A Guide to Buying Opals Online

 Buying opals loose in a shop is difficult enough if you don't understand them but to buy them online is a daunting task. You are at the mercy of the salesperson and that is not always in your best interest. But I can help with some advice which will smooth the way. Natural or Synthetic? Synthetic opals are man made in a laboratory and will be called "created opals" by most websites. They can make stunning jewelry too. The may also be called "imitation opals." Solid, Doublet or Triplet? Let's say after deciding that we want real or natural opals rather than man made opals we now need to decide whether we want a solid opal, a doublet or a triplet. You may be aware that a solid opal is one piece and is the best and most expensive. A solid opal which is very thin, too thin to make into a piece of jewelry, will have another piece of black colored opal glue to the back of it to give it strength and to bounce the stone's bright colors. These are doublets and a...