From the outback of Australia comes the most enchanting of all gems: Opals. Hand mined from sixty feet under the surface, the mystifying colors of the opal explodes into the blazing Australian sunshine. While most gems need to be "faceted" to show their beauty, precious opals show a burst of color the moment it is removed from the earth.

The jewelry items you will see on the next few pages are either opal doublets or opal inlay. Australian opal doublets are fashioned using ironstone, the natural host rock of opal, on the back and a bright natural Australian opal on the surface. Each piece of jewelry is unique in color and shape. Inlayed opal is fashioned by fusing natural Australian opal and precious gold into a sculptured organic whole. Combining nature's colorful opals with our jeweler's talents of design results in jewelry that dazzles the senses!

Most opal is more than 60 million years old. Opals are unique and no two are exactly alike. Opals are considered a "living" stone and they must be protected from heat and detergents that "dry" the stone. Opal is October's birthstone.