Removing Opal From Matrix

fernwood
misunderstood rock expert

Member since May 2016
Posts: 11,965

Removing Opal From Matrix Jul 12, 2020 7:06:29 GMT -5 miket and RocksInNJ like this

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Post by fernwood on Jul 12, 2020 7:06:29 GMT -5

Was wondering the best way to attack this.

I have some pieces of Mexican Opal in Matrix with nice flash.
The host is very soft, maybe a 2 mohs.
I want to remove the opals from the host.

How would you go about this?
A small file? Dremel? Hammer/nail? Other ideas?

Pictured are two pieces that I will experiment with first.

Thank you.

Listen to the rock. The rock knows its destiny. It will guide you in fulfilling that.

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hummingbirdstones
misunderstood rock expert

Member since October 2017
Posts: 14,123

Removing Opal From Matrix Jul 12, 2020 8:08:48 GMT -5 Fossilman, RocksInNJ, and 1 more like this

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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jul 12, 2020 8:08:48 GMT -5

These are Cantera opal and are usually cut with the matrix in situ. If you really wanted to get the opal free of the rhyolite, probably carving it out would be your best bet.

Most opal in these stones though are not big enough to do anything with and they are also very cracky. Sometimes all you are seeing is a thin lens on the rhyolite. The gas pockets in the rhyolite that the opal forms in are also very irregular so there is no way of knowing how much opal you're actually looking at.

Robin

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

-- C.S. Lewis

fernwood misunderstood rock expert Member since May 2016 Posts: 11,965	Removing Opal From Matrix Jul 12, 2020 9:01:59 GMT -5 hummingbirdstones and RocksInNJ like this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by fernwood on Jul 12, 2020 9:01:59 GMT -5 Thanks. Some appears to be about 1/8" thick, so workable. I want to use for inlay.
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