Slow Opal

[PinkDiamond]

That first one has great color, and the carbonization made a nice difference. The second one may not have as much color, but what it's got is vibrant, and is a lovely shade of green. Two more successes.

[skywalker753]

Well, thanks Pink! And I just note that the Queen has not called in an order yet for the Royal Family, so I know I got a ways to go...LOL.....

And the minor (ahem!) failures once in a while keep my nose to the grindstone too... But a good stone IS part of the goal, and it does feel great when they are good when finished.
Here is something I don't really know.... OK, when evaluating a regular solid opal there are qualities that can make it a gem, only one of them being for example 5 out of 5 in color and brightness. Along with the cut, quality of the stone, etc... How about Matrix Opal? There are many I've seen that I would call gems (and maybe a few that I've cut, maybe...), but I don't know if in the opal world its normal, usual, customary, or even accepted to call a matrix opal a "gem". I mean Matrix Opal is beautiful in its own right by itself, but historically it was used to mimic solid black opal. Any thoughts on that?

[skywalker753]

So, do YOU have Opal Vision?!!!
The next andamooka matrix opal will be one of the two in the bottom pic. I'll just toss a coin to decide, the full thickness one, or the thinner one.
.....dry rough matrix opal (or solid opal for that matter) often looks washed out, dull, and frankly, just about without any color or redeeming value...lol...
Thats why I mention "Opal Vision"...its not really a thing, well, maybe it is!!! Evaluate dry rough opal for what it might become, not for what it appears to be...
Sure, sure, I could lick it, and some color would show up.... Took me the longest time to accept that Australian miners and others would sometimes just lick the rough opal to see what the color is, or how good it is... Now, if its relatively clean, and no water handy, why not?! Ya,ya, I know...
Hard to believe, but the first one on top is what both of the others will look like when finished. Not the same, but similar...

[SwordfishMining]

Arrr. Ye were born o the earth & ye will return to it. A little dirt between friends isn't the end of the world, but can open a new dimension. The experienced photographer realizes saliva has bubbles. You can also leave them immersed and take pictures of them under water or in a black bowl. Light phenomenon is the first thing a brain with eyes has to decode & opal is like a refined opera.

[skywalker753]

Ya, I haven't done it, but have seen sales photos of rough opals under water, and in a black dish too. Sometimes I didn't even realize they were under water at all until in a particular video a hand reaches in and pulls one out!...lol... I'm more mindful of that now.
Here's a side by side pic of two matrix opals, from the exact place side by side in the same matrix rock. One is carbonized and polished, one is just polished. I mean, I favor the carbonized one a lot, but then I'm the one doing the carbonizing!...lol... The one on the right is todays matrix opal. Just over six carats.

[skywalker753]

The color is better than this, but they are very similar now. I kept thinking "why leave one not carbonized if I don't like it?"....lol...
So I did that. Bonus: Getting better at doing it! I think.

[skywalker753]

Well, the thick one from yesterday is cut and in the maple syrup solution. 15.1 carats. Looks pretty ok, just a bit light colored for my preferences.
If you made it this far, I may as well explain another one of my experiments....lol....been doing them all my life, usually costs me time and money, once in a great while results in a modest victory. This one may just be good. So---The normal situation is that matrix opal sits in a hot but not boiling sugar solution for hours and hours, sometimes days and days...all for the inexact deal of the sugar soaking into the matrix so it can be carbonized. How long IS that period of time? Nobody knows precisely. Nobody. Not me either. But, longer seems better than shorter. Why...well so it can soak into the matrix better skywalker, of course!
Turns out there's a possible better way. Its only one way. It works for me. Thats all I can say.....lol.....OK people, here it is....
Theres something called a "Food Saver". Its a vaccuum sealer deal for food in bags, works pretty good. Its cheap, as far as those deals go. OK, so that Food Saver has an attachment for mason jars. You put the food saver top on the mason jar, it sucks out a portion of the air...its attached by a hose to the Food Saver appliance. Works good on mason jars (canning jars). Zero learning curve. Push a button, thats it, it runs. How in the world does ANY of this relate to Matrix Opal???!!! I'm getting there, trying to preload you with info!!...lol...
You fill the mason jar with hot sugar solution, and put the matrix opal in too, covered with liquid. Hot liquid. Hook up the Food saver. Push the button. It runs. Presto! You have a hot liquid under a bit of vaccuum in the now sealed jar. Take the Food Saver attachment off. Let the jar sit for 10 minutes. ONLY 10 minutes!!! Take the top off the jar then. It should make the sound its supposed to make. Let the matrix sit in there for 10 minutes. ONLY ten minutes. ......Then repeat the sequence for a total of three times. Including a coffee break, thats an hour and fifteen minutes TOTAL. And the matrix opal is now ready for carbonizing. It has worked on every piece of matrix opal I've tried it on, so far at least, and I'm not a scientist but I can explain. If someone has a better explanation, thats great!!! Start typing, I'll read it and improve!!!
OK, so AS I UNDERSTAND IT, putting the solution and matrix under a bit of negative pressure (vaccuum) is NOT what does it. What does suck the solution in the matrix is the RELEASE of that vaccuum when you unseal it and let it sit for a few minutes. Multiple times seems to do the trick.
I am aware that everyones eyes glazed over after the second or third sentence...lol...and the above paragraphs sound like "wah wah wah, wah wah,wah wah wah wah.....lol... This still could be junk science, and may work in spite of what I'm doing, not because of it. THATS why I'd love to have 2-300 people do it, and give a thumbs up or down...lol...
It don't cost much, takes little time, and its fun to try...whats not to like??? OK, I'm done now...

[PinkDiamond]

That's very interesting that you say it's the pressure release that sucks the solution into the matrix, since treating opals with Opticon is said to do it when the pressure is applied. It seems counter-intuitive, but you know what you're observing so it's puzzling, but I believe you since re-doing the pressure shows you it enhances the treatment. Thanks for sharing that little tidbit of information with us. I wish we had more people doing the treatment too, but we've never had anyone who does it regularly to give us pointers before, so at least for the time being you are our one and only sugar-treatment expert.

[skywalker753]

I will probably continue the regular way for now, but try the way with light vaccuum maybe once a month to see if it continues successfully or not. I didn't want to make any big deal out of it, just figured I'd write about what I was doing a little bit. It'd be some time with 100 percent success before I'd endorse it as a regular method. But, I'ma keep trying!...lol... If I didn't mess it up, I think the worst it can be is that it might treat only lightly and need another one. But, so far its worked ok. As sample size gets bigger, variation should appear, if its going to.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch...lol...
Got a nice piece out of the regular sugar solution, and its in the cooker now..... I think it will be too late tonight to polish it and post pics...

[skywalker753]

Its never too late!!!
Just the front and back pics of the 15 carat matrix opal from today. Kinda hate to admit it, but...the back is actually better than the front, a bit...lol
Well, I will just say that it didn't show that way when I started cutting it...sometimes its kind of a toss up ... and I took my time evaluating this one too...
...all good...
Hey! Only just a little pink cerium on my fingers!