Opals and Pins

[texas*princess]

another opal pin on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WD1V

I think opal pins are gorgeous!

[sageofages]

Originally posted by OleMissGlitter
Cool beans...we have tons of ZTA legacies who are AOIIs....

I have seen a few ZTA badges on E-Bay with opals...I also saw Phi Mu badge with opals once....so pretty!

One of my Phi Mu badges is emeralds and opals. Emeralds in the points. I purchased it about 6 years go from the Executive Office retired badge selection...for a price I considered a steal !

I LOVE it...!

[carnation]

I wanted to bump this to see more comments on opals!

[sherrybaby]

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? (:

[betasigrose]

I think this is gorgeous..
http://cgi.ebay.com/PI-BETA-PHI-Soro...#ht_500wt_1156

[Gusteau]

Originally Posted by sherrybaby

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? (:

Paging AzTheta!

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.

[sherrybaby]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

Paging AzTheta!

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.

That's what I'm afraid of :/ I've been playing with the jeweler's website and haven't been able to figure out a way to preview it...I might email them directly and ask if they have any photos

[LoggerTheta]

Originally Posted by AOIIsilver

I have heard this woe ALL of my life. My mother is not born in October and has a beautiful ring. I always look to see if it is yet chipped!

I was always told that you must rub opals to deposit oils from your skin to keep them hydrated. Anyone else ever heard this?

Silver

I know the post I quoted is 6 years old, but I thought this was interesting. It didn't make sense to me at first (from a mineralogical point of view.) These must be synthetic opals that people have in their badges/jewelry because actual opal is just hydrated amorphous silica (like quartz except without a crystal structure). Synthetic opals can be porous, which would lead to cracking, whereas naturally occurring ones are not.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by Gusteau

Paging AzTheta!

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.

Hey Gusteau! You rang?

@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.

[steelerbear]

Originally Posted by LoggerTheta

I know the post I quoted is 6 years old, but I thought this was interesting. It didn't make sense to me at first (from a mineralogical point of view.) These must be synthetic opals that people have in their badges/jewelry because actual opal is just hydrated amorphous silica (like quartz except without a crystal structure). Synthetic opals can be porous, which would lead to cracking, whereas naturally occurring ones are not.

My mom has actually told me for years that opals--her birthstone--are incredibly fragile and need to be hydrated somehow. I don't recall if she told me that required body oils, steam, or if she even mentioned what that somehow is. But I know she's said that they're a pain to take care of, which is why she doesn't have very many. Well... that, and the fact that she likes bright, blue, fiery opals--not the pale, whitish ones you typically find now.

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.

[honeychile]

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!