UNDERSTANDING NATURAL OPAL: MUST READ _______________   CRUCIAL INFORMATION FOR ALL PROSPECTIVE BUYFGG 

▪️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, that 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. 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. 

It is IMPOSSIBLE and will never happen. 

▪️There is a world of a difference between receiving garbage opals and high quality opals, which act completely different and average quality opal is not going to show an intense play of color no matter what you do with it. The base tone is typically lighter leaning towards green/blue and no red fire at all in the low quality grade stones, which are by the way EVERYWHERE. 

I do not carry anything like that but I do have plenty of such stones, and my atte to sell them here ended up in a ter confusion, because people would pay for the cheapest opal but expected to receive the best one - I am trying to be as straightforward as possible now and not overwhel peopl with too many variations and choices. 

'So, please either be prepared to treat your black opal with patience and check it under the strong light source to verify that the colors are indeed present within the stone, OR do not buy this gemstone at all. 

'I do not provide refunds for "not meeting expectations" , because with all of the information I have been adding here for years, I do not believe that anyone can make a mistake purchasing the wrong thing given so much to read and view....

▪️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 opal 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 an opal only using photos the impression you get 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 also slightly exaggerate its brightness and intensity of the fire while for the white opal videos do quite the opposite: the white opals look so much duller and often extremely overexposed, so the beauty of a white opal is lost entirely in a video clip.

▪️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.

▪️ 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 WAY ITS BEAUTY IS EXPRESSED THROUGH MOVEMENT 

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. 

'The standard quality grade I sell is AAA, but it pertains TO MY SHOP ONLY. 

AAA IS THE HIGHEST QUALITY GRADE - I USE AAAA TERM TO EMPHASIZE THE RARE STONES, WHICH HAVE UNIQUE FEATURES OR UNUSUALLY PERFECT FIRE.....

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This gemstone is often misunderstood especially by first time buyers, who expect it to look exactly like the photos from the listing and this is impossible, because the black opal’s Fire is not revealed in its full potential unless it is placed under the direct light source. Any black opal is going to look BLACK first, and then show the colors , which are a process that can be observed during movement but not captured on a photograph. This does not mean that the opal is of low quality - I had to explain this issue quite a few times, so I would like to elaborate on this here, so it is no longer considered problematic. _________________________________________________________

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. ________________________________________________________

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. 

So, please let go of the misconception that black opal is going to knock you off your feet when first taken out of a gift box, and understand that black opal has its own rules of expressing its unique mysterious “personality” and irresistible charm. Just be patient, and allow it to do its magic. 

This is absolutely normal to see a much darker and significantly duller (if under natural light) appearance, which will change according to the quality grade the opal has been assigned: under natural light all black opals will look dark with very subdued fire colors 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.

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🟣 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION YOU CAN SKIP:  ————————- 

MORE DSNATURAL OPAL QUALITY STANDARD: QUALITY STANDARD FOR MY NATURAL OPAL IS HIGH AS I HAVE PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE WITH THIS AND I NO LONGER BUY ANYTHING THAT SOMEONE TELLS ME IS GREAT. 

NOW I KNOW WHAT IS WHAT AND ABLE TO GIVE ADVICE AND APPRAISE NATURAL OPALS 🔸 I use only genuine high quality NATURAL fire opals and only precious metals to create my jewelry. I use 925 sterling silver, 14K solid gold and rhodium. All of my opals and other gemstones I sometimes sell are GUARANTEED to be authentic and 100% natural.I spend a lot of time picking the best quality grade stones to make each and every item, make sure matching pieces really match well and add various add ones for my customers:)

🔸 Each and every opal I use to make a piece of jewelry for someone is carefully selected for its beauty and brilliance - I try to bring you only the best natural opals I can source - you will find many listings with rare quality grade opals throughout my store (I have been unable to list the items that I had yet, but hopefully I will be able to do it soon) and many more unique and original designs, which are truly one of a kind.

🔸 Opal remains my true love although I also started to sell a lot of moissanite jewelry. The white base precious opal with that surreal glow about it that once stole my heart is only getting better with the new designs I am adding as well as the solid 14K gold jewelry that is now available to be used with natural opal as well - things are looking up and I promise not to leave you disappointed next year!🎁

🔸 This store offers only high quality natural fire opals, VVS clarity genuine moissanite and natural diamonds - so you will NEVER waste your money on another poor quality glass - like opal that has dull blue or green transparent colors with barely any visible fire in it. This is my ultimate description of the worst quality grade opal and I make sure that I never buy, list or sell translucent opals with spaces of no color between its fire. All of my stones are either blue base glowing with rainbow fire opals or more desirable white base stones with amazing violet, pink, orange and yellow - all colors of the rainbow spectrum as a top quality grade opal should have at the minimum.I have a lot of pin fire pattern opals in any size or shape and they are just mesmerizing!

🔸You will receive a magnificent natural solid untreated gemstone full of life and vibrant radiant colors of the full rainbow spectrum, which will not leave you disappointed. I love opals for a reason and would like you to experience their true surreal beauty at its best, so I constantly try to find the best quality opals to represent my best work and my signature jewelry line. 

🔸Your item will arrive in a beautiful gift box with care instructions and a polishing cloth. I ship my orders with USPS First Class Mail for free but you are welcome to upgrade to Priority Mail or Express Mail if you need your item sooner.