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Synthetic Opal Gemstones
"Synthetic opal" is somehow misused. Man-made opals differ in quality and values: from high-end Synthetic Opals, to the low-end limitation Opals.
Type | Example | Academic name | Composed by | Lab-created | Lab-grown |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Synthetic Opal | Bello Opal® | Polymer Impregnated Synthetic Opal | 80% silica & 20% resin | Yes | Yes |
Synthetic Opal (Resin Free) | Bello Opal® - Galaxy Opal | Mineral Type Synthetic Opal | Silica & water | Yes | Yes |
Imitation Opal | Oparex | Resin Colloidal Imitation Opal | 25% silica & 75% resin | No | No |
Imitation Opal | Glass Opalite | Opalescent Glass | Glass | No | No |
What is Synthetic Opal? And what is imitation opal?
Imitation opal is what people usually consider fake opal. It could be made of a material that resembles the appearance of opal but has different chemical and physical properties. They could be either plastic, glass or any other materials…etc.
Oparex is certified by GIA as imitation opal. It is a man-made opal which contains 80% resin and 20% silica. It is also a heat-hardened of resin with mixture of silica in short period of time. Due to their formation feature, it is also named as "Resin Colloidal Imitation Opal". Some people mistakenly call Oparex as synthetic opal. To clarify again, Oparex is a plastic material with some color change effect.
Glass Opalite is a commonly known imitation opal. It does not show any play of color and is simulating common opal. It is merely glass.
Reminder: Keep in mind that not all man-made opals are of the same quality. High-quality ones can be tens of times as expensive as low-quality gemstones.
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/Opal-color-chart.jpg)
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal1.jpg)
Oparex (Glitter type)
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal2.jpg)
Oparex (Glitter type)
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal3.jpg)
Oparex (Marble type)
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal5.jpg)
Oparex (Marble type)
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal4.jpg)
Glass Opalite
What makes a man-made opal qualified as "Synthetic Opal"?
According to GIA, synthetic opal must:
(a) be silica in composition (major elements), possibly containing some water;
(b) be composed of submicroscopic spheres;
(c) have gemological properties with refractive index (RI) between 1.37 and 1.47
Bello Opal & Galaxy Opal, composing of orderly arrays of silica, are both certified by GIA as synthetic opal while the latter one is chemically identical to natural opal. To clearly distinguish the difference between two products, GIA named Bello Opal, the one with 20% resin, as "Polymer Impregnated Synthetic Opal" and Galaxy Opal as "Synthetic opal".
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal6.jpg)
Synthetic opals - Bello Opal & Galaxy Opal
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal7.jpg)
Synthetic opals - Bello Opal & Galaxy Opal
What is "Created Opal"?
"Created opal" is sometimes used by marketers to describe synthetic opal which is chemically identical to natural opal. Although created opal and synthetic opal have been used interchangeably by marketer, it is important for jewelers to understand that created opal is specially referring to resin free opal as this may affect their handling conditions. Resin free created opal is suitable for setting in wax or glassblowing.
Galaxy Opal which only contains silica &small portion of water is the best example of created opal as they are resin free.
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal8.jpg)
Bello Opal (Galaxy Opal) tumbled stones
Why is lab-grown opal unique?
Only synthetic opal goes through lab-grown process could be named as lab-grown opal. It is not only a process which takes time but a combination of technology and craftsmanship in creating unique columnar structure for synthetic opal. Columnar structure which looks like vertical fire, is also representing the growth pattern of lab-grown opal, resembling natural opal's precious play of colors. This professionalism endows the opal the precious value while this vertical fire is the key feature to distinguish lab-grown opal from the others.
Bello Opal and Galaxy Opal with the unique vertical fire are good examples of lab-growth synthetic opal. Opal-like Plastic (OLP) is not lab-grown opal as they are basically a heat-hardened of resin with mixture of silica. Their fire pattern is non-directional and without vertical fire.
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal9.jpg)
Natural Opal
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal10.jpg)
Bello Opal rough
Misuse of the term "Polymer impregnated" and "Lab-created".
"Polymer impregnated" is used to describe a synthetic opal which go through the resin impregnation process and this process could only take place if solid stone is ready in advance.
Oparex (Imitation Opal) is mistakenly advertised as impregnated opal by some amateurs. The formation of Oparex is by mixture of plastic with silica, thus, it is impossible for the impregnation process to take place.
![HXGEMSTONES HXGEMSTONES](assets/images/product/medium-size/operal11.jpg)
Definition of "impregnated" by GIA
How does the value vary among different man-made opals?
Synthetic opal (Resin free) has the highest value among all as it is chemically identical to natural opal. Polymer impregnated synthetic opal is a high-quality option with relatively lower price, at the same time carrying the unique feature of vertical fire.
Within the imitation opal category, the price range could vary a lot as there are different material options, some are merely glass or plastic.
Category | Academic name | Example | Composed by | Value ranking |
---|---|---|---|---|
Synthetic Opal (Resin free) | Mineral Type Synthetic Opal | Bello Opal® - Galaxy Opal | Silica & water | 1 |
Synthetic Opal | Polymer Impregnated Synthetic Opal | Bello Opal® | 80% silica & 20% resin | 2 |
Imitation Opal | Resin Colloidal Imitation Opal | Oparex | 20% silica & 80% resin | 3 |
Imitation Opal | Opalescent Glass | Glass Opalite | Glass | 4 |