I need some advice, please

Hiya, some of you will have read that i bought a Brazilian Fire Opal ring (a few months ago now) it has 6 trillaint cut stones, one of which was already very opaque in colour when i received it, its not at all clear like the remaining 5 stones. But, i have been wearing the ring everyday, and have noticed that the remaining stones are also going cloudy, pretty much the same way as the first stone; i dont wear the ring in the shower, bath, or when i wash my hair, do housework, gardening and washing up etc; so i was wondering if anyone could advise me as to how do i clean it, or is its number up? I have a photo of it, taken the first day i got it, and when i look back on it, i cannot believe that this is the same ring - the stones arent transulescent or bright, and are going cloudy, which is annoying, as now 4 out of the 6 have gone this way. Can anyone give me some cleaning advice, or advice in general, i would be most grateful. Thank you:17:

Found this on the web
How to clean your Opal jewellery
To clean the surface of your Opal it's best to softly rub the Opal with a facial tissue or piece of silk. Do not use chemicals, abrasives, toothpaste or ultrasonic cleaners to clean Opals. A mild soapy luke-warm water solution and a very soft toothbrush may be used for jewellery set with solid Opals, but it is best not to immerse doublets Opals or triplets in water as the ironstone adhesive may deteriorate. Opals may be damaged by sudden severe temperature changes, such as when wearing an Opal ring whilst cleaning dishes. For this reason it's best not to wear Opals when cleaning dishes or showering.

Thanks Gemcherub, appreciate it. :flower::clapping:

Your welcome i always wash my gems in warm water with a little fairy liquid in and a soft toothbrush, then rinse and leave to dry on kitchen roll and finally wipe over with a jewellery cloth.

First, speak to GemsTV and check that your opals aren't doublets or triplets. This question was asked of Steve A years ago and he confirmed that they only sold solid opals BUT time has passed and GemsTV has changed so please check this out first. IF they are doublets/triplets, the problem could be water damage. If water gets between the layers it can cause clouding or fogging.

If they're solid opals then I suspect the cloudiness is just a bit of dust/grime. Gemstones attract it and diamonds can look dull and cloudy if they're not cleaned often. Gemcherub's advice is spot on. Use warm (not hot) water, a soft toothbrush and a bit of washing up liquid. Give it a good light scrub and then rinse in clean warm water. Let it then air dry on some kitchen paper and then give it a nice buff with a tea towel (the old fashioned type - not the towel type).



Edit: Oooops just noticed GC and I had posted at the same time saying the same thing lol!

Thank you Gemcherub and Meeshoo, i will follow that advice. :flower: I bought my sister an opal ring for her 18th (many,many,many,many years ago now lol) and one of the opals split, she took it to the jeweller for repair, and he said that opals were never to go near water - mind you her opals were white with the flecks of colour in; so i didnt know if this applied to BFO, being a type of opal. I was watching gems some time ago now, and Liv handed out some cleaning advice, when she was live on air, she said that she put all her jewellery in the dishwasher! i thought that cant be right, i have put wine glasses in my, and once one of them shattered - any way a few moments later she must have had a good dose of correct information, as she said, it wasnt the thing to your jewellery in the dishwasher. Any way i thought if you need good solid advice on how to look after your sparklies, the ones who know are the ones that know on this forum. Thankyou for the advice its appreciated. xx:flower:

Persianglitter - I'm afraid your jeweller is wrong. Opals are fine in water so long as they're not immersed and it's tepid water. Soaking them isn't advised! However, doublets and triplets should NEVER go near water.

In fact, to keep opals looking vibrant and to stop them drying out and cracking they should be worn occasionally. They soak up the natural moisture from the skin which keeps them from drying out.

Here's a link from the Gem Society you may find useful:

http://www.gemsociety.org/info/gems/Opal.htm

Meeshoo, thank you; since i gave my sister her very first opal ring for her 18th (25 years ago now - she will kill me for that lol) she got bitten by the opal bug, and has a beautiful collection of opal rings. I love looking at opals, i find them magical, like a mini kaleidescope, or even looking at a space scene, galaxy. I cant believe that i have missed out all these years on buying opals, due to duff info from a jeweller, but i think now, i shall make up for lost not buying time lol - i have seen some beautiful black opals - and one type of opal, that has caught my eye, its not from gems, but i have seen some black opal matrix. :flower:

Hiya

like an idiot i immersed my gorgeous opal doublet in soapy water and true enough the colour has faded a lot. i'm so sad, is there anything i can do now?

Davina

Davinababe said:

Hiya

like an idiot i immersed my gorgeous opal doublet in soapy water and true enough the colour has faded a lot. i'm so sad, is there anything i can do now?

Davina

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Perhaps. It depends whether (a) you have a great jeweller near you with a benchman on the premises that you can talk to and (b) whether you've damaged the actual opal itself or if it's just water that's seeped between the layers. It might be possible to have the doublet taken apart, cleaned, polished and then rebuilt. HOWEVER you are dependent on the skill of the benchman and he/she must have worked with opals in the past. Even if they do work on it, it may not be possible to get the gemstone back to where you want it to be. I guess it'll depend on how much you love the doublet and how much it'll cost to repair.

Meeshoo said:

First, speak to GemsTV and check that your opals aren't doublets or triplets. This question was asked of Steve A years ago and he confirmed that they only sold solid opals BUT time has passed and GemsTV has changed so please check this out first. IF they are doublets/triplets, the problem could be water damage. If water gets between the layers it can cause clouding or fogging.

If they're solid opals then I suspect the cloudiness is just a bit of dust/grime. Gemstones attract it and diamonds can look dull and cloudy if they're not cleaned often. Gemcherub's advice is spot on. Use warm (not hot) water, a soft toothbrush and a bit of washing up liquid. Give it a good light scrub and then rinse in clean warm water. Let it then air dry on some kitchen paper and then give it a nice buff with a tea towel (the old fashioned type - not the towel type).



Edit: Oooops just noticed GC and I had posted at the same time saying the same thing lol!

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I think I heard Dave Bradford say on IW today that the stuff he sells for cleaning jewellry was ok for opals but I would double check before acting on this.

IIRC opals are very soft and I once read that they got their reputation for bad luck because they were easily damaged in wear.

I have an antique opal pendant given to me by my grandmother who told me it must never be immersed in water. I have no idea if this is true but I throw it in in case it is.