Ethiopian opals’ bright colors and intense play of color have attracted gem enthusiasts and even jewelers. Gemstones are often made famous for their natural beauty, and their fire and brilliance creating a contrast against other traditional gemstones like diamonds and sapphires. Recently, the jewelry world has seen a jump in displaying Opal Stone in their natural, unpolished state. This is a more organic, earthy design aesthetic that embraces it’s opal’s unique qualities. In this blog, we’re going to take a look at how raw Ethiopian opals are used in modern jewelry design to create opulent, one of a kind pieces that combine nature’s beauty with modern craftsmanship.
The allure of Raw Ethiopian Opals
Raw Ethiopian opals are the purest form of a gem, not altered by mankind’s hand other than perhaps a gentle clean. The opals that are typically found are in their natural state in the volcanic deposits found in Ethiopia, with a natural, untampered-with beauty. Raw opals are all natural; unlike cut and polished stones, each piece is different.
Natural Color Play:
Raw Ethiopian opals are deeper in saturation than most of even the finest polished stones, even retaining color-play, but in a more subtle, natural form.
Unique Shapes:
It is a stylized opal that creates texture across the range of the stones, and these irregular shapes and textures with their stamp of authenticity and organic beauty, add to the design and ‘better than’ style of the piece of jewelry.
Eco-Friendly Design:
Because they are usually ethically sourced, and working with raw opals reduces the carbon footprint usually associated with jewelry processing, designers prefer raw opals.
The trend for a more raw, organic look in jewelry has always been valid and being popular now in terms of sustainability, minimalism, and a respect of looking at ‘naturalness’ in general.
Designing Raw Ethiopian Opals: As it was a balance of nature and craftsmanship.
Jewelry made of raw Ethiopian opals has to be designed in a certain way. Usually uncut, the stones are often irregular and fragile, which makes it difficult for designers to preserve their natural beauty, while also making the stones wearable and durable. Unlike most traditional gems, raw opals are not uniform — each requires different work, from cutting to shaping to setting.
Working with Raw Opals presents Challenges.
There are many challenges when designing with raw opals: they have irregular shapes and can be delicate. Because set opals are polished from raw opals, the opals can be rather fragile, so extra care must be taken when setting a raw opal into jewelry.
Fragility:
In setting raw opals, the shapes and internal structure of each stone make them more prone to cracking or chipping during the process. In response to this, designers choose to place the stone in a way that protects it, or make use of special adhesives to keep things secure. Some related gemstones such as labradorite stone, Amethyst Stone and Malachite Stone are also becoming more popular.
Shape and Size Variability:
Raw opals are available in irregular shapes, which means that each piece must be set to suit the stone. That means that designers are free to create more creative and fluid designs that represent the opal’s organic origins.
However, it is an exciting opportunity for designers keen to work with raw opals that may very well contain their ‘imperfection’. The jewelry created using this approach is luxurious AND grounded by earth’s natural creations.
The Setting Process: Adapting to the natural beauty of the Stone
Rudy Pierce advises creating settings with both a purpose; they should display the Ethiopian opal and also protect it. Raw opals are always different from the typical cutting and polishing time that comes with traditional gemstones and their setting. Custom settings that hold the opal securely while accentuating its natural form are placed in the hands of designers who chose the metal to use such as gold, silver and others.
Minimalistic Settings:
Though some designers get their opal to fit in minimal settings which don’t overwhelm the opal. By setting the opal in bezel or prong settings that grasp the stone softly and letting it sit where the stone lives, they let the opal shine.
Source:
Like I said, I bring the opal out. Even when touching, it’s still the piece that gets admired and it’s still the piece you see in the museum.
Organic Designs:
Raw opals can also be set in design that mimics nature, for example, asymmetrical, fluid shapes to the stone’s craggy edges. The opal is further shown to be organic and unpolished, even as you add to the opal’s beauty.
Incorporating Other Gemstones:
Raw opals are also paired with other gemstones such as diamonds or sapphires to create such impressive contrast. They can also help bring some opal color play forward and give some elegance to the design.
The secret to popularizing raw Ethiopian opals is keeping the true value of the stone’s intrinsic beauty at one end of the spectrum, and at the other, an element of both craftsmanship and artistry that meets the intent of the opal. The goal of designers is to capture the colours, textures and imperfections of the opal, but do so in a way that also shows it off as a piece that is durable and can be worn.
Conclusion: The Future of Raw Ethiopian Opal Jewelry.
Finally, raw Ethiopian opals are quickly garnering a rightful place in the jewelry world, thanks to their raw, natural, organic beauty and the growth of sustainable and natural design. Designers that look at the opal‘s own natural form can use to make luxurious, one of a kind pieces, showing off the natural colours, textures and imperfections of the gemstone. Raw Ethiopian opals can be turned into exuberant works of art when set with the proper setting and with handiwork, Perhaps you are thinking about GemstonesForSale to include in your collection. With simultaneously speaking to the earth’s inherent magnificence and the fashionable opulence that ours lives in.
If you are searching for gemstones to craft your own customized piece or you are intrigued by this conflict of organic beauty and high end artistry, either way raw Ethiopian opals are endless on creative jewelry design possibilities. In time, as more designers travel down the path of working with raw opals, we can expect to see a continuing rise in the use of opals in opulent, organic jewels, which are an ode to both nature and artistry.
