Opals minus the imperfections Source: http://www.jewellerynetasia.com
The best-looking things in life may not be free, but nowadays they can certainly be more affordable. With synthetic stones, beautiful-looking gems can be made available even to those on a tight budget.
Among the companies that have made this possible is RMC Gems HK Co, which recently launched two synthetic opals it calls MexiFire and PeruBlu. Rajneesh Bhandari, who has developed these products, spoke with Jewellery News Asia about these stones.
MexiFire
MexiFire - its name illustrating the two most important aspects of a "top-quality" fire opal: Mexico, where the best natural fire opals come from; and its distinct "flaming" orangish-red colour - has the same chemical composition as that of a natural opal, except that it's better, Mr Bhandari said.
According to Mr Bhandari, the MexiFire has three main advantages over the natural fire opal: it is available in nearly all sizes, unlike the natural stones; it has better transparency than natural stones; and it does not craze, unlike natural fire opals. "Natural fire opals have a tendency to crack because in many cases, they have high water content. The MexiFire, on the other hand, will not crack because the quantity of water is miniscule and controlled."
Further, MexiFire stones are all transparent, unlike natural opals, which can sometimes appear opaque. "There are other producers that manufacture synthetic opals but those opals show diffraction - there is a play of colour. MexiFire, on the other hand, has a very concentrated colour, and I believe we are the only ones producing this kind of created fire opal."
PeruBlu
The most stunning thing about RMC's created blue opal - PeruBlu - is its very rich colour, which is very close to that of a Paraiba tourmaline.
The PeruBlu has the same physical and chemical properties as natural Peruvian opal, except that it is transparent and can be made into a cut stone, unlike a natural Peruvian opal, Mr Bhandari said.
Also, like the MexiFire, Mr Bhandari claimed that PeruBlue outperforms the natural Peru opal in that it is available in all sizes and does not craze because of its controlled water content. "A limitation of Peru opals is its poor transparency - they are translucent to opaque - and the high water content. For the Peru opals that contain water, when the water starts to come out, they start to become white. In our synthetic's case, that won't happen. The blue won't fade."
