Opal Jewelry, Art and Artists
Opals offer a whole universe of possibilities to the creator: from traditional opal jewelry, to lab made opals, to opal carving, and beyond. I have to confess one of my favorites is opal carving; I can only imagine what these pieces look like in person. Someday I hope to hold one in my hands to see the way the shape effects the interplay of light.
One of the early pioneers of this art form is the artist Wilhelm Schmidt, who carved many cameos. He started training to be a cameo carver at the tender age of 15 in Paris, and eventually set up a business with his brother. His trademark became his opal cameos; although he was not the first to carve opal he invented a technique of setting a thin layer of opal over another material, instead of carving the whole pendant out of opal. You can read more about his life here.
Daniela L’Abbate is another visionary in the opal carving field, creating ethereal sculptures incorporating opals and other precious materials. She first felt the desire to work with opal at age 16, but there was no one to teach her how to cut it. So she learned to facet gemstones instead, and then later began an apprenticeship in Australia. Her own techniques are a mixture of the things she was taught and her own experiments, partly inspired by her desire to reduce the waste she saw in many artists carvings.
Opal Carving
Opal carving is one of those art forms that make me wonder if I got into the wrong field! The delicacy and grace of it, and of course the brilliance of the opal itself.One of the early pioneers of this art form is the artist Wilhelm Schmidt, who carved many cameos. He started training to be a cameo carver at the tender age of 15 in Paris, and eventually set up a business with his brother. His trademark became his opal cameos; although he was not the first to carve opal he invented a technique of setting a thin layer of opal over another material, instead of carving the whole pendant out of opal. You can read more about his life here.
Daniela L’Abbate is another visionary in the opal carving field, creating ethereal sculptures incorporating opals and other precious materials. She first felt the desire to work with opal at age 16, but there was no one to teach her how to cut it. So she learned to facet gemstones instead, and then later began an apprenticeship in Australia. Her own techniques are a mixture of the things she was taught and her own experiments, partly inspired by her desire to reduce the waste she saw in many artists carvings.
Opal Cutting and Polishing
John Altmann was the creator of one of the most famous pieces of opal jewelry in history, named "The Queen's Opal", it was given as a gift to Queen Elizabeth II to commemorate her first visit to South Australia