Solid Opals vs Doublets & Triplets

What is a solid opals?

It is the real, genuine & natural precious Opal. Solid opals are rare precious stones, their price is directly related to the type, weight in carat & color play . Wearing Solid Opals can come at a very high price. Although White & Boulder opals are still affordable, the Australian Solid Black Opal has become very rare and can cost more than Diamond per carat!.

What is a Doublet?

A doublet consists of 2 layers.
A thin slice of Solid Opal is glued to a backing, usually made of black hard plastic, brown ironstone. Doublets are designed to either use a piece of opal which would otherwise be too thin to be mounted or to imitate the appearance of a solid black opal (the rarest and most expensive types of Australian Opals).

Although Doublets are not considered as precious stones, they still contains a thin top layer of real solid opal, colourful and as attractive as a real solid black opal.
Doublet are a cheaper and popular alternative to Solid Black Opals.

What is a Triplet ?

A triplet consists of 3 layers.
A clear glass, quartz, or plastic capping in the shape of a dome at the top. A paper-thin slice of opal in the middle and a black backing, usually hard plastic, black opal potch or iron stone.

Triplets are usually as colourful as doublets or solid black opals but have a ‘glassy’ appearance and can be easily identified. The light reflects differently on the top than it would on a solid opal or doublet.

Triplets are a cheaper alternative to Doublets as they contain very little precious opal, magnified by the artificial clear cap.