Updates

PIPE OPAL IN PETRIFIED WOOD

by Jennifer Kalled-Kasso June 22, 2018

November of 2017 brought Bill Kasso, myself, and many other happy designers, nationally & internationally, "pipe opal" to be seen and purchased at the 2018 Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Pipe opal is crystal opal found often in long pipe like cylinders of ironstone, sandstone & petrified wood. The earrings below feature pipe opal in petrified wood. The color is a purple-pinkish tone with flashes of green. What is special about pipe opal is that it is thick and allows one to peer into the opal giving it a very magical quality. This pair of earrings is done in 22k and 18k gold with accents of grape garnet. https://www.kalledjewelrystudio.com/collections/earrings/products/jennifer-kalled-ladder-style-boulder-opal-earrings opal-petrified-wood-earrings-kalled-kasso

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Another example of beautiful Pipe Opal in this pendant and earrings. https://www.kalledjewelrystudio.com/collections/pendants/products/jennifer-kalled-boulder-opal-pendant-9 The variety of color seems endless. What I find lovely is the ability to see the host material of petrified wood along the edges of the opal.

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https://www.kalledjewelrystudio.com/collections/earrings/products/jennifer-kalled-australian-boulder-opal-earrings-1

These lovely opal stones are getting ready to be rings set in 22k & 18k gold. opal-petrified-wood-rings-kalled-kasso

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boulder opal jewelry Custom work

THE TWINS, Yowah Nut Opal

by Jennifer Kalled June 20, 2017

Twins are fascinating, even when they are Yowah Nut Opals. One of my collectors purchased a pendant that I designed last year, "Over the Rainbow", which had a stunning Yowah Nut Opal that was full of color and looked just like a rainbow; she reserved the other half of the Yowah Nut for a future cuff bracelet. Here she is; This cuff has a hessonite garnet teardrop, tanzanite, designer pearl, & zircon in 22k & 18k gold.

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I find that the yowah opal intrigues me perhaps the most. Is it the chocolate ironstone that naturally frames the gem? Perhaps, but for certain Yowah Opal has my heart.

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There's drama in the skies, what the mines yield, and in the search for opal; it's palpable. In someway, I don't feel like I missed the gold rush here in the USA. I imagine it is a tad similar here, in the outback of Australia.

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BK&JK ADVENTURES boulder opal jewelry

Boulder Opal Jewelry 2017 Begins

by Jennifer Kalled-Kasso June 20, 2017 1 Comment

We started out this year thinking about designing long, big, statement boulder opal earrings for this 2017. In part, because Bill (Kasso) brought back from his annual Australian trip, some outstanding "large clean faces" of rough boulder opal. That does not happen often..

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Bill broke down all the rough boulder opal that you see here, isolating the seams of cuttable gem opal, then cutting away the excess iron stone. As one can imagine, it takes some time; but how beautiful is this! His next step is to decide what shapes to cut.

As far as I'm concerned, the hard part is to pick which pairs I want! The possibilities are endless when you have this at your finger tips!

The blue green colors of this boulder opal is a favorite of many people in the states; classic boulder opal! Bill and I collaborated

this year (basically, he asked me what shapes I wanted), I responded with; leaf shapes, onion shapes, and teardrops. In the past when buying gems I've been relegated to purchasing finished cuts, so being able to have input in the shapes is exciting!

Here are a few of the results.

Boulder opal earrings in 22k & 18k gold with blue zircon accents. We felt that these earring would be perfect for brides that want something unique, and would have an earring that they can wear with their blue jeans after their special day. Gabriella Marks, the photographer, really captured the beauty of these boulder opals, in this simple, but elegant earring. Pairs are hard to come by since the rough boulder has to be thick enough to split down the middle so you get a matched pair of gem opal. The opal pairs on the right turned out beautifully and made many a jewelry designer very happy at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show this year. https://www.kalledjewelrystudio.com/collections/earrings/products/boulder-opal-earrings-8

https://www.kalledjewelrystudio.com/collections/earrings/products/boulder-opal-earrings-9

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boulder opal jewelry

Yowah Opal Pendant; "Over the Rainbow"

by Jennifer Kalled October 14, 2016

I don't have to explain the name of this magnificent Yowah opal. It is one of the loveliest

opals; soft colors with the entire spectrum of color. Nature has seen fit to surround it with a rich brown frame. Rare indeed. Yowah, Australia is the only area in the outback that produces the "Yowah Nut" as they call it. It's not really a nut, but certainly looks like one. If you're lucky, you've split the nut just in the right place that produces to sides with color. This one was split perfectly. The other side will be designed into a cuff bracelet that compliments this pendant, for the lucky collector that purchased it.

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boulder opal jewelry Custom work

"View from the Moon", boulder opal necklace.

by Jennifer Kalled October 13, 2016

Custom Boulder opal necklace is done, delivered and loved! That is an artists idea of perfection. My collector had purchased a lovely black opal pendant and wanted me to incorporate it in a larger piece. You can see it top center (oval). 22k & 18k gold with tsavorite garnets, hessonite garnet, hanging from 18k gold orange sapphire chain.

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boulder opal jewelry

Boulder Opal "Window with a View"

by Jennifer Kalled October 13, 2016

This boulder opal looks like a window with an ocean view. A very significant piece, it's about 2.5 square. I have blogged in the past about the rough that Bill Kasso got that was full stripes of color, this is one of them. I accented it with rough aquamarine, spessarite garnet, peridot, orange sapphire, topaz and blue zircon. It hangs from luscious tanzanite beads and an orange sapphire 18k gold chain.

http://www.kalledjewelrystudio.com/collections/jennifer-kalled/products/boulder-opal-pendant

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BK&JK ADVENTURES boulder opal jewelry update

Leaf Shaped Boulder Opal Chandelier Earrings

by Jennifer kalled October 13, 2016

When Bill Kasso starts cutting his rough boulder opal, koroit opal, yowah opal, etc... it is a very exciting time for him and of course for me. When I saw these leaf shape boulder opals that he cut for me I flipped. These are going to be big earrings; not for the faint of heart, or worried about when one is going to wear them... you just do, much like the Nike sentiment... Iv'e accented them with 6mm blue zircons (that are luscious), and tsavorite garnets to pull out the famous blue/green tones that are cradled in the iron stone matrix.

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BK&JK ADVENTURES boulder opal jewelry

Boulder Opal Bahamas Guana Cay Necklace

by Jennifer kalled October 13, 2016

I am constantly amazed... for two incredible weeks we witnessed the most extraordinary colors that I have ever seen on a beach, in the waters of the Bahamas; as I have shared with you already, my new boulder opals mimic it perfectly. This piece is in the beginning of the design stage.... Ocean, palm leaves and bougainvillea surround the neck....

Boulder opal Necklace with Moldavite in 22k 18k gold. Designer Jewelry