THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL FOR YOU TO READ THIS PART IN ORDER TO AVOID COMMON PITFALLS AND MISTAKES THAT CAN MISGUIDE YOU  

▪️Each Opal is very unique and special. Just like you are. That’s why we love them. 

  ▪️As much as they are beautiful natural opals are extremely difficult to represent objectively on photos and sometimes on video as well. This can result in a potential dissatisfaction on behalf of a customer because they might have different expectations from their purchase, because opals are such tricky chameleons. 

  ▪️Please keep this in mind when you are looking through the available items, because the item you will receive WILL definitely look different from the listing photos, which is EXPECTED FROM THIS GEMSTONE.  It is a natural “chameleon” that can change so fast and so dramatically that you simply cannot rely on the listing images to be your best guide. Even if the two opals have the same quality and brightness - they still will offer their own unique way of interacting with the light, which is what defines the Opal and gives it its "personality". Most listings contain photos of a few very similar opals and not of an actual stone to be used in creating your item unless indicated otherwise. 

 ▪️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. 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. This is ABSOLUTELY NORMAL since the photos are taken under optimal strong light to show you the full potential of the stone.    

  ▪️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.   

▪️I highly recommend viewing video clips from my extensive video gallery. It is much easier to see the true nature of any Opal by viewing it in motion - not just seeing still images, so you can see the play of color in real life - this is the best way to make your shopping experience smooth and pleasant.  When you are looking at opals photos can be deceiving, because as true chameleons opals change their appearance significantly depending on the lighting environment, angle, movement and everything around it.  

Videos of black opal can be slightly exaggerating it’s brightness and intensity of the fire while for the white opal it is quite the opposite: videos of the white opal look fuller and have wrong white balance and exposure, so the surreal colors and the glowing of this incredible gemstone are not really visible on videos.   

▪️What we call the “fire” in an opal is actually a refracted light, which goes through its complex inner structure to produce that unique dance of light and color - in some ways an opal functions as a funky kind of mirror and reflects what appears in its view by turning the regular light into a burst of flashing colors. The brighter the light around an opal the more it will be able to reflect the colors back at you (as long as it has the fire within it) and it will always be changing and sparkling following every subtle movement. To capture this living and swirling motion on a still photo is impossible, so in order to show you the real play of color in each opal I have to manipulate the lighting around it and create the most optimal environment for showing each opal’s best potential and try to reveal all of the colors it has inside at once. You will be able to see the same play of color under a lamp, but not in a space with limited light. Please keep in mind that variations between the listing images and the actual item are inevitable because of the opal's very nature.

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▪️ Since I’m working with natural gemstones, which are cut by hand and not by machines, some stones might have slight irregularities in their shape, which are not noticeably affecting the overall appearance of the jewelry. Some very small inclusions or tiny imperfections are also sometimes present within a natural opal, but they are so small, that they are not visible with the naked eye. Occasionally there might be a tiny scratch that is visible only under magnifying glass or a tiny spot on the side of the stone and I would allow it to be, because of the opal’s overall beauty and rare amazing play of color. Singularly beautiful opals might have tiny imperfections, but their beauty makes up for that, so a tiny spot becomes really insignificant when you look at the whole picture and evaluate the stone itself. I do not use stones with very apparent defects or marks - this either will be mentioned in the description or it can occur due to a mistake or omission, which I will be happy to correct as soon as you bring it to my attention.  _________________________________________

BLACK OPAL AND THE PHOTO DISCREPANCY 

All of my black opals are actually very high quality and are extremely hard to find, so to see the colors like that on regular basis in a black opal is truly one of the most difficult parts of my work effort. I don’t sell average quality stones, so please don’t let yourself fall under the assumption that you will get the same black opals everywhere or that this is a standard look for an average black fire opal. Nothing can be further from the truth: most black opals have predominantly green, blue or darker navy colored base tone which is quite dull and utterly unimpressive. 

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. 

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. This is absolutely normal and is to be expected when you receive your piece of black opal jewelry. 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. To view all of the opal’s colors in full display please place it under a direct artificial light source such as a table lamp and enjoy the vibrant display of colors that is unique to each opal. 

All those colors will be seen interacting with the light while in motion - the opal ‘comes to life’ when being worn and captures attention by the interplay of flashes of color and shining sparkling lights that give black opal its striking mysterious and unique kind of beauty that is unrivaled by any other gemstone.  ————————- 

This article is the ESSENTIAL piece of information and will help you have the correct expectations dealing with your jewelry. Please also read about the opal categories and listing variations to be able to navigate through the available options and know what exactly is the right choice for you 

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