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another opal pin on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WD1V I think opal pins are gorgeous! |
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I LOVE it...! |
I wanted to bump this to see more comments on opals!
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Opal Theta badge?
I was thinking about ordering a Theta badge with opals, but our jeweler has no way to preview badges with specific jewels except the pearls and diamonds. I've seen a picture of an older Dyer kite with opals but not the current badge shape. Does anyone with one have pictures they'd care to share? (:
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I think this is gorgeous..
http://cgi.ebay.com/PI-BETA-PHI-Soro...#ht_500wt_1156 |
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I don't want to dissuade you, really. However, opals today are not the same as you see on older badges like the ones we lust over in the Badge Trends thread. They are lighter, almost white, and don't have as much "fire" as the opals of yesteryear. Maybe there is a way you could see a sample of the opals you would be getting. |
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@sherry, call Ruth @ Theta HQ & ask her to put you in touch with J. Lewis Small,the official Fraternity jeweler. I saw several of their badges at convention (none with opals, alas) and was impressed with their workmanship. Gusteau is correct; most of today's opals are nothing like the opals we see in the older badges. It is possible to get fiery opals, but you'll pay a high price, and it might be challenging to get a jeweler to cut up opals into small sizes for a badge. I found four rather large matched opals in a vintage jewelry piece and wanted to purchase the piece for Honeychile so that she could create an opal ADPi badge. When I found out what it was going to cost to cut up the opals, plus the jeweler would not guarantee that the original opals wouldn't shatter and become unusable, I said "forget it!" Another point: I have seen some opal badges that look absolutely spectacular in photographs, but in person...meh. Bear in mind that the stones used in badges are pretty small (I was going to say tiny). Look at a pearled kite and visualize it with opals. See what I mean? And I could write a dissertation about natural vs. synthetic opals, how to clean & care for them, etc. Damn, I wish Dyer was still in business. |
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Back to the question about getting a new badge with opals: when my mom was ordering her badge decades ago (we're talking '60s), she called our jeweler to find out what color the opals were that year; perhaps you could do the same now. That would also let you know if they would look good with another stone (i.e. rubies, emeralds, or sapphires), or if you'd rather forgo them this time around. |
I can remember dozens of conversations between my high school best friend and my mother (both born in October) about opals. Both had had at lest one opal shatter on her, both had trouble getting insurance on them, both absolutely loved them. I would sit there, simmering over the opals I would never be allowed to wear.
But as to oiling them, my understanding was that, by wearing your opals (pearls or jade), you should rub them with your own natural oils.. It "personalizes" the stones while it gives them a lovely sheen. I know that my best jade definitely beautiful from rubbing it, and I can still smell my mother in her pearls. ETA: Has anyone heard from Silver lately? I miss her! |
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