opals ?

[rockette]

Are these opals? Inherited jars of them. Some jars are full of what I believe to be mineral oil, and some jars are dry.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Cariboo5]

Hard to tell by your pictures...The orangeish-yellow one may be Carnelian but I cannot say for sure.. If possible take some good close up pictures of separate ones and I'm sure the experts will chime in to help you....

 

[rockette]

Thanks Cariboo - will do.

 

[Brian T. Booth]

Are these opals? Inherited jars of them. Some jars are full of what I believe to be mineral oil, and some jars are dry. Any help would be appreciated.

I have many boulder and fire opals. I'm about 90 percent sure you have an excellent collection of opal. Amazing

 

[huntsman53]

I am almost certain they are Opal specimens as well! Remove the ones from the jars with mineral oil, wash them and the jars, put them back in the jars and fill every jar with water. Opal has to rehydrated with water to keep the Fire alive. At least that was what I was told to do with some Opal I have but if anyone has a different opinion, please post it here.


Frank

 

[Brian T. Booth]

I am almost certain they are Opal specimens as well! Remove the ones from the jars with mineral oil, wash them and the jars, put them back in the jars and fill every jar with water. Opal has to rehydrated with water to keep the Fire alive. At least that was what I was told to do with some Opal I have but if anyone has a different opinion, please post it here. Frank

Most opals are stable. The unstable opals have micro cracks or other flaws that make them unstable. Putting opals in water to rehydrate will only have a temporary effect. Key things to remember about opals that are set in rings or other jewelry. Opals are fragile. If dropped or hit they can become damaged and may lose their "fire". Another big mistake that a lot of people do is put opal jewelry in ultrasonic cleaners. Do not do this. The opal is hydrated. When these water molecules vibrate this can cause the stone to crack. Although opals are considered a mineral, they are technically a mineraloid.

 

[MrLee]

Those jars look awesome. You inherited some very nice material. Congratulations.

 

[Eu_citzen]

Looks like opal for sure. Nice collection!

In the old days the myth of having to hydrate opal often moved people to keep their opals in jars with water.
Truth is only a few locales have so unstable opal they "have" to be kept wet.
Opal from Nevada is for example often better suitable as specimens then cut gems because they tend to be a bit on the unstable side. (and should be kept wet)

Unstable opals will crack if you wet them occasionally or not, doesn't matter.
The thing is the water is in the atom levels of the opal and it can't usually "absorb" the water to rehydrate.

 

[Brian T. Booth]

Looks like opal for sure. Nice collection! In the old days the myth of having to hydrate opal often moved people to keep their opals in jars with water. Truth is only a few locales have so unstable opal they "have" to be kept wet. Opal from Nevada is for example often better suitable as specimens then cut gems because they tend to be a bit on the unstable side. (and should be kept wet) Unstable opals will crack if you wet them occasionally or not, doesn't matter. The thing is the water is in the atom levels of the opal and it can't usually "absorb" the water to rehydrate.

Well put On the water on the molecular level.

 

[mamabear]

Do you have any idea where they were collected?

 

[rockette]

Appreciate the replies. I have no idea where they were collected. The man who had them traveled extensively. There are colors ranging from orange, yellow, milky blue, red, and green. Had wondered about the orange and yellow really being opals. Will take better pictures in next day or so (individual stones). Also have a few other stones I'll be posting for positive id.

 

[TJE]

Appreciate the replies. I have no idea where they were collected. The man who had them traveled extensively. There are colors ranging from orange, yellow, milky blue, red, and green. Had wondered about the orange and yellow really being opals. Will take better pictures in next day or so (individual stones). Also have a few other stones I'll be posting for positive id.

Wow!...was just gonna say, you've quite the variety of colors...very sharp collection!

 

[MrLee]

Rockette,

Please post those photos for us. I'm sure many people would like to see the material and you may get some $$ offers

If you are new to the hobby you just scored some great material to make jewelry out of. Find a rock club near you and ask them to teach you how to make cabochons.

 

[rockette]

apologies for quality of photos - tried in sun and in shade:

 

[rockette]

Also have couple pieces of this - black stone with different colored specks. Hard to get good photo that shows all the colors:

 

[rockette]

Just started taking them out of jars and saw these. The orange one had a lot of green fire to it. The other is just different than any I've seen
in this collection yet. Guess I should have gone thru all of them before posting so could pick out best ones. Have 9 jars to go through...

 

[Eu_citzen]

The first set of pictures look like mexican opals.

The second black ones could be andamook.

This one:
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=935428&d=1390603299

Looks like boulder opal.

 

[phishisgroovin]

Nice collection of mexican opal.