Featured Brutalist sterling and opal?

Does anyone have any idea s about this pendant? What is the stone? I am guessing it might be Mexican. But that is just a guess based on there was quite a bit of Mexican and Native American jewelry at the sale. Is Has a signature but I can’t quite decipher it.

 

Signature looks like J-B. If it were Mexican, it would be marked such. Is the chain original or did you add?

Debora

 

The chain was on it when I bought it at the sale, but it looks wrong for the piece.

 

I was thinking j b or j h b as well.

 

The stone looks like an Andamooka matrix opal with a quartz cap.

 

Twenty years later, mail order still a boon for silversmith J.H. Breakell - Jamestown Press

This guy signs his stuff JHB. I thought it might be too iffy, but then I saw this article. He used to do handmade. You could try asking him

 

Thanks! I will try that!

 

He has his own web site.

https://breakell.com

Debora

 

This is a lovely pendant and a beautiful Opal

 

Yes an opal soaked in a sugar solution and dropped into sulfuric acid to turn the sugar black.

 

Ok…….so it is a treated opal. Good to know. I thought it did not have the true luster a opal should have, but wasn’t certain. Still I feel it was well worth the worth the $11 I spent on it.

 

You can do that to a black opal???? Maaaan, learn something ALL the time here!!! WAIT....so it WASN'T a black opal to begin with??? REALLY, I have NO IDEA!!!!!

 

Natural black opal has a black base with color flashes,matrix opal can look like sandstone with color flashes.

https://www.gia.edu/doc/SU91A3.pdf

 

I’d have had that away quicker than lightning at that price! Bargain, well done

 

Thank you @Hollyblue ….most educational!!

 

THANK YOU!! AWESOME VIDEO!!!!