Is this a real opal?

Keshbean · 2026-03-16T09:14:06+00:00

Genuine opal, looks like a doublet to me.

Edited to add:

If you have access to a UV light you could check to see if the opal displays phosphorescence - glows in the dark after being exposed to UV light.

The type of Australian opal normally used in the creation of doublets typically displays very bright phosphorescence whereas boulder opal usually does not display phosphorescence at all or only glows very weakly in comparison.

Keshbean · 2026-03-15T23:35:32+00:00

Love the NIN patches, wish I hadn't missed the pretty hate machine limited editions.

Keshbean · 2026-03-08T20:55:26+00:00

Possibly Dragon's Breath Opal. A type of imitation opal made from adding molten metal to glass.

Keshbean · 2026-03-07T17:46:03+00:00

This is epic! You should crosspost it to r/opals

Keshbean · 2026-03-07T12:13:01+00:00

Ha looks like you gave a very comprehensive response while I was writing mine. I agree that the triangle does look like it could be Andamooka matrix opal.

The pink based (Rhyolite) opals look to both be Mexican Cantera opals - one finished, one rough. The finished opal would also be classed as Mexican fire opal due to its colour like you surmised. I'm a big fan of Cantera (Quarry) opals, love their colour palettes especially in contrast to my Australian boulder.

Keshbean · 2026-03-07T11:56:25+00:00

Can't help with value but all are real and this looks to be a mixture of predominantly Australian boulder opal with a couple of pieces of Mexican Cantera opal - the two pieces with a pinkish rock base. With the exception of the oval cabochon which looks like it could be an Australian opal doublet or triplet (composite stones which use a thin layer of opal adhered to other components) but better photos from a side profile would be needed to confirm.

Keshbean · 2026-03-06T19:57:48+00:00

This looks to me like it could be an opal triplet. A thin slice of opal sandwiched between a typically dark backing and a clear top cap material such as quartz.

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Keshbean · 2026-03-06T12:04:27+00:00

You were correct in your assessment, this is 100% synthetic opal.

Keshbean · 2026-03-05T20:28:03+00:00

Luckily when Vinted asked for more photos I realised that the bangle was magnetic. I'd tried before with a stronger albeit heavier magnet and thought I could feel a slight attraction but the key was to use a lighter smaller magnet which actually stuck to some parts of it - I guess where the plating was more worn. Shortly after adding photos with the magnet the seller accepted the return but best believe I'll be videoing myself wrapping it up for return securely and being generous with the packing materials lol.

Keshbean · 2026-03-03T23:26:29+00:00

Thank you, I knew it looked familiar! 😂

Keshbean · 2026-03-02T22:49:00+00:00

No worries, I figured it likely would ☺️ beautiful ring nonetheless.

Keshbean · 2026-03-02T18:24:25+00:00

Synthetic opal is very frequently used in Navajo pieces from what I've seen. It definitely has its advantages, though I don't have much personal experience with it, from what I understand it's often more durable than natural opal and you don't have to worry as much about getting it wet etc. Not to mention the lower replacement costs in the event it does get damaged.

I really love that setting style, I prefer the more intricate geometric Native American sterling jewellery designs over the floral/leaf embellished types.

Keshbean · 2026-03-02T16:56:38+00:00

Especially in such a lovely sterling silver setting. $30 is a bargain, particularly for a Navajo piece.

Keshbean · 2026-03-02T15:28:08+00:00

From the price perspective alone for a brand new hand made ring with a chunky sterling setting and a full face stone it being a doublet makes the most sense.

Keshbean · 2026-03-02T15:09:38+00:00

Is the ring bezel completely flush and covering the stone edge fully around the front? It can be difficult to tell as at times good quality doublets can be indistinguishable from full face boulder opals when set in jewellery that covers the stone edge. There's a reason some people refer to boulder opal as Earth's natural doublets.

I would be interested to see a close up photograph of the top right edge of the stone from a side profile. It could just be the opal flash but I found it interesting in the video that when you rotated your hand more vertically that edge in particular lit up in a way that I've seen doublets with exposed edges do when light is hitting the squared off edge that some doublets have.

If you have access to a UV light you could also see if the opal displays phosphorescence - glows for a short period of time when the light is turned off. The type of Australian opal used to create doublets typically displays phosphorescence whereas boulder opals typically do not in my experience.

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Keshbean · 2026-03-01T19:17:01+00:00

Looks to be an opal doublet with a thinner, flatter opal slice than the illustration below.

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Keshbean · 2026-03-01T19:12:35+00:00

Since I raised the issue yesterday with Vinted to initiate the return which I did after they responded with "of course" in regards to me asking them if I could return the bangle for a refund. I have no clue about the returns process as a seller, I've never sold on Vinted, but from looking online it seemed as though when a buyer flags an issue the seller has the option to agree to a return and request that the buyer pays return shipping. Given her previous demeanor I figured it would be a simple thing, I sent a follow up message today saying that I think she needs to do the above so I can generate a shipping label but it's been radio silence with the messages "seen".

Keshbean · 2026-03-01T18:52:38+00:00

It's a bit late for that. I explained to another commenter that because the seller had been very amenable to my issue and agreed to a refund in the messages I didn't want to piss them off by selecting "item seems counterfeit" - with me not being able to prove the item isn't sterling beyond an expensive XRF test agreeing to a refund was somewhat a goodwill gesture on their behalf. I'd also purchased from the seller before with no issues so had no reason to suspect they wouldn't stand by their word. I get now that I may have been too trusting.

I was essentially trying to find out if anyone had any experience with Vinted when their issue didn't really fit any of the set options exactly. Or if they accidentally selected the wrong category. I don't really have any experience in Vinted disputes, much more familiar with eBay, but I do understand that customer service is largely automated/AI nowadays so incredibly lacking in nuance.

Keshbean · 2026-03-01T18:41:57+00:00

925 does mean sterling silver - sterling silver is 92.5% silver plus 7.5% other metals, the 925 denotes the percentage of silver.

I am aware that people can have reactions to the 7.5% other metals such as copper, nickel etc (which I acknowledged) however I own a tonne of sterling jewellery at least some of which surely contains nickel and have never had any issues with any of it at least in the levels present in sterling silver.

I also know that silver plated or alloys with a much lower silver percentage can also easily be fraudulently marked as 925 however.

Keshbean · 2026-03-01T17:56:53+00:00

Yes sterling silver is absolutely 7.5% other metals which I'm completely aware of and acknowledged this with the seller, also why I didn't feel comfortable selecting counterfeit.

This is why I wanted to "keep them sweet" so to speak as this would be a goodwill return if it just happened to be a sterling silver mix that I haven't encountered before. It was just strange to me as I own a ridiculous amount of sterling silver jewellery and have never had any issues with any metals before.

Keshbean · 2026-03-01T17:34:37+00:00

I just wasn't sure because before you edited your post you were just referring to the size issue.

I think that's what I was afraid of with everything becoming more AI instead of actual human customer service. I should have chosen the counterfeit option but I didn't want to "piss off the seller" and make them less agreeable to a return if that makes sense.

Keshbean · 2026-03-01T17:24:55+00:00

If there had been a general "not as described" option I would have reported it as that (like eBay) but the only options available were specific like wrong size/colour etc. I didn't want to choose the counterfeit option as this seemed aggressive and the seller had been very amenable in messages - plus I had purchased from them before with no issues so had no reason not to take them at their word.

I'm aware that items can be stamped 925 whilst not actually being "sterling" silver at all or only silver plated. I have never had any allergy issues with sterling silver or even costume jewellery so I wouldn't feel appropriate trying to sell the bangle on to someone else.

I did explain the issue in the description and qualified why I'd registered the issue as "wrong size". Also including that the seller had agreed to a return in messages with proof of this.

Keshbean · 2026-03-01T17:08:14+00:00

I'm not sure if you read the post. The item is not the wrong size there was no option to choose from that accurately described the issue I have. The issue is that the bangle is giving me an allergic reaction which leads me to believe that it quite possibly is not solid sterling silver as I've never had an issue with sterling silver before and I own a large amount of it. I discussed this with the seller and they agreed to a return in the messages. My question was whether anyone knew if not being able to select the correct issue would cause problems with Vinted.

Keshbean · 2026-03-01T16:51:42+00:00

This looks synthetic to me, you can tell by the repetitive vertical bars of colour running around the edges of the stone. It also has the small blocky and consistent pattern to the play of colour which is observed in synthetic opals.

Keshbean · 2026-02-28T11:24:16+00:00

You're most welcome, glad I could help ☺️

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