Beginner Gardening: DG Anonymous, 0 by BamaBelle

BamaBelle wrote:
CeeJay,
Your opal is ither a doulet or a triplet. My first opal was a triplet. It ahd a layer of quartz glued to the top and a layer of black onyx (which, BTW, is actually dyed since onyx is not naturally black). The black layr amde the oals color more intense...like an Austrailan opal. Anyway, after a couple of years, the glue between the layers began to seperate. I was told this was usually caused by the soaking thing...even though I didn't soak mine. I suspect that I had dmaged the glue when I cleaned it with amonia based cleansers.

Here is a scan of the Australian opal pendant I got from my mom. It is a freeform shape and is about an inch and a half long. The mounting is custom made to the shape of the stone. It is one of the few thigns she ordered off the home shopping networks that actually was as pretty as it was on TV...although I suspect she thought the diamond was larger. The stone has a craze (or internal crack) about 1/3 of the way down and thre is a little chip missing from the back, which is really odd.

Most old wives tales have some science behind them...like your nose itching means that someone is coming to see you...it itches because when you are expecting company you clean your house and stir up dust...so before people knew alot about dust and allergies, they cam to assoicate the noseitching with company coming. Anyway, I suspet taht the old wives tales about Oapals being abd luchk is a way to explain why they break so easily. Your opal broke? Oh, well, it must be because it isn't your birthstone or because the person who bought it for you doesn't really love you...

Some itnersting reading is from an ancient historian named Pliney. Back in his day, gemstones were supposed to have special powers (sort of like the New Agers and their crystals). Amethysts were supposed to protect you from drunekenss and making a fool of yourself (which is why they were reserved for royalty when they were hard to get). Emerlads were supposed to protect you from illness. Pearls and angelskin coral hung on a baby's bed were supposed to protect the baby from illness and bad dreams. Wish I still had my old reference books; some of the old supersitions were a hoot.