Opal Rings & Opal Jewellery, Made in Melbourne

Australian opal, by type

Black opal carries its play-of-colour on a dark body tone, which makes the colour blaze — the finest material is famously associated with Lightning Ridge, and it's the most valuable opal type. Boulder opal forms as veins through ironstone in the Queensland fields and is cut with its host rock as a natural backing — durable, characterful, and no two alike. White and crystal opal, the classic Coober Pedy material, runs from a milky body tone to a near-transparent one that lets the colour float inside the stone.

One distinction matters more than any of that when you buy: solid opal versus doublets and triplets. A solid is one natural stone — the choice for anything you intend to keep or pass down. Doublets (a bonded dark backing) and triplets (plus a clear dome) show strong colour for less money, and there's an honest place for them — but they aren't solid stone, they need drier care, and they should be priced like what they are. We'll always tell you which one you're looking at.

Opal engagement rings — the honest answer

Opal engagement rings are beautiful and personal, and we love making them — but opal is a soft stone (around 5.5–6.5 on the Mohs scale, against sapphire's 9 and diamond's 10), and a maker who doesn't say so isn't doing you a favour. Worn daily, an opal will eventually pick up fine scratches and lose some polish; worn thoughtfully, with the right setting, it can be a lifetime ring that comes back to the bench for an occasional re-polish.

The setting does most of the protective work: a bezel that wraps the stone's edge, or a low, well-guarded design, shields the opal from the knocks that side-set claws invite. If your work is hands-on or your lifestyle is rough on rings, we'll say so and design around it — or steer you toward opal as an occasion piece with a tougher stone for every day. Our settings guide covers the trade-offs, and our coloured-stone engagement ring guide compares the harder-wearing alternatives.

Set and finished by hand, in-house

Setting a soft stone is where bench experience pays for itself: seat pressure, claw tension and polishing heat that a diamond shrugs off can chip or craze an opal. Every opal piece we sell is set at our own Frankston workshop by jewellers who handle opal regularly — the same bench that repairs and re-polishes opals other stores won't touch, and that re-sets inherited opals into designs that get worn instead of stored.

Custom opal commissions follow the same process as our engagement rings — consultation, stone selection, your sign-off on the design, then the make. October birthdays make opal the obvious birthstone gift; anniversaries and remodels are the other jobs we see weekly.

Caring for opal

Hand-clean only: lukewarm water, mild soap, soft cloth. Opal never goes in an ultrasonic cleaner, and it doesn't like strong heat, sudden temperature swings or harsh chemicals. Solid Australian opal copes fine with daily life and ordinary water contact; keep doublets and triplets dry. Store opal pieces separately so harder stones can't scratch them. The full routine — including the checks that catch a loose stone early — is in our at-home cleaning and care guide.

See opal in person

No gemstone loses more in photographs than opal — the play-of-colour has to move to be believed. Visit the Frankston workshop (92 Young Street, Frankston VIC 3199), where walk-ins are welcome for the range and all opal services. Email us.