Crafting opal jewelry is where artistry meets sparkle and a little bit of magic! With a keen eye and a wild imagina...
WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN SHOPPING AT THE OPAL DEALER
Description
Journey into the cosmos with our breathtaking Lilac Galaxy Nebula Opal™ cabochons. Each stone is a swirling masterpiece of gentle purple hues and vibrant, cosmic Rainbow Fire, capturing the essence of a distant star cluster. Whether you're a seasoned jewelry maker or a passionate crafter, these premium lab-crafted™ opal cabochons are perfect for creating unique and eye-catching pieces that are both durable and beautiful. Elevate your designs with the otherworldly sparkle of our Nebula Opal™.
Product Specifications
| Material | Lilac Galaxy Nebula Opal™ (Lab-Crafted™ Opal) |
|---|---|
| Color | Primary: Purple | Secondary: Rainbow Fire |
| Stone Size | 7x9mm & 10x14mm |
| Stone Cut | Faceted Pear Cut |
| Hole Type | Fully Drilled Front Hole (1mm & 1.2mm) |
What is Nebula Opal™?
Our Nebula Opal™ is a premium, lab-crafted™ opal designed for superior strength and vibrant color. Unlike natural opal, this synthetic opal is composed of 20% silica and 80% resin, making it significantly more resistant to cracking and crazing—a common issue with natural opals. The unique marbled, wave-like color pattern and high transparency are meticulously crafted through a heat-hardening process, resulting in a gemstone-like material that is perfect for everyday wear and various crafting projects. We call it "Lilac Galaxy" because it's a cosmic explosion of color, with stunning flashes and vibrant hues that evoke the natural beauty of an aurora.
Creative Uses for Your Cabochons
- Jewelry Making: Create stunning pendants, earrings, and wire-wrapped pieces.
- Crafting: Ideal for suncatchers, dream catchers, and other decorative projects.
- Fashion Accessories: Use them to embellish clothing, keychains, and other accessories.
Please Note: Nebula Opal™ can withstand heat up to approximately 250°F. For best results and to maintain the integrity of your opals, please avoid exposing them to high heat.
Why Choose Lab-Grown Opal Over Natural Opal?
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.
How Our Lab-Grown Opal is Made
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.
Shipping & Processing
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)
Lilac Galaxy Faceted Pear Cut Nebula Opal™ Cabochon
$5.00
Get Inspiration from Other Creators
Art knows no limits, and Resin Art is a perfect example of this boundless creativity. When imagination meets crafts...
Are you a fan of Opal and the holiday season? If so, you're in for a treat! This talented creator has brought some ...
Why settle for mundane dice when you can roll with a set that oozes your unique style? This talented resin artist c...
Are you familiar with the concept of a resin clock? One talented artist has taken this idea to the next level with ...
Crushed Opal and Resin make an absolutely magical duo for all your crafting adventures! Feast your eyes on this inc...
Opal beads offers versatility for a wide range of creative projects, from elegant bracelets and exquisite earrings ...
Ring making is more than just a hobby – it's a true passion. Meet a skilled maker who takes craftsmanship to new he...
Enter a magical world of handmade jewelry, lovingly crafted by talented artists. Explore the realm of a skilled art...
Crushed Opal is a classic inlay material that could be used for just about any project but what about Faceted Opal ...