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Sterling Silver Opal Bracelet

The artist of this Bracelet set one tear drop shaped Created Blue Opal in the center of this cuff bracelet. Beautifully accenting the piece is a fine silver leaf design. Measurements of this bracelet are 5-1/4" from one end to the other along the inside with a 1-1/8" opening and 11/16" wide. The back is stamped with sterling, which represents the use of fine quality sterling silver and hallmarked by the Native American Navajo artist Dreama Martinez.

*** RETAILS for $99.00 ***

Known as the Queen of Gems, opal can be made synthetically. The Gilson process is considered the chemical process closest to the way nature makes opal. Created by Pierre Gilson Sr. in 1974 in a laboratory in France, the process produces opal that mimics all the chemical and physical properties of genuine opal and takes 14 to 18 months to grow. Silicon spheres are generated and line up in straight-line formation to produce a diffraction grating and the effect of spectral colors or refraction. The spheres are then surrounded by a material that is strong enough to withstand cutting and polishing; only silicon-based material can properly be called synthetic opal. These opals have all the elements of natural opal except water, which makes them equally beautiful but not prone to breaking as natural opal is. Because of it's durability, this is why Gilson Opal is more commonly used in jewelry today.

According to information from the U.S. Geological Survey, natural opal is brittle, heat sensitive, and breaks and scratches easily; some varieties "self-destruct" through the loss of water, resulting in fine cracks that extend over the surface until they intersect and cause the gem to crumble. Nevertheless, opal is still a premier gemstone.