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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 13, 2012 14:35:17 GMT -5
Hi y'all, I have some old opals that I pulled out to look at and I noticed a new crack in one. Can I use glue on opals the way I do with stones? The good crazy glue kind of glue? Or, will that make it crack more? The opal is really big and colorful and I'd like to save it. The crack is on the side and can probably be covered, but if I could glue it that would be better. It's a white Aussie opal. Attachments:
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itsandbits
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 825
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Post by itsandbits on Sept 13, 2012 20:57:37 GMT -5
I'm really sorry to hear that it cracked, just curious how were you storing it and for how long?
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Post by FrogAndBearCreations on Sept 13, 2012 21:17:02 GMT -5
you could try opticon to seal the crack
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Post by Woodyrock on Sept 14, 2012 0:33:25 GMT -5
If this was stored dry, you could glue it, but the crack will always show, and degrade the stone. Best course would be to cut away the crack, and rework. Then you will have a high grade stone. If it has been stored wet, it will probably continue to crack, and a repair would likely be a waste of your time. Stable precious opal amounts to about 5% of mine run no matter where mined. Woody
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 14, 2012 7:13:28 GMT -5
Thanks, Woody! That's what I needed to hear. The opal was stored in a gem jar for about 12 years. I have several from the same time that are fine. This is big enough to trim- thankfully.
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Post by Tony W on Sept 14, 2012 10:32:03 GMT -5
Woody is right about degradation of value. You have to decide what you will do with the stone. I've used glue on all kinds of opal, but if I want to sell a stone, or make jewelry with it for a top price, I try to work around flaws, cut them out, or if not real bad, just leave them. If you take a look at opal cabs for sale, often you can see the pits, and cracks left as is. Of course, the primo stones are perfect, but with opal, that's hard to find, quite often And, as with most things, you gets what you pays for, lol. If the stone is for me, for a ring, or whatever, I'll glue that sucker in a heart beat T
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 14, 2012 15:08:47 GMT -5
Right, thanks I am lucky that this is pretty big to start with so I'll have a good size left when I am done. I was going to improve the shape a little anyway. I don't know if I am going to sell, use it for jewelry or not. I'm kinda in love with it. LOL! I had a smaller opal (abt 18x13) that I went ahead and used some glue on as a test. Not nearly as valuable, so I didn't mind testing it. It worked out pretty good.
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