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10 things you need to know about "Synthetic Opal"
Silica is an important element for opal. According to GIA, in order to be opal, a material must be silica in composition as major elements, possibly containing some water. Thus, the percentage of silica in composition determines man-made opal's quality and value.
Bello Opal®, opal material from KYOCERA Corporation - Forbes Top Regarded Company, has always been the mainstream gemstone in worldwide man-made opal market. Bello Opal® (Lab-grown Opal) takes about a year to grow in laboratory and is similar in properties to natural opal. Bello Opal® contains high percentage of silica, at least 80%, and has the unique feature of vertical growth pattern. It is a beautiful gemstone with perfect colour vibrancy - revealing the beauty of precious opal.
There are three collections for Bello Opal, they are the Original, Jelly & Galaxy. They are perfectly designed to realize different desires.
Man-made opal sometimes advertised as simulated opal, synthetic opal, created opal, cultured opal or lab-created opal. Vertical fire is an important feature to distinguish if that product is classified as lab-grown synthetic opal.
Lab-grown synthetic opal is a kind of precious synthetic gem created by advanced technology. Vertical fire created from the growing process over time is the feature of lab-grown synthetic opal. Among all man-made opals, only from lab-grown synthetic opal you can find this unique vertical growth pattern. It indicates a higher quality with higher value than the others.
To build a trustable relationship with worldwide customers, Bello Opal is always aligning with the global standard.
Bello Opal is a sustainable lab-grown opal that has minimal environmental impact.
Bello Opal is very similar in physical and chemical properties as natural precious opals while it does not carry the limitation, such as crazing.
Bello Opal offers excellent value for product designs and are more affordable than natural precious opals.
Category |
Polymer Impregnated Synthetic Opal | Mineral Type Created Opal | Natural Opal |
|---|---|---|---|
Product Name |
Bello Opal® - Original & Jelly | Bello Opal® - Galaxy | |
Elements |
80% Silica & 20% Resin | Silica & Water | Silica & Water |
MOHS hardness |
4 | 5.5 | 3-5.5 |
Specific Gravity |
1.80-1.90 | 1.90-2.20 | 1.98-2.20 |
Heat Resistance |
130 degree C. | 900 degree C. | 100 degree C. |
Among all man-made opals, Bello Opal has the most similar properties as natural opal. Galaxy Opal is the lab-grown created opal with the highest value as its chemical elements are as same as natural opal.
Opal, Queen of Gems
“Opal" [We sell Synthetic Opal] originates from the Latin word “Opalus”, meaning to gather the essence of every gem into one. [Synthetic Opal by Sanwa] The ancient Romans called opal the “Queen of Gems” because it encompasses the colors of all the other gems. To ancient Romans, opal symbolizes hope and purity. It is a gift granted by the heaven in bolts of lightning and unfolds the “Nature’s fireworks” before one’s eyes. The “Nature’s fireworks” is the charm of opal as there is shimmering prism that appears in the stone in a variety of colors. This is the unique distinction of opal - fanciful play-of-color.
There are many products called opal, but why they would not look the same?
Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. However, there is opal with or without color effect. Only opal with color dynamicity could be classified as precious gemstone and they are called “Precious Opal”. High-quality precious opal would have bright rainbow-like colors and while rotating; there will be various of magical brilliance and gorgeous color, with attractive color changes.
Among the opal categories, most of them are general opal, only a very small percentage of them are precious opal. Opal has various colors, such as black, grey, white, brown, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue & transparent, etc . In the jewelry industry, as general opal is in milky white and without any color change effects, its commercial value is not high and could not be classified as precious gemstone.
Non-natural opal
Non-natural opal generally divided into two categories, one is sintered with glass and only with translucent milky color and do not have any various color effects, they are collectively referred to as artificial opal. The other category is made in laboratory; they are referred to as lab-made opal.
The potential of lab-grown opal
Natural opal is known for its unique display of flashing rainbow colors called play-of-color. There are two broad classes of opal: precious and common. Precious opal displays play-of-color, common opal does not. Only a tiny percentage of opal in the world can be classified as precious opal.
The scarcity and the high price of precious opal have limited its development. Natural opal is very sensitive to changes in temperature. They also have a crazing tendency. They “craze” or develop cracks as they dehydrate. Lab-grown opal does not have cracking or crazing problems and thus, offsets these shortcomings of natural opal, and further demonstrates the beautiful color change in different forms. The rich color pattern and the diverse cutting features of lab-grown opal also create many creative design possibilities.
Lab-grown opal has better conditions than natural opal to meet market demand and have a sustainable development prospect. Its popularity and commercial value have made it a favorable choice for designers.
"Play of colors" is a new highlight
There is a never-ending quest for gemstone's sparkle. The emergence of a variety of synthetic gemstone has further realized everyone's pursuit of beauty. Lab-grown synthetic opal has a “play of colors” effect, which highly differentiates it from other kinds of synthetic gemstone; therefore, it is going to be a new trend in the fashion jewelry industry.