As a gemstone jewelry lover, it could be a very tussling choice to make between cherishing the divine and vibrant hues of opal jewelry and the mystic and eye-captivating beauty of larimar jewelry. The best practice to ensure making the most prolific choice for yourself is to thoroughly inspect each and every criterion that comes under the vision. So, let’s have a look at the differentiation guide between opal jewelry and larimar jewelry to help you make the most desirable and convenient choice for yourself.
Opal Jewelry vs Larimar Jewelry: Which is the best for you?
Table of Contents
Color
By far, one of the most colorful and vibrant gemstone jewelry in the market is opal jewelry. Since its inception in the world of gemstone jewelry, opal has always been treasured for its alluring hues that range across blue, black, red, and orange as well as yellow and greenish also.
Further, what tends to be even more eye-captivating is its adorable and exquisite natural color phenomena known as the “play-of-colors”. When the light entering the crystal of opal gets bent due to the presence of the silica spheres in it, it gets scattered, which lends a divine and everlasting sparkle of beauty to the opal jewelry.
The most notable hues of opal jewelry in the market are:
Blue Opal: From a pale blue to intense purple color, blue tends to be the most common coloration in opal jewelry. Mostly, you will find it across opal pendants and opal necklaces.
Red opal
Pink Opal
White Opal (Crystal Opal)
Green Opal
Black Opal: The most iconic and precious of all the opal varieties in the market. It is mostly used in designing utterly precious opal jewelry, like that sizzling and stylish opal ring. Although no gemstone in the market can outstand opal jewelry as far as variety in color combos is concerned, still larimar jewelry falls no short of tough competition.
One of the most eye-captivating factors in larimar jewelry is its rare and stupendous bluish beauty, which is a variety of mineral pectolite. These alluring hues can vary from a being of light-blue hue to a strong and intense greenish-blue hue that lends a mesmerizing and stunning beauty and elegance to the personality of the wearer.
Some rare and precious specimens come with markings of white and grey on their crystal that adds up to its glamour and cheerfulness. The most unique patterns of larimar jewelry come with a blend of blue, white and grey which also ought to be the most precious pieces. These are extensively used to make larimar rings and larimar earrings.
Clarity Level
A hydrated amorphous form of silica, opal jewelry can range from being completely transparent with zero degrees of inclusions or impurities to a translucent or opaque surface with visible flaws and traces of inclusions and impurities trapped within the crystal of the stone. Although the most precious and sought-after opals usually lend a crystal-clear beauty with a transparent surface. Still, the clarity is also affected by the natural characteristics of the opal. For instance, with those white opals (crystal opals), a highly transparent and reflective surface goes out the most epic way.
In the case of a boulder or black opals with a dark-wine to lavender shade, an opaque shade goes out the most perfect and adorable way. On the other hand, the clarity of the bluish-green larimar stone can be slightly translucent, with a precise degree of flaws and inclusions to completely opaque. Although the cut and the polish of the stone can also affect its clarity of the stone.
The highest quality larimar jewelry, like that sizzling and elegant larimar pendant or larimar necklace, usually has a high degree of clarity with the presence of fewer inclusions and imperfections, that are visible to the naked eye. On the other hand, the ones with a translucent appearance have a veining pattern.
Hardness Level
No doubt that opal is one of the most valuable and in-demand semi-precious stones in the market. However, the only criterion of which it falls short is a sustainable hardness level. Nevertheless, opal has a mere hardness level of just 5.5-6 on the Mohs scale of hardness. It means that if came in contact with a hard or tough surface, your exquisite opal bracelet or those stylish long stud opal earrings can suffer huge damage.
The range of hardness level fall even short in larimar jewelry, with just 4-5-5 on the Mohs scale of hardness. it means that you can not even use ultrasound in order to restore the beauty of your exquisite and charming larimar bracelet. In a nutshell, both larimar and opal jewelry demands a lot of care and concern on the part of the wearer, if you want to surpass the esteem and pride of these glorious gems onto your generations
Lustre
Opal is a mineraloid that has a unique colour play or iridescence due to its internal structure. The luster of opal is often defined as vitreous, which means it has a glassy, reflecting surface. However, this luster may be obscured by color play, and the surface of the opal may appear drab or waxy in some cases. Furthermore, the texture of opal can vary from smooth and polished to rough and pitted, which can impact the appearance of its luster.
Larimar has a pearly to vitreous luster, which means it has a slightly reflecting, iridescent surface. The luster of larimar varies depending on the specimen, as well as its cut and polish. Larimar may have a silky or fibrous texture in some cases, which can change the appearance of its luster.
Price
Well, if you are indeed attracted by the mesmerizing and reflective beauty of opal jewelry, then be prepared to set aside a big chunk out of your savings to adorn the beauty of opal jewelry.
The average price of opal jewelry in the market usually revolves around $1000-$10,000 per caret in the market. For those glaring and brilliant black opals, you even need to spend a bit more.
However, if your budget is quite tight, then choosing larimar over opal can be an acute move as it will allow you to unleash the spiritual benefits of the divine chakra jewelry associated with the heart and the third-eye chakra at quite an affordable price.
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