A customer came to me with 3 pieces of rough opal wondering what we could do with them. We selected the piece that would best work with a ring and I had it cut by a specialist lapidary workshop.
As is the case with a lot of stone cutting it is not always clear what sort of material we have until it is done, to all of our surprise the most gorgeous opal lay underneath the matrix (the stony rock covering that surrounds the opal) From a little “pebble” came an amazing precious stone worth close to £2000.My blurry snap shot does not do it justice, the fire, which is the red you can see to the left of the stone, flickers throughout the opal when it moves with vivid greens, yellows, purple, blues throughout.
As opal is quite soft I would never recommend putting such a lovely stone in a ring as it will scratch and wear over time, so I think this beauty is destined for a pendant!
