Marie Bahe - Navajo   -  Sterling Silver
Sterling Opal Bracelets
HK Item #NBT684- size 6"

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ABOUT SILVER

100% solid silver won't tarnish but it is too soft to use for making jewelry - it could easily be scratched, dented and bent. Sterling silver has a small amount of one or more other metals usually copper, added to the silver. To be called sterling silver, the alloy must contain at least 92.5% pure silver. Sterling silver alloy is harder than pure silver but the added metals also can cause discoloration or tarnish. Read more about silver.

ABOUT OPAL

Blue stone with interior fracturing of light which results in a play of color. Opal is October's birthstone and is believed to make the wearer less self-conscious, thereby encouraging spontaneous action and awakening one's psyche.

Natural opal (precious opal) typically contains between 3-10% water but can be as high as 20% and this can make the stones less stable.

Lab opal is considered a true synthetic or created opal – produced in controlled laboratory conditions and with the same chemical composition as natural opal but with a very low moisture content making it more durable. Lab opal has much fracturing of light and brilliant colors including blue, pink, purple, red and green.

Imitation opal (artificial opal, simulated opal) differs chemically from natural and lab opal. It is made up of 80% silica and 20% resin and is an economical option to both precious and lab opal. It is the opal most commonly used in Native American jewelry.

Sterling Opal is a new lab-grown gemstone that combines the play of color of genuine opal with the economic pricing of synthetic opal. Unlike most synthetic opal that use dye to achieve different colors Sterling Opal color is the result diffraction of light as occurs in natural opal. The colors are brilliant and change with angle of light.

Read more about opal.