Opal Diamond Rings are known to be favored by royalty because the blue sapphire stone is even rarer than diamond and is almost as hard. This is a nice fact to share with your number one queen when you slip a blue sapphire engagement ring on her ring finger. Blue sapphires come in a range of shades from light to dark blue. The blue color is due to the level of titanium in the stone: the more titanium, the richer the color. However, too much color can actually create a dull black effect and reduce the value of the stone.
The most blue sapphires are found in Sri Lanka, Burma and Madagascar. Burmese sapphires tend to be more expensive than those from Sri Lanka and Madagascar due to their brilliant color. Kashmir blue sapphires are the rarest and most expensive of all because the reserves found in the remote region of India were depleted about 100 years ago, escalating the price and demand.
The prices of blue sapphires depend on whether or not they have been treated (untreated costs much more), as well as color, cut, tone (lightness or darkness of the stone), saturation (the degree to which a shade is hidden by other shades), and clarity. One carat blue sapphires can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.
Buy your ruby opal bracelets with pride! Don't let anyone tell you that diamonds are better as engagement rings. Only you and your potential spouse should decide what suits your style, taste and budget........not popular opinion....or your future mother-in-law. Besides, you can always tell naysayers that big rubies are even rarer than diamonds. Rubies belong to the corundum family. Any color from this family other than red is considered a sapphire. Rubies are almost as hard as diamonds. Diamonds are considered a "10" on the hardness scale, while rubies are a 9. Rubies have slightly less clarity than other gemstones and tend to have at least some small inclusions. Most rubies are heat-treated to enhance their color, but the stones exist in their natural form. Cushion cut and oval rubies are the most common opal bracelets. Burmese rubies are considered the most sought after.
You may be able to save money by purchasing a ruby with a slightly tinted shade, i.e. slightly lighter or darker than what is considered ideal... a vivid red color. You can also save some dough by shopping synthetic versus natural rubies. Rubies belong to the corundum family. Any color from this family other than red is considered a sapphire.
Rest assured that buying opal gemstone will not bring bad luck to your partner, but perhaps the opposite. When it comes to opal gemstone superstition, some still believe that it is bad luck to buy an opal for yourself, but good luck if someone else gives it to you. Throughout history there have been negative connotations associated with opals. Interestingly, it is said that in the 18th and 19th centuries, diamond merchants became nervous about how the beautiful gem was ripping off diamond customers and further perpetuated stereotypes about the opal to prevent this. The powers that be tried hard to squash this unfortunate urban legend when a huge amount of opals were found in Australia.
I personally love opal engagement rings. With their iridescent hues, I think opals are some of the prettiest stones around. The shades of the rainbow are often referred to as the "play of colors". Most opal supplies come from our Australian friends in South Australia.
Here is the science behind opals. Opals are a non-crystalline form of the mineral silica, which are made up of amorphous 'balls' or 'lumps' of silica. In other words, water in the ground carrying dissolved silica seeps through sand and dirt, where the silica particles are deposited in cracks. As the water evaporates, the silica particles combine to form opal. Color is caused by the diffraction of light. Where the tiny silica spheres are similar in size and arrangement, the light reflecting off them separates into its spectral colors, and the stone appears to contain all the colors of the rainbow. Where the spheres are larger and less uniform, the range of colors is more limited.
One of the main disadvantages of opal engagement rings compared to diamonds is that opals are a much softer stone. While diamond is considered a 10 on the Mohs hardness scale, opal is between 5 and 6. This means that over time opal can break and you need to handle it with care and caution. look for the setting of the ring that best preserves its integrity (i.e. half bezel is a good choice).
Opals show an impressive color range. They can be white, pink, green and blue, gray or black. Australian boulder opals are the most durable of opals and also the most robust in color. As a result, they are considered valuable and are quite expensive. Black opals are actually the rarest and most expensive. They have dark backgrounds with iridescent colors or deep blue-green hues. Fire opals that have any color background but show an unusual amount of red are also quite rare
There are a thousand legends and stories related to the opal gemstone.
The ancient Greeks believed that opals fell from the sky during flashes of lightning and gave individuals the ability to see into the future.
The Romans thought that wearing opals made one more clear in thought and spontaneous in action.
Can you believe it? In his play "Tweltfh Night," Shakespeare used the gem to draw an analogy between the changing colors of an opal and the ever-changing moods of a woman. Hmmmmmmmm.......not sure I like the comparison.
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