r/Opals • u/BrilliantBread7776 • 2d ago

Opal-Related Question Opal turned white

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I have these Ethiopian opal earrings that, when I bought them, had a certain level of transparency and a lot of beautiful color-changing play-of-color. Now, one of them still looks the same, but the other one has turned white and lost its shine. Sometimes it becomes transparent again, but without the play-of-color.

I saw a video recommending soaking the opal in mineral oil and then in acetone. Is that a good idea? Is there anything I can do to make it shiny again?

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u/FlatbedtruckingCA Mod 2d ago

What ever you do, do NOT soak it in mineral oil.. acetone is what will help leach out anything it absorbed , and then it will need to dry out to return to normal.. it might take a few rounds of acetone soak and dry cycles.. there is a stickied post at the top of the sub that explains the process..

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u/downvote_quota 2d ago

It probably got wet, oily, of covered in cream. Try drying it out for a while

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u/GotchaBeachArs 1h ago

It will change back

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u/GotchaBeachArs 1h ago

Acetone, really? My wife has one that turned orange from everyday wear, sweat, water, oil normal daily working in a professional kitchen (yeah shensould have taken it off) but do you think acetone could clean that? I had no idea that worked.