A Gem So Unique, Every Piece of Jewelry Is One of a Kind

1. JENNIFER MEYER bar jewelry including a 2.5-carat opal set in 18-karat yellow gold with precious stone accents. $4,500.

2. GURHAN arm band made of 21.7 carats of Australian opals set in 24k yellow gold. $16,500; accessible at Neiman Marcus, San Francisco.

3. MONICA RICH KOSANN bow moon pendant accessory displaying an 18.6-carat stone opal and 1.87 carats of precious stones set in 18k white gold. $16,500; accessible at Bergdorf Goodman, New York.

4. WEMPE opal hoops set in 18k rose gold, highlighting 10 carats of opals, 4 carats of moonstones, and 1 carat of jewels. $14,675; accessible at Wempe, New York.

5. DAVID YURMAN HIGH JEWELRY opal and cognac precious stone drop studs set in 18k white gold. $44,000; accessible at David Yurman, New York.

6. JARED LEHR studs with 11.7 carats of opals and 2.1 carats of jewels set in darkened 18k white gold. $19,900.

7. IRENE NEUWIRTH ring with a 5-carat opal set in 18k gold, encompassed by precious stones and pearls. $14,300; accessible at Irene Neuwirth, West Hollywood, Calif.


Loaded with blazing internal life and ever-evolving hues, opals are solitary among gemstones: Unlike sapphires and other crystalline diamonds, the stone is obscure, and its small bits of silica produce colorful tones.

Opals, "produce splendid dashes of radiant shading when turned in the light,” says goldsmith Gurhan Orhan. The optical impact is “made when light goes through minuscule circles of silica and diffracts to separate into the shades of the range.” All stone has its own example; no two are similar. That is another piece of their intrigue—and why huge numbers of our determinations here are stand-out.

“Opals are extremely tempting, particularly for gemologists,” says Laurie Brookins, an author and fine gems master. “It's hard to coordinate opals in the light of the fact that each is extraordinary.”

As indicated by Will Kahn, advertise chief of fine adornments at Moda Operandi Inc., “opals are having a tremendous second.” He says they “were driven into the spotlight by Irene Neuwirth,” the praised Los Angeles-based originator. Kahn favors opal gems in a “layered easygoing style, the bohemian-chic look culminated by originators like Jacquie Aiche, Neuwirth, and Andrea Fohrman.”

It takes at any rate 5 million years for Australian opal to frame from normal silica stores in the Earth. As opposed to lab-developed precious stones and sapphires, opals offer unmistakable characteristics that can't be mass-created. “Opals are bossy—they mention to you what you have to do with them,” says creator Monica Rich Kosann about working with the stone.

After over 10 years of utilizing opals in her adornments, Kosann says they “discover their mothers. At the point, when you put an opal on a lady, if it's the correct match, it just lights up.

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