WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN SHOPPING AT THE OPAL DEALER
Our Lab-Created Opal Earrings are truly one-of-a-kind, radiating a captivating shimmer through their faceted stones. Whether you're seeking a remarkable gift or a dependable pair of studs for everyday wear, these opal earrings are an impeccable choice. Experience the allure of our best-selling opal colors, and we assure you, they'll leave you utterly delighted!
Product Specifications
| Material | Synthetic Faceted Opal (Silica & Polymer) & 925 Sterling Silver Studs with Plating |
|---|---|
| Color Play | Primary: Black | Fire: Rainbow |
| Stone Cut | Faceted Diamond Cut |
| Stone Sizes & Thickness | 5mm (3mm thick), 6mm (3.6mm thick), 7mm (4.2mm thick), 8mm (4.6mm thick) |
| Metal Plating | White Gold, 14k Gold, & Rose Gold |
| Closures | Push Back |
| Post Length | 1mm |
Why Choose Our Opal Earrings?
- Precious Gemstone Look: Our Lab-Created diamond cut faceted gems capture the brilliant fire and sparkle of a natural gemstone.
- Superior Quality & Stability: These lab-created opal stones won't crack, craze, or yellow over time, offering superior durability.
- Trusted Materials: Reliable, high quality 925 sterling silver that is 100% nickel, lead, and cadmium free with decorative plating that makes each set of earrings feel personalized.
- Versatile Sizing: Offered in a range of sizes to fit every style. From dainty and delicate to your next bold statement piece, you will find the right fit for your greatest desires.
Please Note: A quantity of ONE will include ONE pair of earrings. Due to their unique composition, every stone is unique and color may vary.
Plated and gold-filled jewelry offer a beautiful and affordable way to enjoy the luxurious look of gold. However, to keep them shining, it's essential to understand how they are made and how to care for them properly. This guide will walk you through the key differences and provide expert tips to ensure the longevity of your cherished pieces.
What's the Difference Plated vs Gold-Filled
Gold-Plated Jewelry
Gold-plated jewelry consists of a thin layer of real gold bonded onto a base metal, such as brass or copper. This process makes the piece very affordable, but it also means the gold layer is delicate and can wear away over time with friction, moisture, and contact with chemicals. Our plated jewelry is always nickel, lead, and cadmium-free.
Gold-Filled Jewelry
Gold-filled jewelry is the next best thing to solid gold. It's created by pressure-bonding a thick layer of gold to a base metal core. This layer is typically 100 times thicker than that of plated jewelry, making it much more durable, tarnish-resistant, and safe for people with metal allergies. With proper care, gold-filled pieces can last for many years.
Caring for Your Plated Jewelry
The key to making plated jewelry last is gentle handling and protecting it from abrasion and chemicals. Think of the gold layer as a delicate coating that needs to be preserved.
The "Last On, First Off" Rule
Always put your plated jewelry on *after* you have applied all lotions, makeup, and perfumes. When you get home, it should be the first thing you take off. This simple habit drastically reduces contact with potentially damaging chemicals.
Protect from Moisture and Sweat
Moisture is the biggest enemy of plated jewelry. To protect it:
- Remove all pieces before washing your hands, showering, bathing, or swimming.
- Take off your jewelry before exercising or any activity that may cause excessive sweating.
Gentle Cleaning Only
Never use chemical jewelry cleaners, and avoid soaking the jewelry in water. If you notice a buildup of residue, you can very gently dab the piece with a soft, dry microfiber cloth. Do not rub the surface, as this can wear away the plating.
Caring for Your Gold-Filled Jewelry
Thanks to its thick layer of solid gold, gold-filled jewelry is much more durable and easier to care for. It can handle more wear and tear, but a good care routine will keep it shining for years.
Regular Cleaning
You can safely clean your gold-filled pieces without fear of the gold rubbing off.
- Mix a few drops of mild dish soap into a bowl of warm water.
- Submerge the jewelry for a few minutes.
- Gently scrub with a very soft toothbrush to remove any buildup, especially around settings.
- Rinse thoroughly with clean water and pat dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.
Avoiding Abrasives
While durable, gold-filled jewelry can still be scratched by harsh chemicals or abrasive materials. Avoid contact with bleach and harsh cleaners, and polish only with a soft cloth.
Proper Storage for All Jewelry
Whether plated or gold-filled, proper storage is essential to prevent scratches and slow down any potential tarnishing.
- Store pieces separately. Keep your jewelry in individual soft pouches or in a jewelry box with compartments to prevent items from rubbing against each other.
- Keep it in a dry location. Store your jewelry away from the humidity of a bathroom to protect it from moisture.
Disclaimer: These are standard industry care recommendations. Please consider the specific needs of your jewelry, as you are ultimately responsible for its care and maintenance.
Lab-grown opal represents the perfect marriage of nature’s beauty and human ingenuity. It captures the mesmerizing fire of the world’s rarest opals while delivering significant advantages in durability, ethics, and vibrancy. Here’s why choosing a lab-grown opal for your jewelry is a brilliant decision.
Engineered for Everyday Life
The most significant advantage of lab-grown opal is its superior strength and stability. Natural opal is famously delicate, containing a high water content that makes it prone to cracking and "crazing" from impacts or temperature changes. This fragility is why it's often avoided for daily-wear pieces like engagement rings.
Our lab-grown opals solve this problem. By creating the opal in a controlled environment, a gem is produced that is far more resilient and durable. You can wear your opal jewelry with confidence every day, without the constant worry of damaging your precious stone.
Unmatched Vibrancy & Fire
While natural opals can be stunning, their quality and play-of-color can be inconsistent. The beauty of a lab-grown opal is the remarkable consistency and vibrancy of its fire. The process cultivates a flawless, intricate structure that results in a breathtaking and uniform play-of-color, a feature typically found only in the most expensive mined opals.
An Ethical & Sustainable Sparkle
Choosing a lab-grown opal is a choice you can feel good about. Our opals are grown above ground, completely bypassing the environmental disruption and ethical concerns associated with traditional mining. There is no destructive land use, no murky supply chains, just pure, beautiful opal created with a clear conscience.
Accessible Luxury
We offer these incredible gemstones at a more accessible price point than their mined counterparts of similar quality. Lab-grown opals make the breathtaking beauty of this unique gem available to more people and for more types of jewelry, allowing you to own a piece of rare beauty without the rare price tag.
With lab-grown opal, you no longer have to choose between breathtaking beauty and practical durability. You get the fire of a rare gemstone with the resilience for everyday life. A modern, ethical, and accessible treasure designed to last a lifetime.
Our lab-grown opal, also known as synthetic opal or man-made opal, is a marvel of science, capturing the dazzling beauty of natural opal in a controlled environment. The result is a gemstone material with spectacular, consistent color and fire. While created in a lab, it shares the same fundamental composition as its natural counterpart: silica.
Lab-grown opal provides a brilliant and ethical alternative to mined opal. It offers not only affordability but also enhanced durability for creative projects. Unlike natural opal, which can be prone to cracking or crazing, our opal is stabilized with a polymer. This special impregnation process makes the material much stronger and easier to work with, perfect for jewelry, ring making, and other crafts. Please note, because of this polymer stabilization, the material cannot be exposed to the high heat of activities like glassblowing.
The Creation Process
Growing opal is a slow and precise art that mimics nature's own method, refined by science. The entire process, from start to finish, can take over a year to complete.
Step 1: Forming the Foundation
The journey begins with a solution of microscopic silica spheres suspended in water. This solution is the basic building block of opal. Nothing can be rushed here; the silica must be allowed to settle naturally.
Step 2: The Long Wait for Color
Over several months, these tiny silica spheres gradually sink and stack themselves into a highly ordered, tightly packed lattice. It is this perfectly uniform structure that gives opal its unique magic. As light passes through, the structure acts like a prism, diffracting the light and splitting it into a vibrant, dancing spectrum of color. This phenomenon is known as "play-of-color."
Step 3: Stabilization and Hardening
Once the silica structure is perfectly formed, the water is slowly and carefully removed. The material is then infused with a polymer to add strength and stability. This crucial step enhances the opal's durability, making it resistant to impact and cracking. The block is then allowed to fully harden into a solid mass.
Step 4: Revealing the Beauty
The rough block of lab-grown opal is now ready to be transformed. Just like a natural gemstone, it is skillfully cut, shaped, and polished to reveal the breathtaking patterns and colors locked inside. This process results in a stunning material ready for endless creative applications.
Processing Times & Shipping Offers:
- Processing Times: 1-3 Business Days *Unless otherwise specified
- US orders over $50 are eligible for Free Ground Shipping via USPS (estimated 3-5 business days)
Love these earrings nice sparkle made well-nice in rosegold
Beautiful earrings, highly recommend! I’m happy
The earrings are absolutely beautiful!
very nice earrings and timely shipping
I don’t know how to get ahold of this seller but one earring is broke
