Despite the old wives’ tales about doom, gloom, and general misfortune, I threw caution to the wind and decided to buy my partner an opal engagement ring, and boy did it cause some trouble; however, it’s not that the ring brought us bad luck, but that the ring itself was unlucky.
Not one week after I proposed (she said yes by the way!) did she stretch her arms up and accidentally clink the stone against the frame of the mirror above our couch, leaving a hairline fracture spanning its entire surface.
The store I bought the ring from gave us one free gem replacement, but any further fixes would come out of my already light pockets, so my partner and I had to learn how to care for and clean these breathtaking yet terrifyingly delicate stones fast!
Three years down the line, I’m proud to say that the second opal remains in pristine condition, so you can trust me when I say that the following method is an effective, and, most importantly, safe approach to cleaning opals.
Let’s get started!
Cleaning Opals: A Step-By-Step Guide
Before we get started with the cleansing process, you’ll need to gather all the necessary equipment.
- A small bowl
- Some lukewarm water
- A thimble of mild, unscented soap
- Some microfiber cleaning cloths designed for eyeglasses
- Some regular microfiber cleaning cloths
- A pillow or two
- A hard water filter… maybe
… that’s literally it!
So, if you’ve gathered the goods, let’s begin.
Step 1. Dry Dusting Your Opal
First on the agenda is to give that opal a dusting with one of your regular microfiber cloths, and then perhaps a quick wipe with one of the eyeglass cloths.
Here, you’re trying to remove as much debris and grime as possible to make the cleaning process easier on us later on.
Make sure you’ve got a firm hold on your opal while dusting, as a drop can be catastrophic!
In fact, I’d suggest working over a couple of pillows just in case you do let it slip from your fingers. I say two rather than one to give you a larger work area and to prevent the opal rolling off in the event of a drop.
Step 2. Fill Your Bowl With Warm Water
You’ll probably need about half a cup of lukewarm water, which I believe equates to 120 ml.
You don’t have to be precise here, so don’t worry about going slightly above or below this volume, but, in my opinion, what does matter is using filtered water rather than standard hard water from your faucet.
Hard water is teeming with dissolved contaminants that not only make it more abrasive, sort of like salt water, but can stick around unbeknownst to you as deposits. Stick with filtered water for best results.
My partner and I decided to invest in an Aquasure Harmony water softener to clean up our supply (for more reasons than gem cleaning, obviously), but it’s not exactly affordable, so you may be better off grabbing one of these hard water shower filters.
As long as you don’t mind sourcing your opal cleaning water from your shower, it’s all good!
That said, your area may already have a main supply of only soft water, so before you purchase any filter or softening products, check your water supply quality online or by contacting your local water authority.
With your bowl filled, pour in a very small amount of your mild soap, and agitate the water to introduce some sweet suds to the scene!
Step 3. Wet Wiping
Take one of your eyeglass microfiber cloths, dunk it in your warm, soapy water, then wipe the surface of your opal to remove any grime or debris that survived the dry dusting step.
It might be tempting to use your nails to dig into all the nooks and crannies of your opal/opal jewelry, but this can damage the gem, so fight the urge!
One of the reasons I suggest using microfiber cloths for eyeglasses is that they’re incredibly thin, so you can get into all the awkward areas without causing any harm.
If you need to, wrap it around a small, thin, blunt plastic strip and use it to access any hard-to-reach spots.
Whatever you do, never use any form of brush, even if it’s a soft bristle toothbrush, as it will scratch the surface of your opal, diminishing its once brilliant luster.
Step 4. Soaking (If Necessary)
Opal measures 5.5–6 on the Mohs hardness scale, meaning it’s considered water-safe, and, if need be, you can absolutely submerge your opal in order to soak any particularly stubborn soiling.
Having said that, I would only let an opal soak for about 5 minutes max, just to be on the safe side.
If you do need to submerge your opal, I’d recommend holding it in your fist for a few moments first to gently warm it up and prevent any thermal shock when it enters the warm water — This is highly unlikely, but, again, better safe than sorry?
Want another top tip? Line your bowl with a regular microfiber cloth to prevent the hard surface scratching or cracking your opal.
Side-note — If your opal is a doublet or triplet, it cannot be submerged in water, and you should even be careful when wet wiping.
Step 5. Wet Wiping Pt. 2 (Only If You Did Step 4)
Now it’s time to see if that brief soaking session worked. Grab another eyeglass microfiber cloth and gently try to buff away any remaining grime.
Step 6. Removing The Soap
If you’re working with a solid opal, you can go ahead and rinse the soap off with running water, but if your opal is glued in place, dampen one of your regular microfiber cloths in clean water, then wipe the soap from the opal using that.
Step 7. Drying Your Opal
Solid opal can be left to air dry, while a glued piece cannot; however, I prefer to dry manually with a regular microfiber cloth regardless of opal type.
Ever so gently, use your cloth to remove as much excess moisture as possible, leave your opal to sit for a couple of minutes to air out, and voilà — A job well done!
Final Thoughts
Opals are delicate things, but that doesn’t mean you should leave them to get dirtier and dirtier for fear of damaging them.
Follow this gentle cleaning approach, and not only will that technicolor stone of yours look as resplendent as the day you bought it, but it will stand the test of time, bringing you joy day after day, year after year, decade after decade!