Firing with Fire in Place Cultured Opals (FIP) opens up a world of possibility. This new heat-resistant Cultured Opal is a fascinating top-quality Opal that takes 12 months to grow by experts in a lab. The color play results from the way light interacts with the microscopic silica spheres, which have refraction indexes of 1.37 and 1.47, giving them their brilliant sparkle.

 

• These Cultured Opals can withstand temperatures to 1650º F or 900º C in a torch or kiln.
 

• These Cultured Opals are also recognized by the Gemological Institute Of America (GIA) as true synthetic opals having essentially the same chemical, physical, and optical properties as Natural Opals — silica and a small amount of water with microscopic spheres.
   
  Particular machines synthesize quartz — silicon dioxide (SiO2), also known as silica. Synthetic opal is distinct from quartz despite both being forms of silicon dioxide (SiO2). The key difference lies in their structure: quartz is crystalline, whereas opal is non-crystalline. Essentially, opal is a different arrangement of the same fundamental material.


• This Cultured Opal is 5.5 on the Mohs scale.


• The Cultured Opal Structure is stronger and less fragile than Natural Opal
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• These Cultured Opal do not decompose or release any substances or gases when heated to very high temperatures.


• ​Safety Tested
  Eurofins Scientific, a leading international group of laboratories providing a unique range of analytical testing services, has tested these Cultured Opals and has passed all regulations for Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS), California Proposition 65, Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH).

Beware, not all cultured or lab-grown opals have the same properties, nor are they all heat resistant. Read their descriptions carefully, as they should have no polymers or resin in them.