Mexican jelly opal

I have a gorgeous ring set in silver, hand made with a large mexican jelly opal in it. I haven't had much chance to wear it as it was too small when I recieved it. I pulled it out to wear and was reading up on the stone. It is mentioned that it shouldn't be in water, shouldn't have sudden temprature changes, scratches/cracks easily etc. The metaphysical properties listed are all very positive but I'm wondering how one would benefit from the stone if it is so fragile that it shouldn't be worn under many circumstances. Honestly, it feels like very smooth plastic to the touch..anyone have experience with this stone or even other opals?? Thanks. j

it is the opal properties..they are soft and scratch and crack easily.

I do not know why the water is an issue unless it would be at a very high temp and why would you put your hands in it anyway or maybe bleach type water or one with chemicals in it . That will effect any jewelry.

If you like the ring wear it ..Don't worry bout stuff like that ..wear it for however long it lasts...What purpose does it serve to be in a box put away..
unless maybe it is a priceless family heirloom

The mix of water, mexican jelly opal, and silver is a classical mix of opal perservation. If you don't want to wear it, you can store it in a quartz-labrodite container filled with water. There must be an opening or the opal may disintegrate. If you want to wear it and don't want to damage the stone, you can put a layer of frozen regular ice enclosed with an extra layer of 10% quartz and 90% brass. There must also be at least one opening or the stone may overload the benefits. If you choose this method, you need to constantly fill the stone with clean water. The method is really effective for most stones and especially for opal. I tried it before and it works. Opals are not too fragile, Opals are considerably fragile and needs special attention. Mercury was considered fragile until the scientists found proof of its range of use with other materials and its toxic compound. When you don't wear it, you can submerge it in the water. If you still want to wear the ring or you don't like the preservation method, you can always wear it as it is. Maybe the quality is an issue. Something I found on the internet:
http://www.gemhut.com/mjopal.htm
http://www.kosmix.com/topic/jelly_opal

Originally Posted by Uhmar

If you like the ring wear it ..Don't worry bout stuff like that ..wear it for however long it lasts...What purpose does it serve to be in a box put away..
unless maybe it is a priceless family heirloom

I agree! I bought it having not seen the many warnings I'm now aware of because I just loved it. I do hope it lasts..it's got a beautiful feel to it.

What I mean by ice is liquid/ice of icywater (about maximum of zero degree celcius).
My estimation of the water is no more than 10ml per 1cm by 1cm by 1cm jelly opal. If the opal changes color, fill the opal with new and cleaner water. Opal's chemical reactions do react with water.
If you can't see the link of the edited post:
http://www.kosmix.com/topic/jelly_opal
Also:
http://rocksolidgems.com/index.php?page=cryst_opals

Originally Posted by Volune

The mix of water, mexican jelly opal, and silver is a classical mix of opal perservation. If you don't want to wear it, you can store it in a quartz-labrodite container filled with water. There must be an opening or the opal may disintegrate. If you want to wear it and don't want to damage the stone, you can put a layer of frozen regular ice enclosed with an extra layer of 10% quartz and 90% brass. There must also be at least one opening or the stone may overload the benefits. If you choose this method, you need to constantly fill the stone with clean water. The method is really effective for most stones and especially for opal. I tried it before and it works. Opals are not too fragile, Opals are considerably fragile and needs special attention. Mercury was considered fragile until the scientists found proof of its range of use with other materials and its toxic compound. When you don't wear it, you can submerge it in the water. If you still want to wear the ring or you don't like the preservation method, you can always wear it as it is. Maybe the quality is an issue. Something I found on the internet:
http://www.gemhut.com/mjopal.htm
http://www.kosmix.com/topic/jelly_opal

Very interesting! Awesome info to have! I really just wanted to wear and enjoy it but it wasn't cheap so thought I'd look at all the options..Have you had any experience by chance working with this stone? I'm looking at some photos and it is identical to a "Mexican matrix opal"..I'll have to read up on those because I hadn't heard of that one. Would love to post a photo if I can figure it out. It's a really unusual beautiful stone. Here's the link with a photo of the mexican matrix opal. The one near the bottom of the page in red is almost identical to mine.
http://www.thaigem.com/gemopedia/opal.asp

I can't say what my use of the stone to be works of the jelly opal. I do know I did use all the opals before.

Aside of the classical method of opal preservation, the matrix opal can also be preserved using obsidian/onyx/emerald/quartz/brass/gold/silver/platinum/beryl/tourmaline. On the next page of gemhut.com, there are some information about the matrix opal. Matrix opal's abilities are similar to jasper-like quality of a classical type of opal.