Opal gemstones rank among the most valuable specimens in the market because of their captivating play-of-color and dreamlike aesthetics. Their increased popularity resulted in a significant increase in fraudulent imitated stones along with synthetics. The ability to detect genuine opal stone from artificial items stands as a vital priority whenever you plan to buy authentic pieces.
All buyers, including novices and experienced collectors, need to familiarize themselves with genuine opal characteristics for making wise purchase decisions. Read on to understand the essential aspects needed for recognizing real opal cabochons, which guarantee that you acquire a stone worth its investment cost.
The Natural Beauty of Opals
The crystal arrangement found in most gemstones is not how opals are formed. Sterile silica spheres in these gemstones produce the exceptional play-of-color through their creation of multi-colored lighting effects. Every opal gemstone carries its own distinctive characteristics because its colors react through light based on different viewing directions.
There exist three fundamental groups that classify real opal stones:
- Earth-derived natural opals from Ethiopian provinces, as well as Australian opals and Mexican fire opals, represent this category.
- Synthetic opals refer to fabricated gemstones that display natural opal crystal colors through their iridescent effects while disclosing their labored nature.
- Natural opals receive color improvement from sugar or smoke treatment methods to enhance their appearance.
Determining authentic opal gemstones from their imitations demands professional skill because fake versions exist in various forms.
Key Signs of a Genuine Opal
1. Check for Play-of-Color
- The changing rainbow effect, which appears as a genuine opal crystal moves under light, is recognized as its defining characteristic of real play-of-color.
- The color patterns of natural opals appear randomly, so each stone possesses distinct and different appearances from others.
- The perfectly regular or repeated pattern in fake opals made from glass or plastic always reveals their artificial nature through their smooth construction.
- A precious opal shows expansive, brilliant color shifts throughout all directions rather than showing a flat, drab appearance.
2. Observe the Body Tone
- The body tone of opals defines their primary natural color, which exists between pale and dark spectral shades.
- White and light opals comprise most of the market because they display a milky, translucent quality.
- Because black opals only occur rarely, nature creates their play-of-color to stand out against their dark background.
- The combination of ironstone matrix elements with opal material produces distinctive patterns in boulder opals.
- A fake opal stone will showcase too much consistency in color or show strong transparency.
3. Inspect the Back of the Stone
- Examining the back surface of an opal stone serves as an easy method to determine its genuineness. Natural opals tend to show rough patchwork on their back, whereas synthetic opals and doublet opals reveal glue lines and internal layers.
- A solid opal presents itself as a complete, homogeneous stone piece.
- A doublet opal combines a narrow opal sheet with a dark platform that it rests upon.
- A triplet opal receives strengthened durability through an added outer layer of quartz or plastic, which sits on top of the stone.
- Perfectly black or artificially polished sides on an opal cabochon indicate that it could be a composite stone instead of a genuine, natural solid gem.
4. Check the Temperature and Weight
- Natural opals have a temperature that feels smooth and cool while maintaining a weight heavier than plastic and resin counterfeits.
- Put the stone in contact with your cheek, and real opals should register a temperature difference beneath your skin.
- Genuine opals carry greater density than their plastic or glass imitations, resulting in differences between their weight. Also, natural opals demonstrate unique surface textures from their imitators.
5. The Water Test for Ethiopian Opals
- Hydrophane opals are a unique type of Ethiopian opal that can absorb water, temporarily becoming transparent.
- Real Ethiopian opals demonstrate a change in transparency when placed into water because they become temporarily transparent to light.
- Australian opals and Mexican opals will not react to water since their absorption qualities differ from hydrophane opals.
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Identification of Fake Opals Along with Their Detection Signs
1. Synthetic Opals (Lab-Created)
- Laboratory-made opals share the exact chemical structure with natural opals yet do not pass the test for original organic development.
- These artificial opals tend to exhibit play-of-color, but their configurations appear uniform when inspected closely.
- Fake opals reveal snake-skin patterns or lizard-scale textures using magnification.
2. Glass and Resin Imitations
- Concrete imitation opals are produced from colored glass and resin materials that try to duplicate the characteristic play-of-color properties.
- Three common indications of fake opals include:
- Bubble inclusions
- Too-smooth textures
- An artificial plastic-like texture
3. Opal Doublets and Triplets
- Doublets and triplets contain real opal stone below other layered elements.
- You can check for composite opals through glue lines or a characteristic dome shape on the top layer.
- The value and durability of opal gemstones change based on whether they are sold as solid opals, doublet opals, or triplet opals.
- The trustworthy seller GemstonesForSale provides comprehensive information about their opal types and qualities.
Tips for Buying Genuine Opals
- The purchase of authentic opals must be done at reputable gemstone dealers who maintain an established reputation for authenticity.
- There should be certification documentation or accredited lab results verifying the opal’s origin from trusted sellers.
- A genuine natural opal needs to display its dynamic play-of-color in natural as well as artificial light environments.
- Expensive opals hold a valuable value because their high quality makes them exceptionally difficult to find, especially when we consider rare black opals and fire opals.
- A pricing offer that appears too wonderful without merit will most likely turn out to be false.
Final Thoughts
Your investment in an authentic opal provides a memorable, valuable gemstone that will elegantly endure for generations. Your ability to select genuine opals depends on your understanding of play-of-color, body tone, and structure evaluation methods.
Your knowledge about these essential features lets you detect fake opals during your authentic gemstone acquisition process for either Ethiopian opals and Australian black opals.
