Opal cabochons (Australian triplets, freeform)

Freeform Australian Opal triplet cabochons for jewellers

Gorgeous stock, these - Australian opal triplet cabochons for jewellery making. Great colour, dark stones with plenty of flash of colour.

First of all, I'd better explain what a triplet is - a triplet is a thin slice of Opal sandwiched between two other materials - usually a clear front cap of glass or Quartz, and a rear piece of black material - often onyx, glass, Obsidian, or australian ironstone.

This gives us an opal with great colour, as the opal slice in the middle is black backed - but it is also harder than normal 'solid' opals due to the protective front cap. Triplets are almost always cheaper than solid opals, too, as the middle piece is very thin and costs less than a solid opal.

There are some slight tradeoffs to this though - ethically customers should be informed that the stone is a triplet, which can be a little difficult to explain.