How Opal Jewelry Is Made: Four Stations, One Stone
Opal knowledge · Craft
Four stations, three continents, one stone
How a piece of opal jewelry is made, begins six metres underground in red sandstone. There sits a stone that has grown over millions of years and that nobody has ever seen. By the time it sits on a finger it has three continents behind it and has passed through more hands than most people imagine.
1. Underground: the find
Opal is not mined like coal. There is no seam to follow and no map that says where anything lies. You sink a shaft, work sideways and in the vast majority of cases find nothing. For weeks.
The fields in Australia are still worked mainly by small operations. Two people, one shaft, one winch. That is exactly why supply fluctuates so much, and exactly why opal has no daily rate.
What nobody knows yet at the source
A rough opal only reveals its play of color once an edge is ground or wetted. Until then it is a grey lump. That is why the value is not decided in the mine but two stations later.
Where the fields lie and what sets them apart is in where opals come from. How the stone forms, in how opals form.
2. The cut: the riskiest hour
The rough stone goes to the cutter, and here the decision is made that determines everything else. Unlike with diamonds, opal has no set of rules. No angle, no proportion, no standard. The cutter has to see inside the stone where the color bearing layer lies, how thick it is and at what angle it runs.
If too much material is left standing, the stone looks flat and the play of color does not break properly. It sells below its worth.
If the color bearing layer is cut through, the fire is gone. A stone worth four figures becomes ordinary opal.
That is why opal is almost always cut as a cabochon , in other words domed rather than faceted. Because it has no crystal lattice, facets create no extra fire. They would only cut up the surface on which the play of color runs. Why that is so is explained in what is an opal.
3. Checking and grading
After cutting comes sorting, by the very features that also count when buying. Anyone who knows them can place any opal, whether it costs two hundred or twenty thousand dollars.
| Feature | Raises the value | Lowers the value |
|---|---|---|
| Body tone | dark to black | pale, milky |
| Play of color | strong, across the whole surface | washed out, from one angle only |
| Color shares | red and orange present | blue only |
| Construction | solid opal | doublet or triplet |
| Surface | free of cracks | fine hairline cracks |
A single hairline crack can halve the value, because it can open further with changes in temperature. That is why every stone is checked individually under the loupe, not by sampling. How a price follows from this is in how much is an opal worth.
4. The workshop: the setting built to the stone
Now the goldsmith comes in, and here lies the difference from mass produced jewelry. With standardised stones the same blank is used a thousand times over. With opal that does not work: every stone has a different shape, a different height, a different dome. The setting is built to the stone, not the other way round.
The trickiest moment comes last
Setting puts pressure on the stone, and opal forgives less than sapphire. That is why it goes in right at the end, after all the soldering. For the same reason a finished opal ring has to be unsetbefore it can be resized. More on this in ring size and setting.
Why does that explain the price?
Anyone who follows this path once understands the costing without further explanation.
The find cannot be planned
No operation can raise output when demand rises. Opal is found, not produced.
The cut is individual work
Every stone is judged individually and cut individually. There is no machine you feed a thousand rough opals into.
The check is done by hand
Every stone individually under the loupe, because one hairline crack halves the value.
The setting is one of a kind
It fits this one stone and no other.
What comes out of it in the end is under opal jewelry, sorted by gold and silver. If you first want to know which stone suits you: the opal finder takes you there in four steps.
What you can take from this
The next time you stand in front of two opals at very different prices, you now know where the difference comes from. Ask about the construction, about the origin and about whether the setting was made for this stone. Anyone who answers all three without hesitating has really had the stone in their hands.
Common questions about how opal jewelry is made
How is an opal cut?
Almost always as a cabochon, in other words domed rather than faceted. Because opal has no crystal lattice, facets create no extra fire.
Why is opal jewelry more expensive than mass produced jewelry?
Because every opal has a different shape and height, so the setting has to be built to the individual stone. With standardised stones the same blank can be used a thousand times over.
When is the stone set?
Right at the end, after all the soldering. Opal does not tolerate strong heat, so it must not sit in the ring while soldering.
What can go wrong during cutting?
If too much material is removed, the color bearing layer is cut through and the play of color disappears. If too much is left standing, the stone looks flat.
Can you tell what a rough opal is worth?
Hardly. A rough opal only shows its play of color once an edge is ground or wetted.
Can you see whether a setting was made for the stone?
Often yes. Look at whether the stone sits snugly in the setting or whether gaps remain between metal and edge.
If you are unsure or have questions, you are welcome to contact us at any time, even if you did not buy the opal from us. Contact form, email hello@libertyangelsjewelry.com or call +1 310 591 9778.
Verified authenticity
by Liberty Angels
Only natural, genuine opals. Each certificate is linked online to your order, so it is tamper-proof.
Written by Anton Kehler
Founder of FAERELLI & Liberty Angels
