What's Synthetic Opal and its Benefits

Synthetic opals are man-made opals that mimic their natural counterparts. Though artificially made, they consist of the same compounds as the natural ones. They are used to make opal pendant jewelry such as pendant necklaces. They are prepared in the lab through three stages:

1. The scientists will create small silica spheres.
2. They will then arrange the spheres in a lattice pattern to mimic the structure of natural opals.
3. In the final stage, they fill the structure pores with silica gel and then harden it.

The process can take almost a year.  The first synthetic opal was created in 1974 by Pierre Gilson. They come with a host of benefits among them:

Benefits of synthetic opal

• They are stronger and harder compared to natural opal.
• Display constant color play.
• They can withstand high temperatures compared to natural opal.
• Their low water content makes them less susceptible to crazing. Crazing are tiny fractures that develop in natural opals.

Due to their attractive and mind-blowing color pattern, opals are used in various ornaments such as opal pendant necklaces, rings, and bracelets. In addition to their colors, their wide range of shapes make them a suitable option for ornament markers.

Opal shapes

Opals can be cut into different desirable shapes with the most common being the Hamsa hand shapes and the heart shape. Other common shapes are the circular shape, elephant shape, moon shape, and star shape. The shapes are a carver’s delight. This is because the carver can decide on the best shape for his jewelry. 

Online stores

High demand for opal has seen the emergence of online stores that sell all kinds of opal shapes. Opal for sale is displayed on these sites where people can either buy at a retail price or a wholesale price. On other sites, Opal for sale is subject to auctioning whereby the highest bidder walks away with the coveted prize.