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🟣OPAL PHOTO DISCLAIMER:

▪️Each Opal is very unique and special. Just like you are. That’s why we love them. But this gemstone has certain features that make it very hard or impossible to objectively represent them via photos and videos with a degree of absolute precision. 

Please keep this in mind when you are looking through the available items and the listing images. 

The item you will receive is going to LOOK DIFFERENT from the listing photos and videos, but THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NORMAL and is to be expected from any natural opal due to its very nature and physical properties

 ▪️ Being the true chameleons, natural opals change their visible colors depending on the slightest changes in the lighting environment, camera angle, movement and everything else around them.Even if the two opals have extremely similar features, they still will offer their own unique way of interacting with the light, which is what defines this gemstone and gives it its "personality". And just like people, opal’s personalities are very unique and are ALWAYS CHANGING depending upon their surroundings;

▪️The play of color in any natural opal results from a process of constant interaction between the light and the opal’s complex inner structure producing that unique combination of colors that we know as visible “fire” or “play of color”. Every opal has its distinct physical characteristics that define its appearance, but these physical attributes have to be brought to our view by the surrounding light. And lighting environment is never the same to create the exact same play of color in an opal that was once captured on a photo.but is produced following the movement and the changes in the surrounding light - without the light you cannot see opal’s fire at all, because light is what creates the play of color to begin with. It is as much the light around the opal as its inner structure that is responsible for creating the unique fire. 

▪️Whenever the light changes, the opal looks entirely different, produce its unique appearance. That’s why every opal’s appearance depends upon its continuous interaction with the light which produces different color combinations, determines the brightness, fire intensity etc., Even the very same opal is going to look different from its own photos depending on the lighting environment that exists around it at each specific moment

;▪️Even making a video does not provide a solution to this problem, because of the exposure related artifacts that either dampen all colors and the opal’s natural vibrancy or exaggerate these qualities in other cases. This happens whenever camera settings cannot readjust fast enough to capture fast changes in color brightness that inevitably result from continuous movement. 

▪️This particularly affects white opals of the highest quality grade that look overexposed and colorless: they only show bright white color with little to no visible colors or glow - nothing can be more different from what you will see in real life;

▪️To see the best play of color in your opal please take it to direct light source such as a table lamp and enjoy the transformation.  Black opal will look much brighter under strong light and much duller under natural light. Opal is always changing and never shows the same colors with the same level of brightness - it is always in motion and looks entirely different every second.  Red colored fire will not turn a black opal into a garnet - it is a BLACK opal, so please be prepared that the beauty of this gemstone is going to be SUBTLE but quite fascinating in its own very unique way.  Be patient and you will discover the amazing beauty in your black opal as well the more you wear your piece of jewelry - movement is the key

.   ▪️Black opals will look dark when you get them out of the box, but the more you interact with your piece of jewelry or wear it the more colors you will discover - those flashes of bright lights would shine and then disappear into the dark background and then you notice another sparking fire or a mix of colors that you have never seen before..... It continues to surprise you, to reveal more beautiful dancing life hidden within, but it will be happening rather gradually. You will find yourself more and more attracted to this gemstone over time, but do not expect a splash of neon colors coming at you when you just opened the box with your item. This gemstone is very different but this is also why it is so loved.   

  ▪️White opals or rainbow opals have brighter colors and are more cheerful and colorful gemstones compared to the black opal, so please consider purchasing the white opal jewelry as the “safest” choice of natural opal jewelry if you are not sure about the black opal. You are much less likely to be disappointed with the white opal since it’s colors are visible right away and you can see them with no special considerations. While the black opal receives all the hype it is the white opal that continues to wow me with the range of colors and fire patterns it can have, so I always remember why this is my true love and passion although I do enjoy black opal quite a bit as well.   

▪️Black opals are PREDOMINATELY DARK gemstones and wont appear as bright as the listing photos due to their dark overall base tone, but the play of color will come to life  during movement as the stone interacts with different lighting settings and you can see it from various angles.

 ▪️This is ABSOLUTELY NORMAL since the photos are taken under optimal strong light to show you the full potential of the stone.    Remember that black opal delivers a different kind of experience when it comes to appreciating its beauty: black opal does not reveal all of its colors at once, so be patient with it and definitely do not assume that you have received an inferior quality opal if it doesn’t look like the photos. 

▪️Taking photos of a black opal is possible only under direct light source, and the photos show ALL OF THE COLORS an opal has or its full potential. However, in real life you will rarely see all of the black opal’s colors visible AT ONCE with the same intensity as you can see on the photographs, because it is not in the nature of this gemstone to reveal its beauty instantaneously. The colors are observed in motion and the black opal’s fire is rather a continuous transition of colors and is expressed through the intricate interplay between the light and the stone reflecting back flashes of absolutely unexpected vibrant splashes of colors , which always surprise you as they seemingly appear from nowhere only to suddenly get your attention by a new fascinating combination of colors you have not seen before in this stone.

▪️ The beauty of the black opal is being revealed slowly and this is what appeals to so many people who love this gem. But before you can know it you have to allow your opal to show you its play of color, which you won’t see when you first take it out of the gift box, and most likely get instantly disappointed (if it is your first black opal) that it “doesn’t shine” - it just doesn’t. It is not supposed to shine, but I continue to get this complaint quite regularly, but to see opal’s colors you need to observe its movement around a light source, which requires patience and understanding of the black opal’s nature. 

▪️The opal has to have dark base tone which is essential for creating the background contrast that allows us to enjoy its play of color. The darker the base tone the brighter and sharper the colors will appear. Because of this any good quality black opal looks dark under natural light which limits the color visibility significantly.

▪️Even though my black opals are typically much brighter than most - they still look dark which is absolutely normal. Please keep in mind that this gemstone is actually “black”. It is very hard to find the opals with bright vibrant fire and there is a certain limit to that brightness that you have to accept if you are looking to enjoy its mysterious beauty. Red color is the rarest in black opals and my stones have plenty of it, which makes them a lot more valuable than an average black opal, and it is thanks to the vibrant red fire that the opal gets its dramatic contrast against the dark background, which is supposed to be as dark as possible in the higher quality stones. 

I hope this has been helpful to you in your understanding of the natural opal and will make it easier to shop for your ideal opal!

thank you for reading,

Julia