OPAL :Phenomenal gemstones explained. What are the different opals and what makes them unique(2021)

[@majortom1164]

Can you please do a video on the various treatments of gemstones (oiling emeralds, heating sapphires, composite filling of rubies), how it affects the stone and it's value?

[@chrisarthur3577]

Thanks for another well thought out presentation. Cheers from Australia.

[@catherinaforde4747]

Omg I absolutely love opal 😍😍

[@marisa7462]

I would like to know how expensive is a fire opal. And how to know that someone is not passing off an orange Topaz for an authentic fire opal.

[@agroria]

you are my best teacher! i really love your videos.

[@jewelercontact5024]

❤📩📩🙏☝

[@Kenlydford]

Excellent video!

[@______IV]

That was a lot of great info delivered very concisely. Thank you. It’s always best to buy from a jeweler you trust, but without arming ourselves with some basic knowledge, there’s no way to tell if we’re being taken advantage of. The only thing that I refer to differently than you do is when it comes to what you called "jelly opal." For the examples shown in the video, I’d categorize those as one of the many varieties of crystal opal. For me, jelly opal is an opal that displays chatoyancy kind of like you see in rheoscopic fluid. The opal at the centers of some Yowah Nut opals display great examples of chatoyancy. But there’s no hard and fast rules when it comes to distinguishing between jelly and crystal opal, so I’m not saying you’re wrong at all. I’m really just pointing out that there’s a bit of wiggle room in how opals are classified, so anyone interested really needs to watch videos like yours and others to educate themselves before parting with too much money.

[@Rumifor2000s]

👍🏻 great contents! for jewelry and gems lovers, can you talk about the tourmalines that looks like is a trend ? I didn’t know they exist until very recently and they are in a colorful range.

[@thomasm155]

LOVE opal!!

[@lindanorris2455]

OPALS: BE STILL MY HEART!!

[@H2OFly]

My spouse is going to hate my new boulder opal obsession.

[@feleciawallace8420]

In our World of beautiful gemstones, if you're not an expert it's hard not to get taken advantage of...

[@t400ml]

always looking forward to your videos

[@lindanorris2455]

I WATCHED A YOUT UBE LAST WEEK ABOUT AUSTRALIAN OPAN MINES. OH MY HARD, DIRTY WORK. DANGEROUS AND INTENSE WORK. REALLY DANGEROUS WORK.

[@shellyflanigan]

I always look forward to your videos!! What about the Owyhee opal? And one of the reason's I ask is I was gifted one in a ring. Can you get these wet(but not soaked)?

[@Opal_Spectrum]

good video - but in approx 8:50 you show the photo with top grade Boulder Opal and NOT Black Opal !

[@metatron1980]

Hi Andrew thank you for sharing..I love Opals especially the Ethiopian

[@vedantkanthale1865]

Thanks. Good info

[@mihaelaborsosszabo1399]

Thank you!🤩💎

[@Hammer...777]

Good information thanks

[@preciousdiamond76]

I've got a stunning doublet monarch opal. Obseen quality. 5 colours if not 6. 100ct. How much would u say its value? It's solid opal authenticated fully guaranteed. Been told it was incredibly rare. Told it is abt £95 a carat

[@tanghingtung5897]

Thank you!

[@jimgordon4685]

The real questions are, why do Oregon opals crack and break easy, but Australian Opals do not easily brake, and why do Ethiopian opal absorb water? I have heard Ethiopian opal is superior, WHY, I have seen Opal from New Guinea and it has fern in it, but is it the same structure as opal from Australia?

[@majortom1164]

I can answer your first: Oregon opal is common opal, what is called potch in Australia. It's opaque so the matrix cannot be seen within. The potch is mostly taken off Australian opals, usually just a little is left to provide a background colour. The matrix, being a different material from potch will expand at a different rate than the opal as it warms/cools causing it to crack.

[@______IV]

People who say that Ethiopian opal is superior to Australian opal are likely either expressing their personal preference or trying to market or sell you Ethiopian opal. Same with the people who say that Australian opal is superior. There are beautiful opals from several different places in the world. It’s entirely subjective. Now if you are talking about prices, then Australia has produced the most pricey opals in the world so far. That’s simply an objective fact…so far. What really sets me off is when people who sell Australian opal denigrate Ethiopian opal because Ethiopian opal absorbs liquids. Who looks at a gemstone and thinks "That’s just a waste of money because it absorbs liquids." Ethiopian opal has to be cared for correctly just like you have to care for pearls, but how many people would ever badmouth pearl jewelry because it requires a bit more care? It’s nonsense marketing used to protect the Australian opal market from the high quality and much more affordable Ethiopian opals that have hit the market over the past decade.

[@hybridgoth]

Ethiopian opal absorbs water simply due to the porous nature of the material, it is generally noted to have a lower specific gravity "is less dense" than other types of opal. The porous nature of Ethiopian opals can cause issues if the stone is exposed to wetting and drying cycles, sometimes leading to the loss of play-of-colour, and, I would personally be inclined to warn people to avoid any prolonged heat exposure as the stone could dry out causing it to become more brittle, or, extreme cold as any water trapped within may expand as it freezes causing the opal to crack apart. All opals can be negatively impacted by temperature extremes, not just Ethiopian opals, however, due to the porous nature of the Ethiopian opals, the stones are significantly less stable in these circumstances.

[@user-oy4yb9iw9m]

nice video people mistake the fire obsidian for black opal all the time as pictured in my profile picture

[@kandrinchae]

What about Oregon opal?

[@VooV830]

Thankyou.

[@drfill9210]

Just cut myself a black Opal, but it is sunflash. You only get the colour in direct sunlight. That said- spectacular!

[@justinfletcher7630]

Coukd I ask why leave crystal out

[@veronicaazmitia6992]

Una pregunta, porfavor ayuda! Mis opalos están en una pulsera que casi no me quito, pero de un día a otro se pusieron como vidrios, sin iridicencia, no son hidrofanos, poco a poco se le está borrando como lo blanco con todo y su iridicencia, hasta quedar trasparentes.. Algún método para revertir o que les paso? Ayuda :(

[@maureenbibik4830]

Why do jewelers hate my garnet engagement ring in white gold, but LOVE my Mothers Day gift from my oldest son that has a lab crated diamond, and some blue created gems (on the side) set in silver? I wonder if mall jewelry stores know what they’re selling. I asked for a dark red garnet and 14 K white gold as my engagement ring. But lately I have found out the non expensive gems (or lab recreated diamonds) are getting picked more often then not for engagement rings. I’d like to show you the pictures, but I cannot.

[@jewelercontact5024]

❤📩📩✉☝☝

[@Kenlydford]

Probably because unethical jeweler’s can claim that those diamonds are natural when they resell. Just a thought

[@thomasm155]

LIVE opal!

[@ישתבחהבורא]

❤

[@tasnimweaver1492]

thats why I only get my opal in rough..if I am not cleaning the "dirt" off then it ain't for me

[@huntercollum869]

Big fan of ethiopian opal. Who cares about orange backcolor when a chunk the size of my thumb with solid play of color costs like thirty bucks?

[@clivebey6666]

Hey Andrew my name is Club I am from Jamaica I'm finding Boulder Opals to would like for you to check it out tell me what how can I connect you to make you sleep

[@ibroo1]

@youraveragejeweler I have Beryls, Ruby, sapphire that I want looked at for valued.

[@hamismuhammedh9017]

Do you have taught about yellow sapphire

[@hamismuhammedh9017]

From Sri Lanka 🇱🇰

[@bubbleox8631]

When you look at opal the most important thing is the one you are looking at is still the only one in the known universe others may look alike but they will still be different NOT the same there fore regardless of opinion it is still the only one and DON’t FORGET THAT!

[@charlit9989]

I have a raw black gray stone loaded with metalic reds green blue purple so forth

[@mercoid]

Opal

[@YuleGeorgia-f9b]

Thomas Linda White Larry Moore David

[@Lmatdhr]

You misrepresent Crystal Opal here…you call it jelly Opal and degrade it at the level of white opal. Many believe Australian Crystal is the most beautiful opal in world and its prices rival black opal. Virgin rainbow is an example.

[@davenick9595]

If you want to be successful have the mindset of the rich spend less and invest more, don’t give up on your dreams..

[@grantcoulson4133]

Investing in crypto currency is one of the best chance of making money

[@samanthafairweather9186]

Ummm.... Lightening Ridge!!? Never heard of it!! 🤣🤣🤣 It's LIGHTNING RIDGE!! As for treated opals, you'll find that it can't be done to Australian opal. So if you are told it's treated Australian opal, you're being lied to. Australian opal doesn't absorb water, dyes, smoke etc.

[@______IV]

Try not to get too hung up on typos, or at least try not to be smug when offering a correction. Making informative videos like this one takes a lot of work. As far as your claim that Australian opals can’t be treated, that’s not entirely true. A lot of matrix opals are in fact treatable and usually are treated. For instance, most Andamooka Matrix is treated with sugar and acid to darken the matrix in order to create high contrast with the precious opal contained throughout the matrix. So while it’s true that smoke treating and dying most varieties of Australian opal is not possible, you can’t make the sweeping generalization that Australian opal can’t be treated, and you definitely shouldn’t make claims that anyone who is told Australian opal has been treated is being lied to.

[@BM-ht7xd]

Sir, I would like to have your personal contact to talk about opal supply and market. Let me know how to be in touch.