How To Tell Whether or Not Your Opal Jewellery Is Valuable

A real piece of opal jewellery is one of the most beautiful and unique gemstones that lots of people adore. Unfortunately, fake products are more than authentic opals in the market today. How do you ensure you only pick genuine gemstones & jewellery when you start shopping for opals?

In the rest of this post, you’ll discover how to identify genuine opal rings, opal earrings studs, pendants and many more, including why Masterpiece Jewellery Australia is reliable to achieve the best shopping experience. So, continue reading!

Factors that influence the value of opal jewellery & gemstones

Today, how valuable opal gemstone or jewellery is, depends on many factors, including the play of colour, body tone, class, brilliance, pattern, colour bars, faults, and patterns. You need to consider all these factors when looking for valuable opal products.

1. Opal class

 Opal is classified into three different categories. For you to value a piece of opal jewellery, you need to first identify its class. Solid opals are known to be more valuable than opal doublets and opal triplets.

Opal doublets and opal triplets only feature a thin slice of natural opal. Solid opals, on the other hand, feature pure opals. As such, solid opals are way more valuable than opal doublets and opal triplets.

2. Body tone

The background colour of your opal is its body tone. This also has a great effect on how valuable it is. The body tone is divided into three categories (levels N1 to N9).

The first three levels (N1 to N3) are black opals. These opals are known to be highly valuable. The next three levels (N4 to N6) are dark opals. They are more valuable than light opals, which fall between levels (N7 to N9). The bottom line here is that the darker the body tone, the more valuable the opal jewellery.

3. Play of colour 

The play of colour of opals is an optical phenomenon that happens in the presence of light. As light enters the gemstone jewellery and interacts with its internal structure, flashes of spectral colour become visible. The more flashes of colour from your opal gemstone jewellery, the more valuable a product is.

Apart from blue-green brilliant gemstones, red currently commands the highest opal value in the market today. Other flashes of colour that make opal valuable are orange, green, yellow, indigo, blue, and violet.

4. Brilliance

The brilliance grade level of opal is divided into three categories; brilliant, bright, and subdued/dull. The most valuable opals are brilliant while the least valuable opals, such as white opals, fall under the subdued/dull category.

5. Patterns

When we talk about opal patterns, we’re referring to their shapes, colours, and sizes. As with other factors on this list, patterns have a great effect on the value of opal jewellery. The rarest opal patterns, such as sunbursts, flagstone, peacock tail, block, jigsaw, stripes, and broad flash are known to be very valuable.

Fake or authentic? How to identify genuine opals

1. Check for hardness

Man-made opals are different from genuine products in many ways. One way to identify fake products is by checking the solidity or hardness of the product. Does the piece of opal jewellery feature plastic or other related materials? If yes, then these products are usually very hard compared to real opals.

2. Pattern

The shape and size of your gemstone jewellery can also help you understand whether or not they are authentic. Real gemstones are mined from tiny silica spheres, which form deep inside the earth’s crust. The natural arrangement of these silica materials makes them have irregular patterns.

The bottom line is that fake or man-made pieces of opal gemstone jewellery often feature systematic patterns. As for genuine products, you’ll most likely find them available in irregular patterns. This should also help you identify a real opal.

3. UV rays 

Exposure to UV rays is another great way to identify the authenticity of an opal. Real opals tend to glow when exposed to sunlight. This is not the case for fake products because of their properties.

Top 3 opal products on Masterpiece Jewellery Australia- Writer’s picks

1. Opal Earrings

You can check Masterpiece Jewellery Australia to find some of the best and most genuine opal earrings of different sizes.

If budget isn’t a concern to you, one of the best products you can opt for is this 14KT White Gold Opal Earrings product. However, if you’re on a budget and only need products below $200, this Sterling Silver Opal Earrings product is a perfect choice.

2. Opal Studs

Another product you can shop from on Masterpiece Jewellery Australia is the opal stud. Our opal earrings studs are available in high quality. For a less expensive pick, this Silver Opal Earrings Studs product is a perfect choice. For a more expensive pick, you can opt for this 14KT White Gold Earring Black Opal Studs set.

3. Opal rings and pendants

Check our platforms to find some of the best opal rings and opal pendants for your wedding engagement. This 14kt White Gold Opal inlay ring is a perfect choice with 100% satisfaction. You can also check here to find some of the best opal gemstone pendants of different colours and prices.

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