Opal crazing is usually caused by handling rather than bad luck. Here are the drying, cleaning, setting and storage mistakes that ruin stones, and how to...
Real opal, glued to a backing or capped with clear quartz, can look superb until you check the edge. Here is how doublets and triplets are built and spotted.
A plain-English beginner's guide to the three qualities that decide an opal's value — play-of-colour, brightness and pattern — plus the seller's vocabulary...
Black, white, crystal, boulder and fire opal compared side by side: how each forms, what it looks like, and which type suits rings, pendants and collections.
