An Australian Opal Specialist Answers the Questions We See Asked Online Every Week

I spend a lot of time in online opal communities, and I see the same questions come up again and again. Some of them get great answers. A lot of them get answers that are well-meaning but not quite right, or that leave out important things buyers really need to know.

I'm a specialist in Australian opal — I source, cut, and set it right here in Queensland — so I thought I'd put together honest answers to the questions I see most often. If you've been wondering about any of these, I hope this helps.

Q: Is Ethiopian opal as good as Australian opal for jewellery?

This comes up constantly and deserves a careful answer rather than a one-liner.

Ethiopian Welo opal — the most common type you'll find online — can be visually stunning. The colour play is often dramatic and it's significantly more affordable than comparable Australian opal. Those are genuine advantages.

But there's a critical difference that doesn't get mentioned enough: Ethiopian Welo opal is hydrophane, meaning it absorbs water. When it gets wet — in the shower, the pool, from humidity, even from sweat over time — it can temporarily (sometimes permanently) go cloudy or lose its colour play. For most stones this reverses as they dry, but it's not a reliable characteristic in fine jewellery, and repeated wetting can cause problems long-term.

Australian opal is stable. You can shower in it, swim in it, wear it every day in Queensland humidity, and it behaves exactly the same way it did the day you bought it. That stability is a meaningful difference when you're buying something to wear and love for decades.

Neither is objectively 'better' — they're genuinely different materials. But if someone asks me what to buy for everyday jewellery, I will always recommend solid Australian opal for the durability alone.

Q: How do I tell if an opal is solid, a doublet, or a triplet?

This is one of the most important things to know when buying opal, and it's not always easy to tell from a photo.

A solid opal is entirely natural opal material all the way through — what you see is what's there. A doublet is a thin slice of opal glued to a dark backing (usually black potch, black glass or ironstone) to enhance the colour. A triplet adds a clear dome — usually glass or quartz — on top of that. Doublets and triplets can look beautiful and they're not inherently dishonest, but they should never be priced the same as solid opal, and they require more care (water can get into the glue layer over time).

How to check: look at the stone from the side. A solid opal will show opal material all the way through. A doublet or triplet will show a very obvious layered structure — you'll see the join line between the opal slice and the backing. Under magnification it becomes even clearer.

If you're buying online and can't inspect it in person, ask the seller directly: 'Is this solid, doublet, or triplet?' Any reputable seller will answer that question immediately and clearly. If they hesitate or give a vague answer, that tells you something.

Q: Is opal bad luck? Should I avoid buying it as a gift?

No. This is a persistent myth with no factual basis whatsoever, and it's one that genuinely frustrates people in the opal industry because it puts buyers off a magnificent gemstone for no good reason.

The 'bad luck' superstition largely comes from a misreading of a Sir Walter Scott novel from 1829, and from diamond industry marketing in the early 20th century that positioned opal as fragile and unlucky to discourage competition. Neither source has anything to do with the actual properties of the stone.

Opal has been considered a stone of good fortune, hope, and creativity across many cultures for thousands of years — the Romans prized it above almost all other gemstones. Australia's Indigenous communities have their own rich relationships with opal that long predate any European superstition.

If you love opal and want to give it as a gift, give it. It's a beautiful, meaningful stone with an extraordinary history. The 'bad luck' story is marketing fiction.

Q: Can I wear opal in the shower / swimming / to the gym?

For solid Australian opal: yes, with some common sense.

Solid Australian opal won't be damaged by water — it's not hydrophane like Ethiopian opal, so getting wet isn't a problem. However, I'd suggest taking rings off before heavy gym sessions (not because of the water, but because weights and equipment can knock a stone in ways that build up over time), and I'd avoid prolonged exposure to harsh cleaning chemicals, chlorinated pools at high concentration and saltwater/sand.

For doublets and triplets: be more careful. Water can eventually penetrate the glue layer between the opal and its backing, causing the layers to separate or the stone to fog. If you have a doublet or triplet, treat it as 'take off before swimming' jewellery.

For Ethiopian opal: keep it away from water. The hydrophane nature of Welo opal means it will absorb moisture and can temporarily or permanently affect the colour. This includes showers, pools, and even very humid environments.

The setting matters too. A well-sealed bezel setting gives the stone more protection than an open-back prong setting regardless of opal type.

Q: Why is there such a huge price range for opals? I've seen 'Australian opal' from $20 to $20,000.

This is a great question and the answer has several layers.

First, not all opals are the same type. 'Australian opal' covers everything from common white opal with faint colour to exceptional black opal from Lightning Ridge with full-spectrum colour across the entire face. These are genuinely different materials at different price points, like comparing rough emerald chips to a fine Colombian emerald.

Second, solid vs doublet vs triplet. A 'solid Australian opal' pendant and a 'doublet opal pendant' can look similar in a photo but be very different things. The doublet will and should always be cheaper because it uses a much thinner slice of actual opal material.

Third — and this is the uncomfortable one — misrepresentation. Some sellers label stones as Australian opal when they're Ethiopian, or as solid when they're doublets. The $20 'Australian opal' is almost certainly not what it's described as.

My rule of thumb: if the price seems too good to be true for what's being described, ask detailed questions before buying. Ask for the opal type, the origin, whether it's solid/doublet/triplet, and a photo in natural daylight. A reputable seller will answer all of these without hesitation.

Q: What's the best opal for an engagement ring?

This is something I feel strongly about because engagement rings get worn every single day, and the stone choice and setting genuinely matter for long-term wearability.

When it comes to choosing your opal, I'd encourage you to think less about which type is "best" and more about what speaks to you visually — because each type of Australian opal has a completely different personality.

Lightning Ridge black opal is the most dramatic. The dark body tone creates a background that makes colour flash look electric — deep reds, greens, blues that seem lit from within. If you want something that stops people in their tracks, this is it.

Crystal opal is ethereal. The stone is transparent to translucent, and the colour appears to float inside it rather than sit on the surface. It has a softer, more delicate beauty — less bold than black opal but genuinely breathtaking in the right light.

White opal is the most classic. The light body tone gives colours a softer, more pastel quality — still beautiful play-of-colour, but gentler and more understated. If you want something that reads as traditional fine jewellery, white opal sits comfortably in that space.

None of these would be the wrong choice. It comes down to the person wearing it.

What I will say firmly about all of them: the setting matters as much as the stone. For any opal engagement ring, I strongly recommend a bezel or rub-over setting over high claws. Claws look beautiful but leave the stone edges exposed to knocks — and rings cop more knocks than any other piece of jewellery. A protective setting transforms an opal ring from something you worry about to something you can genuinely live in.

Q: How do I care for my opal jewellery long-term?

The basics are simple and mostly common sense.

Keep it away from harsh chemicals — cleaning products, perfume sprays, chlorine bleach. These can affect both the stone surface and the setting metal over time. Put your opal jewellery on last when getting ready, after perfume and hairspray.

Store it separately from other jewellery, particularly diamonds and sapphires, which are harder than opal and can scratch the surface. A soft pouch or lined jewellery box is ideal.

Clean it gently — a soft cloth or very soft brush with mild soapy water and a rinse is all you need. No ultrasonic cleaners (the vibration can stress the stone), no steam cleaning, no harsh jewellery dips.

Have it checked by a jeweller periodically — every year or two for a ring worn daily. Settings can loosen over time with regular wear, and catching a loose stone early is much better than finding out the stone has fallen out.

That's genuinely it. Solid Australian opal is not the fragile, precious thing it's sometimes made out to be. Treat it with reasonable care and it will look beautiful for generations.

Q: Is it worth buying opal loose vs already set in jewellery?

It depends entirely on what you want to do with it.

Buying loose makes sense if you have a specific setting in mind, if you want a custom piece made, or if you're a collector who wants to appreciate the stone itself. You'll generally get more stone for your money buying loose because you're not paying for the metalwork, and you have full control over how it's set.

Buying already set is more convenient and gives you something wearable immediately. The risk is that you can't always see the full base of the stone, and the setting quality varies enormously between sellers. If you're buying pre-set opal jewellery online, look carefully at the setting style, the stone type and stone quality.

If you're buying loose with the intention of having it set, make sure you're working with a jeweller who has experience setting opal specifically. Opal requires different handling than harder stones, and a jeweller who mostly sets diamonds may not be the right choice. Iona has worked with opal for many years, she is an accredited opal specialist, a professional member of the International Gem Society and she is always happy to answer any questions about Australian Opal. 

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I hope this helps — these are the questions I see asked most often, and they deserve straightforward answers. If you have a question I haven't covered here, feel free to reach out directly. I'm always happy to talk opal.

You can browse our full collection of solid Australian opal jewellery at ionaopal.com.au.