Featured My Mother's Opal Pendant

About 25 years ago my mother found this in the sand as she walked along a swimming hole in a creek. She wanted me to see if you guys could give us any information on it, like what type of opal and maybe an age or country of origin. It weighs 2 grams, haven't properly cleaned it. Thanks for any information or opinions on it.

 

that's stunning.......... whom ever lost it is no doubt still crying !!!

any marks on the gold ?

ps.....i'd wear that in a heartbeat !

 

You go, Mom! Aussie? That's a nice piece of opal.

 

swimming hole in a creek.........ya...where !

 

Do not clean it yourself unless you have experience with opals.Do not take it to a jewelry store and let a low knowledge sales clerk handle it,ultrasonic cleaners can destroy opals. The opal could be Australian crystal/semi crystal,but impossible to tell from a photo.

 

how big...it looks sizeable ....and what fire !!!

have u tested the stones around it......
they look like diamonds...but they are dull and lifeless.....

 

Said in description, weight is 2grams
So, supposedly tiny
The opal fire is stunning!

 

So , 2 grams is how big ??
Almond size.....dime size...???...pea size???

 

Beautiful find, Josh.
It is an Australian solid precious opal. They call this kind 'pinfire' or 'pinpoint'. The pinfire sparkles have beautiful colours, and they are pretty big, getting close to a pattern called harlequin.
It is probably set in gold. There could be a tiny mark on or inside the bail.
The surrounding stones are often white sapphires, not diamonds. Best to have both the gold and the surrounding stones tested.
The style looks 1960s-70s to me.

As said, don't clean this yourself or have an inexpert person clean it. Does it need cleaning at all? It looks fine to me.

 

I can't decide what to make of this. From one angle I'll see CD14 and from a different angle I'll see CIDM. I'm assuming 14 since 14k is clearly marked on the loop part. What's the correct term for that btw?

I'm not quite sure where we were exactly but somewhere in central Louisiana where we're from, at a hunting camp. I was barely old enough to remember. She brought it by a pawn shop just to prove my step dad wrong because he said "Aw that came out of a gumball machine at a pizza place or something" and Mom knew better. They offered her $8k for it then which is most likely a low offer considering its a small pawn shop. They are real diamonds and I just now realized there are 23 of them. My birthday is May 23rd and my only sibling Ashley's birthday is September 23rd. I'm sure mom noticed that and told me years ago and I forgot. I'm keeping it safe while she goes back to the hospital for a while.

Thank you for all the replies. I've always been amazed by this little thing. The photos just don't show the true beauty of it, not even close.

 

I forgot to mention, I didn't do anything to it to clean it other than gently brushing it off with a tiny soft brush. Its wrapped in cotton balls inside a little ring box then a ziplock bag for now. Any special way I should store it?

 

The photos are very small, I can't read that. Could be a manufacturer's code.
Inside the bail is 585 which is the gold fineness, 14k. I have seen that symbol next to it before, but can't remember where.

A ring box is fine, the ziplock bag isn't, not for opal.

 

Opals have to breathe.

 

Any special way I should store it?
on a gold chain around your neck !!!!!

 

did your mom wear it all those years...?

 

Acid free tissue.

You can clean opals, but you need a special solution.

 

The only solution needed is warm soapy water............... https://www.gia.edu/opal-care-cleaning

 

the opal looks pretty clean as it is...the metal and other stones...not so much...

 

Be very careful with opals. Too hot or too cold weather can crack them, too rough handling or cleaning can crack them. This is a gorgeous pendant.