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How to Polish Opals & Set Them in Silver

Opals are composed of small spheres of silica arranged in patterns. No two opals have the same pattern. Opals are available in every imaginable color with common colors being white, yellow, orange, green, blue and red. The black opal is the rarest and most valuable. Due to silver's hardness and durability and its ability to set off stones of different colors, jewelers often use silver settings for opals. Silver can withstand high degrees of polish, setting off the beauty of the opals even more.

Things You'll Need

Aluminum pie pan
Warm water
Mild dish-washing detergent
Soft cloth (corduroy or velvet)
Tripoli polish
Tin oxide polish
½ mm silver strip
Pliers
Small torch
Epoxy

Instructions

Polishing the Opals
- 1
  Fill the pie pan with warm water mixed with mild detergent. Submerge the opals in the water, gently stirring the water with your hands. Remove the opals from the water and dry them with a soft cloth such as corduroy or velvet. Do not leave the opals submerged for more than a few minutes.
- 2
  Mix water into the tripoli polish to make a paste, and apply the paste to the soft cloth. Submerge the opals in shallow water and gently rub them with the cloth using circular motions. Continue polishing until no scratches or rough spots remain.
- 3
  Repeat the polishing step using the tin oxide polish.
Setting the Opals
- 4
  Buy a ½ mm-thick strip of silver to create a bezel setting for the opal. A bezel setting, which creates a border around the circumference of the opal, is recommended as opposed to a prong setting, which does not encircle the opal but rather secures it with prongs. Cut the silver strip to the desired length with the pliers to create a bezel setting and shape it around the contours of the opal.
- 5
  Remove the opal and solder the ends of the bezel setting together using a small torch.
- 6
  Place a bead of epoxy on the bezel setting and place the opal into the setting. Allow the epoxy to dry according to manufacturer's instructions, then use the epoxy to adhere the opal and bezel setting to the silver jewelry of your choice.

Gemology