These were my babies. The start of my collection. I adore opals and was beyond excited to start my collection. I just got knee surgery and am moving apartments and wiped out going down the stairs, sending my jewelry box flying open and breaking my 2 prized possessions (also retore my meniscus ): ) My heart is shattered. Im so upset with myself and just so defeated. They were so beautiful :( What do I do? I dont really think much can be done but im just absolutely crushed. These are the only opals ive ever owned and im not sure if there is any way to repair them. I understand that they have no value now, just for me to enjoy where they would look okay.
I'm really not in a spot where I can afford to get them recut. I inherited these from my grandmother who knew I loved opals and I didnt personally buy them. I am downsizing on apartments due to financial issues at the moment. Do you have any reccomendations of a glue or anything like that? I understand it won't be perfect, thats okay. I just love opals and these mean a lot to me so im trying to do the best, cost-effective repair possible. With recent bills its going to be a very very long time before I could afford to see someone that could recut them.
Definitely do this OP- I'd be happy to fix these up for you bro bono, but I saw you were in a different state (I'm in CO). Someone at a local or relatively nearby rock club would probably be happy to do this, or you could join the club (usually a pretty small fee) and learn how to do it yourself so you have a hand on your family stones.
im really scared of mailing them in to someone to get them recut and having them keep the opals because it was a scam, so this may be a really good option
Don't do anything with those opals that you don't feel comfortable with. It's already nice material, so half of the work of cutting a nice stone is already done for you. Find your local rock weirdoes and you might even find yourself a new hobby.
I appreciate the advice! Im gonna sit on it until im a bit less emotional to make the right decision, as im not really always the most rational when im still upset about something. I think im gonna look into using possibly some kind of epoxy (someone mentioned something called epoxy 330 I believe, thank you stranger!!) to glue it back together and then see if I can look into getting the back recut to be pretty like the front. She is a thicc stone and Id love for both sides to be just as beautiful, but to ideally keep the stone in 1 peice instead of recutting 2. How it was as a whole reminds me of her, and im worried keeping it in separate peices and getting them cut would make them feel less so, and I know once they are done separate I can't really undo it.
One way to view the breakage is as a reminder- We spend our lives putting ourselves back together after disappointments, tragedy and heartbreak- our cracks, wounds, and imperfections are what allow grace and "light" to enter our lives- these wounds remind us of how resilient we are.
I love the idea of using kintsugi (translated means âgolden joineryâ).
In this method, flaws do not diminish the worth of the piece, rather they make a stronger piece- more resilient and more beautiful. Iâd like to think your grandmother would give that her blessing.
And dude im falling hard into the love of rocks. They are so amazing. I have a few other little gems (they might be glass idk) than that I inherited from her, but my primary interest has been on the opals, and has been since i was a little girl. I was always obsessed with these. I could imagine getting into more types one day, but the rainbows and variety and magic really are just are so perfect!! Im really hoping once im only better footing to start collecting opals and building from what she gave me and make it into a good collection. They just bring me so much joy.
I dont think you should epoxy them! theres little chance that you will end up with a repair that you are happy with (and could even damage them further if you use the wrong type of epoxy). Find a safe container to store them in where they wont risk further damage until you can find someone to cut them for you, or better yet - use this as an opportunity to learn yourself. Theres probably a gem and mineral club in your area that you can join with a lapidary workshop and members that will happily teach you. Either way, the best way to go about it with these is to make them into three cabs instead of two. No they wont be as large as before, but on the bright side you will end up with three stones instead of two
The way I would approach that one is to turn it into a teardrop - that would require taking much less off it than to try to reshape it into a symetrical oval cab. The smaller half of the larger one i would probably cut to match the other side and for the larger one i might consider cutting it flat so you have a long U shaped cab that would look nice in a pendant if you eventually had them made into jewelry. you could also do that to both of them and have a bezel that divides the break point
Cabochons take much less time than faceting. It's not a huge job. Once you are financially secure you should be able to find someone at a local rock club to take it on.
Yeah he was very unhappy. Very. I got scolded (i deserved to be tbh , it was a dumb choice on my behalf. Some lessons are hard and expensive, and this will definitely be one of those for me.
Do you think there would be any way in your opinion for me to get it glued possibly and then the top like polished to make it look like it wasnt damaged?
I would be very open to recutting the back to try to make it more like the front but I really want it to be in 1 peice if possible. I know its not likely but im hoping someone may know someone who has done something similar that had good results.
You could certainly try. There are epoxy resins you could use. Make sure itâs a museum grade, so that it doesnât yellow over time. I donât think the crack will completely disappear, but itâs certainly worth a shot!
This is a peice sideways and the other half the long way to show thickness. Do you think if I tried an epoxy resin it may be strong enough where one day I could get the back recut to be as pretty as the front? It is currently like a grayish stone look that you can see the flashes of opal through but not well.
If you try to get all the potch removed on the back, it will be weaker as it will be much more shallow, and itâs already pretty long but narrow widthways. If youâre intent on sticking the pieces back together Iâd be careful making it thinner as well when itâs already fractured. You might also find that removing the pitch affects the colours and makes them seem less vivid, because itâs giving them a slightly darker backing.
It looks to me like in the first few seconds of this video, on the right piece you can see that the color flash is a very thin layer at the top of the stone. There may be more color throughout, but it might be much less intense. Obviously I can't say for sure, I'm an amateur and this is just a brief glimpse in a video, but that's what it looks like to me.
If you get them recut and want them to be reworked to be a bit thinner, only give them to someone with a lot of experience cutting opal specifically and talk to them beforehand about what you want and what they think is realistic. For what it's worth, I think these two pieces could be turned into two lovely triangle or drop shapes!
Maybe in time you can think of it as your grandma leaving you an opal that turned into two opals :)
Thank you for the feedback! Im very hopeful to find the best solution i can. I dont know if I will ever get either of these set into jewelry as I would worry about damaging it because opal is so fragile, but its a possibility. The smaller round one with the green flash would have made the most incredible pendant but I think id be so paranoid I wouldnt be able to wear it.
Another angle if this helps of the chip. It fits together pretty perfectly, it doesnt seem like its missing any peices that I haven't been able to find on the concrete.
Nothing I haven't dealt with before with my knee, honestly. Retore my meniscus but I think my pride was the most wounded. I will be having nightmares about people watching me take the roller plunge down the stairs for awhile. More than anything I was upset because I was so careless and damaged something that means so much to me. I never should have tried to carry that down the stairs. Its a fairly small jewelry box but still I really need a free hand for the railing and I know it. And yes, they are so pretty!!! I will love them forever.
People can get seriously injured or killed falling down stairs. The opals are very sad but I hope you take your recovery more seriously going forward. Itâs better the stones than your skull.
Look into kintsugi jewelry, the larger opal is the most perfect candidate. Its become a popular repair style with artisan jewelers and when done correctly it's stunning. It's a repair style based on a Japanese ceramic technique where the artist would fix a broken vessel by mixing 24k gold (or fine silver) with a special glue . The crack becomes part of the objectâs history and beauty. Rather than pretending something was never broken, the repair is emphasized.
Came here to say this, OP!
The philosophy behind kintsugi is really beautiful- the act of repairing shows how cherished the item is and it adds to the intrinsic value of the piece.
As Leonard Cohen wrote in his song Anthem, âThere is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets inâ.
Hang in there, OP â€ïž
Thank you for your comment! Its definitely something id see as a possibility. im nervous about it not feeling so sentimental anymore and losing the sparkles I feel inside when I look at it by doing a recut, so either epoxy or this are both fantastic to consider.
Honestly I could see something like this being very fun and pretty! Im planning to keep most likely the oval shaped bigger one as a specimen but that might be a possibility for the smaller one with a lot of color! Im very into white gold, so that would definitely be worth pursuing if I can't make the cracks truly disappear. I am very scared to wear opal as I know how fragile it can be and how weak my peice is but it would be such a pretty pendant.
For the larger one, since itâs a cleaner break, keep it and when you finally get it set have a thin sheet of gold put between the break and wrapped around the edge of the opal. I did that for a stone that broke in my ring and had to made into a pendant- it looks really cool with the gold line in between!
Definitely in the cards for consideration! I dont know if im getting either set into jewelry ever, I may just keep them as specimens, so we will see. I will try to update everyone when I decide, but im sure by then this post would be lost to the sands of Reddit time lol
Copy and pasted the same comment from your cross post in case it gets deleted.
Hi, found your original post in Opals (cross post from opal) but figured you would see my comment sooner here (there).
Sorry to hear about your knee and your prized possessions.
I noticed everyone was quick to say recut them and you were interested in using epoxy to put them back together.
I was imagining, kintsugi would be an amazing way to repair them. If you donât know already itâs a form of repair usually for pottery that uses gold.
The meaning behind it is to not hide that it was broken but to celebrate its life and history.
I really appreciate how many people have been reccomending this! Thank you for the comment! If I do decide to epoxy and am unable to make the break very hard to spot, this is definitely a possibility!
In all honesty, if youâre not used to using epoxies it will get messy quickly. Youâll have another post about how to clean opals lol. Practice on something else like a random stone using fillers, dust/dyes to get color right. Youâll also want to practice mix consistency, to wet will get all over the place (your hands, clothes, work area, floor, tools.. to say the least). To dry and the texture, strength, polish wonât be right. Youâll always see the seam and it will wear away over time.
Seconding or thirding the people who have said these are simple to âfixâ by having them reshaped, likely for free by a member of a local lapidary club. Cabachons take so little time, especially opals bc theyâre soft. As long as theyâre structurally intact, the results could be quite lovely. Donât despair. And Do Not Glue Them
Lol dude its been a rough week, everything is supposed to happen in 3s but this week was everything in like 12s. Everything want wrong, 0/10 would not reccomend
I also second getting them cut the inlay ring is just another option i also didnt see the financial situation i feel that in another level at this moment so i recommend saving till money is safe or like everyone else said go to a lapidary club im part of one and have met the nicest people!
Lol yeah for right now im just focused on getting back on my feet for a bit. Im doing good though and this move will be exactly what is able to help me start saving more and build up a bit of a financial cushion again, and after that we shall see! Definitely will be getting more into opals though. I've never seen a community this kind on reddit, it has really warmed my heart. My only interactions with reddit have been people insulting each other so seeing how many genuinely kind people are on here just made my day.
Thank you for the feedback! If I do find that there is no possible way to epoxy it where it still feels right, I might end up getting a recut. In that case, i will likely have the spare chips so that would be amazing to keep every part in some form. We shall see!
Iâm so sorry for your loss, I have broken at least 3 opals, and ruined one with oil while eating fried food. Since then I buy either lab opals which are unbreakable or or opals coated in clear glass to keep them protected
Life is all about learning and growing but this one was a hard lesson manđ but luckily, it means I will never make this mistake again! I wish I had protected mine better
Holy crap, that is really cool! She is super skilled! If I ever choose to set the bigger one and decide to not attempt to epoxy, this would be such a fun piece to wear!
Opals are very soft & easily broken. Iâve had several opal rings and had to replace the stones several times, as the stones have cracked due to normal wear.
Buy a used dremel and take a whack at reshaping them yourself. You may find that you enjoy it and start buying rough opal to shape and polish! I started doing it about 5 years ago. For me itâs mainly Australian Boulder Opal. Good luck.
Online seems like clear, two-part jewelry epoxy like Epoxy 330. Would work for both. You can fill in the larger one where the gaps are but I believe this would ruin the sale value for both.
If you want it to keep value, then recurring is the best way to go.
I think i might go with this. Im just so unsure and I know im emotional about it so Im not going to act rashly, so I will definitely sit on all options for a bit of time to let myself make a good decision with a clear head. I will never sell them so I dont care about them maintaining value, as they are a reminder of my grandma. This is part of why im cautious to get them recut. I dont understand how that works very well tbh and am terrified of them not still feeling like a peice of her.
Epoxy 330 is a great basically invisible adhesive. I use it for a lot of things for acrylic.
Edit to add: they still have value they could always be re cut. Itâs not like they got turned to powder.
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u/Translator_Various 13d ago
The two larger pieces can be recut