Two precious stones have been called the queen of gems… the opal and the pearl.
In this entry, I’ll talk a bit about pearls.
When a tiny piece of grit works its way into the soft tissue (mantle) of a living shelled mollusk, the mollusk – in this case an oyster, begins secreting calcium carbonate around the grit in order to ease the irritation. This is deposited in concentric layers. Not all pearls are perfectly round..it all depends on the shape of the grit. Those pearls that are not round are called baroque pearls.
The finest quality natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for centuries.
Because it is expensive and a matter of luck to find pearls in the wild, for many decades, cultured pears are made – usually in Japan. Grit of a specific shape is deliberately introduced into the oysters, and the pearls are allowed to grow for a few years. Then the oysters are harvested and the pearls removed.
Although gold has long been considered the setting for precious and semi-precious gemstones in jewelry, silver and platinum have also been very popular.
In particular, silver superseded gold for the setting for gemstones during the 18th and 19th centuries, because experts felt that silver set off the stones better than the overpowering colors of gold.
Most of the silver used iin jewelry prior to the 1900s was imported from Mexico, Peru, Chile and Bolivia. In the late 1800s, the Comstock Lode of silver was found in west Nevada in the USA, and jewelry production was able to increase dramatically.
Platinum was first discovered in South America. Although it was found to be a strong metal, and never tarnished, it took a while before it became used in jewelry.
Its first use as a setting for diamonds is recorded to have occurred in 1870, and it became very fashionable in the 1920 and 1930s.
In today’s economy, many people believe that investing in gemstones, or precious metals such as gold, will yield a better return on their money than the stock market.
Black opal from Lightning Ridge, with red fire, is an excellent gemstone investment. Boulder opal with spectacular colours is also good investment.
Here’s just a sample of investment opal available:
 |
AAA QUALITY GEM INVESTMENT BLACK OPAL L RIDGE GEM 10.7 CTS
INVESTMENTOPALS |
15,000.00 |
- |
10.7 |
2 hours 41 minutes |
 |
BLACK OPAL GEM GRADE RUB 13.8 CTS TB-2
INVESTMENTOPALS |
4,140.00 |
- |
13.80 |
2 hours 41 minutes |
 |
YOWAH OPAL NUT PAIR RARE PATTERN 180CTS CTS TON-3C
INVESTMENTOPALS |
6,000.00 |
- |
180 |
3 hours 21 minutes |
 |
VIDEO-QUALITY N1 RICH RED ORANGE SOLID OPAL3.50 CTS [S102 ]
quality opals |
6,500.00 |
- |
3.50 |
3 hours 41 minutes |