Opal Care

How should I care for my Australian Opal gems?

Australian opals make stunning additions to any jewellery collection, but like all precious gemstones, they require proper care and attention to remain as beautiful decades from now as they were on the day you purchased them.

Opals are an exceptionally rare gemstone, estimated to be about 5,000 times rarer than diamonds, so it’s important to take special measures to protect them. To ensure your Australian opal rings, earrings, pendants, necklaces, and other treasured pieces retain their brilliance, consider following these essential care and storage guidelines.

What are the common causes of damage to Opal jewellery?

Just like any other gemstone, Opals should be stored separately from your other gems. You may be surprised to learn that the two most common causes of jewellery damage are actually:

1. Wearing your jewellery while sleeping:

You may be surprised by this, but you would be amazed at how much you move around while sleeping—wearing jewellery while sleeping is risky as it can cause the items to be crushed or damaged as body weight is pressed down upon them. Or you can unconsciously knock your ring against hard surfaces (walls, bed edges) while completely unaware and perhaps dreaming.

2. Bundling all of your jewellery together in a purse or carry bag:

The other area that is surprising is bunching jewellery together in a jewellery bag. This inevitably leads to the diamonds (the hardest stones) and the gold settings scratching against the Opals, or sapphires scratching pearls, or simply the chains, clasps and findings all scratching against each other. Every time the jewellery bag moves around, all of these jumbled items wear and scratch each other, and, over time, the damage can be substantial.

So, keep your jewellery items individually wrapped and then you can place them all together in your jewellery bag without risk of damage.

How should I store my Opal jewellery?

To adequately protect your valuable Opal jewellery, make sure you individually wrap your gems in a soft protective cloth and moisten the cloth before long-term storage. Opals can be stored safely but make sure there is moisture in the air when being stored.

While safes and lockboxes are secure, they are usually airless and have very little humidity. Opals have a 6–10 % water content and, like many other gems, will “dry out” and form cracks if they are subjected to extended dry storage.

If you need to store your Opal for an extended length of time, just place it in a padded cloth bag and dampen the cloth before storing it for protection. To keep your Opal safe for extended periods, wrap it in cotton wool with a few drops of water, then put it in a plastic bag. Even while microscopic molecules may soak into the stone, if exposed to extremely low humidity settings (for example, zero humidity storage safes), it will offer much-needed ambient moisture.

This is the reason why you will often see a small glass of water in the showcase at your jewellery store. This water compensates for the bright hot display lights heating the atmosphere and the gemstones, providing ambient moisture in the atmosphere. Without this added moisture most, gems will develop inclusions when left to ‘bake’ under a hot display light.

Opals “love to be worn”, and the ambient moisture found in everyday wear, with skin and contact with water, is all your Opal needs to keep them “healthy”. Placing your Opal in a glass of lukewarm water for 15 minutes every 12 months is another way to prevent it from drying out, especially if the Opal has been exposed to very dry conditions.

How do I clean my Opal jewellery?

The safest way to clean opal jewellery is by hand. We recommend not using ultrasonic or sonic cleaners on any opal jewellery, including solid opals, doublets and triplets.

Although some sources suggest that certain solid opals may be suitable for ultrasonic cleaning, Australian Opal Cutters recommends avoiding this method. The high-frequency vibrations can aggravate existing cracks, fractures or inclusions in solid opals and may weaken the bonded construction of doublets and triplets.

Instead, gently clean your opal jewellery using lukewarm water, a small amount of mild soap and a soft, lint-free cloth or a soft toothbrush. This will safely remove everyday dirt, oils and residue without placing unnecessary stress on the stone.

For rings and pendants with intricate settings, dental floss or a soft brush can help remove dirt from hard-to-reach areas without scratching the jewellery.

To keep your opals looking their best, gently polish them regularly with a professional jewellery polishing cloth designed for precious jewellery. These cloths are safe to use on opals and help restore their natural brilliance without damaging the stone.

Avoid harsh chemicals, abrasive cleaners, bleach and strong detergents, as these may damage both the opal and the jewellery setting.

As the saying goes, "Opals love to be worn." Regular wear, combined with gentle cleaning and proper care, is one of the best ways to keep your opal jewellery looking beautiful for generations.

What should I do if my Opal is damaged?

All gemstones will chip, crack or shatter if hit hard enough or heated long enough, and this goes for all gems – even Diamonds will crack or chip if you hit it with a hammer! – so common sense care will lengthen the life of your gemstones. Don’t wear them if there is a chance they may get hit with hard objects like when gardening or playing sports.

If you damage your Opal, please contact us first if you chip it or crack it. We have years of experience repairing every sort of Opal, and you would be amazed what can be saved.

We also advise you to insure your gems against damage or loss.

Doublets and triplets have multiple layers, and at Australian Opal Cutters, our doublets and triplets have our warranty and service guarantee.   “Delamination” is when the layers of Opal separate due to water penetration dissolving the glues. Prior to 1970, this was a very real issue, and Opals were known to “turn white” as the Opal layers separated and the crystal (now separated from the Black Opal “potch” base) revealed its true colour as a ‘white’ or ‘crystal’ colour or tone.

Post-1970, silicon-based glues became available; these are the same adhesives that have been used on space shuttle missions. These glues are silicon-based so, when applied to the Opal, they have the same “coefficient of expansion”. This means that the Opal and the glue will expand and contract at the same rate in cold or heat. For this reason, Australian Opals can guarantee that an Opal Doublet or Triplet will never delaminate! We have tested Doublets and Triplets by submerging them in water for up to 12 months with absolutely no delamination!

So, if your Opal has been chipped, cracked or damaged, we offer an amazing service and will save and/or repair most damaged items under warranty or ’at cost’. Just ship everything back to us, and we will work out the best way to re-cut damaged Opals, or we can email your similar Opals to re-set into your precious jewellery.