Genuine Opals

How to tell a genuine Opal:
     Synthetic opal does exist. A doublet is when a thin veneer of opal is put over a dark backing (black or grey silica) to enhance the colour.
A triplet is when a slice of clear quartz is used to cap a thin opal veneer to protect it from abrasion.
     A synthetic opal is produced in a laboratory and is similar in structure to that of a real opal, however, it shows brighter colours, and colour patches are often larger than in natural opals. There are also sub-patches within the larger patches of colour that produces a distinctive snakeskin pattern. As well, the colours appear more ordered than that of a natural opal.
Imitation opals are made from materials such as tinsel being set in clear plastic. Therefore, it is important to know how to tell if the opal you are buying is real or not.

These are the questions you need to ask yourself before you buy your opal jewelry:

1) Does the stone have a white body or a transparent one? If it has either it is most certainly a genuine solid and is a white or crystal opal. Any impostors are dark in body tone because they have a black artificial backing.

2) When looking at the side of the opal see if it has visible distinct layers. This may mean it is a doublet or triplet. In this case then one of the layers will be a thin slice of opal, attached to a dark backing.

3) Look at the back of the opal - does it look like a hard black or grey plastic? Sometimes it is hard to tell because some doublets use black colourless opal as a backing so look at the side of the stone again and see if there is a join between the opal and backing that is perfectly flat. Be especially careful when the opal is set in jewelry and you cannot see its backing or side.

4) Does the top of the opal look glassy? Triplets are capped with hard clear plastic or quartz so the top of the opal reflects differently to that is a natural opal. Also, if you can see through the top of the opal by looking at it you are looking at a triplet.

5) Synthetic solid opal can be hard to identify, unless you have seen a lot of opal. It is important to look closely at the pattern - synthetic opal has large patches of colour and the pattern is usually too "perfect" and ordered, with a snakeskin pattern.

6) Watch for lifting. If your opal becomes cloudy after awhile, it is probably a doublet or triplet. This cloudiness happens with the opal has been worn in water and the glue between the layers has deteriorated to allow water penetration.

It is important to keep in mind that triplets, doublets and synthetic opals can be great affordable substitutes for natural opal.

Related Links:
opal-jewelry/index.html
opal-jewelry/value.html
opal-jewelry/care.html