Opal doublets are more durable in some ways than natural opal, the
top clear layer is more resistant to scratching than opal would be.
But don’t put them in the ultasonic,or use the steamer on them, or
you could loosen the glue that holds the layers together. As long as
you disclose to your customer the nature of the stone you should have
no problems with the doublet. They can be quite pretty. Opal triplets
are much the same, but I like to set them low if possible to cover
the line where the black background meets the opal layer. Marggi
Hello Anne,
Natural Boulder opal, overlays and doublets should not be thin opal
and are not good ring stones as the top layer is the fragile gem
material and no backing will provide strength for it. Triplets on
the other hand are particularly suited for this purpose.
Not all opal triplets are created equally, caps can be made of glass,
quartz or spinel, base can be glass, basalt, agate or jade, adhesive
can be super glue, epoxy or uv cured dental resin and of course the
opal itself can be cheap milk worth only a few hundred $ per oz to
the finest crystal costing several many thousands per oz. These
combinations add up to triplet availability from a few dollars each
to stones costing over $1,000 carrying guarantees from 5 yards and 5
minutes to full lifetime non separation unconditional guarantees.
I would never recommend using a triplet that had less than a lifetime
guarantee any more than I would consider selling one without such
warranty and without a full assurance that the stone is ultrasonic
safe.
Tony.
Anthony L. Lloyd-Rees
http://www.opalsinthebag.com