Delightful Doublets
30th July 2014
What do Elvis Presley, Andy Warhol, John Rockerfeller, and Queen Elizabeth II all have in common?
They were all lovers of the alluring opal.
An opal’s beauty is unique and made from the amazing ‘play of colour’ in the gemstone. This display of spectral colours is due to the breaking up of white light by the three dimensional spherical shaped microscopic silica particles inherent in the opal.
Opal occurs where silica gel fills small fissures or voids in the earth. A large proportion of Australia’s inland was once covered by a sea, leaving deposits and creating an environment suitable for the formation of opal. In Aboriginal legend, the exquisite opal was a gift from the sky, from a rainbow that had touched the earth and created the colours of the opal.
Australia produces over 95% of the world’s supply. These opals are the most sought after opal in the world and arguably the most spectacular and valuable gem on earth. In 1993, the opal was proclaimed Australia’s national gemstone.
Doublet opals offer an affordable way of enjoying these mesmerising gemstones. Doublets are created by adhering a layer of opal to a dark coloured backing. Once a doublet is set into jewellery with the sides covered, such as in a bezel setting, it is extremely difficult, even for an expert, to tell whether it is a doublet or a solid opal. This is because the top of the doublet consists of pure opal, and therefore it appears exactly like a black opal.
I have the honour of work with leading Australian opal miners and cutters to create exquisite custom cuts of doublet opals for my designs. The secret is not only selecting the best rough material to work with, but to have it sliced in a generous thickness, which increases the depth of patterning and enhances brilliance.
My ‘Coral Garden’ pendant featured above, contains a free form doublet opal that was custom cut from rough mined in South Australia.
I hope you enjoy wearing my Australian doublet opal creations, as much as I have creating them.