matrix, become part of the finished gem.
- Crystal or water opal: Transparent to semitransparent, with a clear background. This type shows exceptional play-of-color.
