Your favorite Gem ?

[Wallace]

Nice to know you are not fussy Wallace :0)

Good job I wan't drinking my tea when I read that!


It's what's on the inside that counts!

[Julian]

This may mean I have to go and stand in the naughty corner, but opals do absolutely nothing for me.

Personally, I have to say, that I can understand the apeal of opals, in fact they are one of my wife's favorites, but looking at a recent, non eBay! , auction I realized how out of my depth I was. What they valued, seemed nothing to me, I guess have a lot to learn.

So I am off to stand in the corner as well.

Julian

[Tabby66]

Opal junkie here......, boulder opals, particularly love blue /green opals and ethiopian with real fire!! Also love bicolour tourmalines and I have the most gorgeous cornflower blue sapphire trillion just waiting for me.........

[Julian]

Opal junkie here......, boulder opals, particularly love blue /green opals and ethiopian with real fire!! Also love bicolour tourmalines and I have the most gorgeous cornflower blue sapphire trillion just waiting for me.........

Asking a stupid question, to you, what defines a boulder opal?

"cornflower blue sapphire trillion".... The description, sounds delicious, woul love to see a photo.

Julian

[Tabby66]

To me (and happy to be corrected!!) boulder opal is where the opal has formed in the veins and gaps within the host boulder, so when you purchase boulder opal you get varying amounts and patterns of opal/ matrix.....

I will try and get a photo of my sapphire.....not sure I'll do it justice but will try ;D

[Julian]

To me (and happy to be corrected!!) boulder opal is where the opal has formed in the veins and gaps within the host boulder, so when you purchase boulder opal you get varying amounts and patterns of opal/ matrix.....

I will try and get a photo of my sapphire.....not sure I'll do it justice but will try ;D

As I said I know nothing about them, I was trying to understand he aesthetic qualities. I like the idea of including matrix. I happen to have had a ruby that showed a hexagonal figure in its visible inclusions. To me it was the purest ruby I ever had seen, in fact in now it's in a ring on the finger on the wife of a best friend ( looks better on her than me). It's fascinating to try and look through other people's eyes.

Julian

[sonia]

Love sapphires and diamonds (yellow ones especially) and citrines. Think there's a pattern developing. I also love amethysts even though they're not yellow.......

Sonia
x

[Dennis]

Here are some boulder opals: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Opalsfromaustralia. As I said above, they used to be sold rough so that the glittery bits peeked out of a matte matrix.
I don't think this finish improves them at all. Dennis.

[Tabby66]

Here you go, examples of boulder opals.......



and stacker rings I've made with two boulder opals..............did I say I love opals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tabby66]

and my gorgeous cornflower blue trillion sapphire......




yummy yummy.............just can't decide exactly what it needs yet