opal doublets Rainbow!

[Pusscat]

And finally a nice bit of crystal that I love the colours of!

They took me some time and the dop wax wouldn't melt properly due to the cold and they kept popping off, but i'm secretly quite proud of them as a first attempt!

[harryopal]

Great colour. It is a bit hard to tell but from the depth of some of those pieces I am not sure that you need to make them as "doublets." They would appear to have enough thickness to set the with some backing underneath. In making a ring I usually use a slice of leather to provide a buffer between the stone and the silver or gold. In laying a bezel it also allows a bit of padding to avoid stress on the stone As for the blue crystal it looks like material from White Cliffs and some of those stones seem not to need backing. "Doublets" are seen as having a lesser value than solids.
It is an acceptable practice to paint the underside of crystal blue opal using a model or hobby paint. This is suggested by Paul Downing in his Opal Cutting Made Easy and he is regarded as an important figure in the industry. This will transform a rather pale blue stone into a nice deep blue.
As a matter of interest where did you get your rough from?

[Robol]

Hi Harryopal.   

 What happens if or when, the leather gets wet ? Does this create any problems eg. extra stresses on the opal ?

[harryopal]

No, I have never had a problem using a leather padding between the stone and a setting. Even if the leather became moist it would not matter if it were just plain water. Opal has a relatively high degree of moisture. If you are making jewellery and selling or even just selling the opal it is not a bad idea to google how to look after opal and provide customers with some information. For example, wearing an opal ring while washing dishes with detergent is not a good idea. And even though opal is not as fragile as many people seem to suppose it nonetheless ought be treated as a special item. Ethiopian fire opal absorbs moisture very easily and a stone may appear to have lost its colour. The colour will return as the stone naturally dries.

[Robol]

Thanks Harryopal.

 That interested me as I wondered if the wet leather might create pressure points between  the setting and opal. That's good to know.
Cheers Rob.

[Pusscat]

Hi Harry,
Thanks for the comments...all very valid!

I get my rough from some of the eBay ers in Aus and also here in uk. Looking to get a few other suppliers maybe direct...Any suggestions? Ta

[Joel]

Nice