How to clean opal jewelry

The basic rules of opal jewelry care include gentle cleaning with your polishing cloth.

Black opals and white opals

Opals are as fragile as glass and should be worn with care.

Never put your opal in an ultrasonic cleaner. Do not use a chemical solution on an opal. All you need to do is wipe your opal with water to remove any surface dirt. You can also gently wipe an opal with your silver polishing cloth. Opals do not need to soak in water or oil. They are non-porous and won’t absorb anything. Once an opal is cut and polished by a jeweler, no further action is needed.

Opal triplets

Opal triplets are pieces of natural opal sandwiched between a carbon fiber backing and a quartz cap. This style of opal is the strongest and can be re-polished if scratched.

Opal triplets should not be exposed to prolonged exposure to water, like with swimming, but washing hands and some showering is fine. Do not use an ultrasonic cleaner or other solutions on an opal. Just wipe your opal triplet with a wet cloth or silver polishing cloth.

Opal doublet

Opal doublets are a thin slice of opal adhered to a strong carbon fiber backing. These opals need to be handled carefully since the top layer is natural fragile opal.

Never put your opal in an ultrasonic cleaner. Do not use a chemical solution on an opal. All you need to do is wipe your opal with water to remove any surface dirt. You can also gently wipe an opal with your silver polishing cloth. Opals do not need to soak in water or oil. They are non-porous and won’t absorb anything. Once an opal is cut and polished by a jeweler, no further action is needed.