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History About Andamooka Opal and How To Treat It
Andamooka 蛋白石的历史及其处理方法
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andamooka opal and everything you need to know

[Read Time: 10 minutes]

In South Australia Opal was first discovered at Andamooka during the 1930’s. The first Andamooka Opal was discovered by Sam Brookes and Roy Sheppard. Caught in a thunderstorm they sheltered under a tree when a pretty rock caught the corner of their eye. Smaller deposits were exposed afterwards including Lambina during 1930 and Stuart Creek in 1947. Opal at Andamooka exists in the thin marine ‘Bulldog Shale’ which is the significant portion of the Marree Subgroup of the Early Cretaceous period.

Summary

  • Andamooka is one of the oldest known opal fields in Australia

  • Opals from Andamooka have been used in the Queens Jewelry

  • Andomooka Opal can be treated with sugar to turn it black and improve the Opal play of color.

ANDAMOOKA OPAL HISTORY AND TREATMENTS

Famous Andamooka Opal

Andamooka Opal is also known as the “Queen’s Opal”. It was cut and set into an 18 carat palladium choker band in 1954. It was presented to Queen Elizabeth II on the event of her first authorized state trip to Australia. Nowadays the necklace and earrings are considered a significant part of Queen Elizabeth II’s special crown jewels. The final Opal weighed 203 carats.

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Discovered during 1930, Andamooka is considered a one of Australia’s most prominent opal fields. It has generated some of the most attractive pieces or sets of opal such as “The Andamooka Matrix Opal”, which is also referred as “The Queen’s Opal” mentioned above. The word Andamooka is derived from an Aboriginal name, meaning ‘Large Waterhole’. It is situated 600 kilometres north of Adelaide, and is the only Australian city where none of the streets are named.

Andamooka Opal Treatment

The Andamooka opal mines are well-known for producing light opal, which compromises white, crystal opal, it is sometimes referred as “milk” opal.

Matrix Opal is a permeable opal, which originates from Andamooka, South Australia. A variety of boulder opal also appears in Andamooka. Most of the rock in the surrounding area is quartzite and so sometime the Opal forms in between this very ha rd rock. These are referred as the “painted ladies”.

painted lay andamooka opal

Andamooka matrix opal is regularly treated to improve the colour by creating a black body using black carbon. This treatment involves a chemical treatment that is applied to the entire stone. When it comes out of the earth, it can look quite pasty, but by treating it by means of a carbon dye method it ultimately looks like a more appealing Opal.

Once it is totally treated, it is known as Andamooka treated matrix opal. With a rich solution of sugar with water, it is usually followed by a phase of simmering in a bath with a resolute sulphuric acid. The sugars pierce in the limestone matrix, and then the acid cooks it and that turns the white sugar around the pockets of opal into a black carbon. The outcome is that the darkened matrix encloses the pockets of opal, which does not diffract light. Some miners took the originals and sold them overseas as Lightning Ridge Black opal. After the scam was revealed, there developed a time when no one would purchase treated matrix. But the remarkable colours and rich black matrix of the best gemstones actually does present the attributes that make the Lightning Ridge black opal famous. Treatment of these matrix stones involves a moderately simple method of processing the stones.

andamooka treated opalSometimes an epoxy glass resin is used to give the stones a beautiful shine. You can find it here.

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Andamooka Dinosaur Bones

Dinosaur fossils and bones have been found in Andamooka and many are now in museums. Australian dinosaurs are from 100 to 240 million years old which puts them in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Many countries have dinosaur bones but only in Australia have opalized dinosaurs been found as opalized fossil.

Andamooka Opal Price

Matrix opal can be quite reasonably priced, which is different with the authentic black opal. For the buyers, they should be aware with some opal dealer whether you are purchasing an authentic black or Andamooka matrix opal stones.

How To Treat Andamooka Matrix Opal

  • The equipment used is very basic. For the heating, use an old electric frypan with a thermostat control. It is very important not to overheat the opal as it can fracture when too hot.

  • Place a mixture of 1 cup of sugar (white or brown doesn’t seem to make any difference) in a pyrex or other heat resistant bowl with an equivalent amount of water and heated until the sugar is dissolved.

  • Set the frypan to about mid-range for the heating process. The pyrex bowl can be placed directly onto the frypan.

  • Before treating the matrix opal it needs to be cut and shaped and sanded but not polished. The opal should be dried thoroughly by light heating to remove any moisture from the fine pores in the stone. Avoid touching the stone with your fingers as oil from your fingers can affect the treatment.

  • The stone or stones are then placed in the sugar syrup solution and cooked for 8 hours plus. The time of cooking is a bit of a guess and depends on the porosity of the stones. Very porous matrix will absorb the sugar solution much more quickly than dense matrix. I do not know how to assess how long it will take but 8 hours seems a good start.

  • After cooking let them cool down. It may be necessary during this stage to add some more water to the sugar solution if it becomes too thick due to evaporation due to the cooking process.

  • THE NEXT STAGE IS A VERY DANGEROUS ONE AS IT INVOLVES THE USE OF HIGHLY CONCENTRATED SULPHURIC ACID. THIS IS VERY CORROSIVE AND THE FUMES CAN ALSO BE DANGEROUS.

  • Use 93% sulphuric acid obtained from a chemical supplier.

  • Place a small quantity in a pyrex bowl and place it in the frypan . The frypan is in a well ventilated shed.

  • When putting the acid into the bowl it is recommended to use rubber gloves and eye protection as the acid will badly burn you if it splashes onto your skin, so do be careful. Also never pour the acid into water as it will react violently and could splash you. Preferably use a mask also.

  • The stones are then carefully removed from the sugar solution with plastic tweezers (not metal ones as they will react with the acid) and then carefully placed in the acid after letting excess sugar solution drip off the stones. Don’t attempt to wipe the stones at this stage. The stones can then be cooked in the warmed acid for two hours plus. At this stage they will have changed colour. They can then be removed carefully with plastic tweezers and should be placed in another bowl with a weak sugar solution or a solution of bicarbonate of soda. This is to neutralise the acid.

  • After a few minutes they can then be admired although there is still the final polishing to be carried out. While wet you will see the amazing transformation that has taken place. The colors of the opal will now be clearly showing.

If the matrix was quite dense you should now be able to polish the stone. It is better not to use cerium oxide or tin oxide as the polishing compound can get into the pores and be seen as tiny white spots which can mar the surface. Use a leather lap with 50,000 grade diamond for the polishing.

Extra care needs to be taken not to apply too much pressure as this will generate a lot of heat and could crack the stone. The more porous matrix may not polish at all. If this is the case the surface can be covered with liquid glass to produce a highly polished surface. I will discuss this treatment in a different post.

Don’t forget to dispose the acid carefully. Add the acid to water very slowly and then bury it in the garden when it is very diluted. Do not add water to the acid as it will splutter and could easily splash onto you causing harm. If it does, liberally wash the affected area with water. If anyone has any comments on this treatment or any alternative treatments please feel free to comment. This process had worked for me and have some very beautiful stones which look very much like quality black opal and have cost very little in comparison.

Shop For Andamooka Opal

安达木卡蛋白石和您需要知道的一切

【阅读时间:10分钟】

在南澳大利亚,蛋白石于 1930 年代首次在 Andamooka 被发现。 Sam Brookes 和 Roy Sheppard 发现了第一个Andamooka 蛋白石。一场雷雨中,当一块漂亮的岩石映入他们的眼角时,他们躲在一棵树下。之后发现了较小的矿床,包括 1930 年的 Lambina 和 1947 年的 Stuart Creek。Andamooka 的蛋白石存在于薄海相“Bulldog 页岩”中,这是早白垩世时期 Marree 亚群的重要组成部分。

概括

  • Andamooka 是澳大利亚已知最古老的蛋白石矿场之一

  • 来自 Andamooka 的蛋白石已被用于 Queens Jewelry

  • Andomooka 蛋白石可以用糖处理使其变黑并改善蛋白石的颜色。

ANDAMOOKA 蛋白石的历史和治疗

著名的安达穆卡蛋白石

安达穆卡蛋白石也被称为“皇后蛋白石”。它于 1954 年被切割并镶嵌在一条 18 克拉的钯金项链上。它在伊丽莎白二世女王首次获准访问澳大利亚时被赠送给她。如今,项链和耳环被认为是伊丽莎白二世女王特殊皇冠珠宝的重要组成部分。最后一颗蛋白石重 203 克拉。

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安达穆卡 (Andamooka) 于 1930 年被发现,被认为是澳大利亚最著名的蛋白石矿区之一。它已经产生了一些最有吸引力的蛋白石块或组,例如“The Andamooka Matrix Opal”,也称为上文提到的“女王蛋白石”。 Andamooka 一词源自土著名称,意思是“大水坑”。它位于阿德莱德以北 600 公里处,是澳大利亚唯一一个没有街道命名的城市。

安达穆卡蛋白石处理

Andamooka 蛋白石矿山以出产浅色蛋白石而闻名,这种蛋白石包含白色水晶蛋白石,有时也被称为“牛奶”蛋白石。

Matrix Opal是一种渗透性蛋白石,原产于南澳大利亚州的Andamooka。各种砾石蛋白石也出现在安达穆卡。周围地区的大部分岩石都是石英岩,因此有时蛋白石会在这种非常坚硬的岩石之间形成。这些被称为“彩绘女士”。

彩绘安达穆卡蛋白石

Andamooka 母体蛋白石经过定期处理,通过使用炭黑形成黑色体来改善颜色。这种处理涉及对整块石头进行化学处理。当它从土里出来时,它看起来很糊状,但通过碳染料方法处理它,它最终看起来像一个更具吸引力的蛋白石。

一旦经过完全处理,它就被称为 Andamooka 处理基质蛋白石。在糖与水形成浓溶液后,通常会在含有高浓度硫酸的浴中进行慢炖。糖刺入石灰石基质,然后酸将其煮熟,将蛋白石周围的白糖变成黑碳。结果是变暗的矩阵包围了蛋白石的口袋,它不会衍射光。一些矿工将原件作为闪电岭黑蛋白石卖到海外。骗局被揭露后,有一段时间没有人会购买经过处理的基质。但最好的宝石的非凡颜色和丰富的黑色矩阵实际上确实呈现了使闪电岭黑蛋白石闻名的属性。这些基质石的处理涉及一种适度简单的加工石材的方法。

安达木卡处理过的蛋白石有时会使用环氧玻璃树脂来赋予宝石美丽的光泽。你可以在这里找到它

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安达穆卡恐龙骨骼

在安达穆卡发现了恐龙化石和骨头,许多现在都在博物馆里。澳大利亚恐龙的年龄为 100 到 2.4 亿年,这使它们处于侏罗纪和白垩纪时期。许多国家都有恐龙骨骼,但只有在澳大利亚发现了蛋白化恐龙作为蛋白化化石

安达穆卡蛋白石价格

基质蛋白石的价格可以说是相当合理,这与正宗的黑蛋白石不同。对于买家来说,他们应该了解一些蛋白石经销商,了解您购买的是真正的黑色蛋白石还是安达穆卡基质蛋白石

如何对待 Andamooka 矩阵蛋白石

  • 使用的设备非常基本。对于加热,使用带有恒温控制的旧电煎锅。蛋白石不要过热,这一点非常重要,因为它在过热时会破裂。

  • 将 1 杯糖(白色或棕色似乎没有任何区别)的混合物放入装有等量水的耐热玻璃或其他耐热碗中,加热直至糖溶解。

  • 将煎锅设置为加热过程的中档。耐热玻璃碗可以直接放在煎锅上。

  • 在处理基质蛋白石之前,需要对其进行切割、整形和打磨,但不能抛光。蛋白石应通过轻微加热彻底干燥,以去除石头细孔中的所有水分。避免用手指接触宝石,因为手指上的油会影响治疗效果。

  • 然后将石头放入糖浆溶液中煮 8 小时以上。烹饪时间有点猜测,取决于石头的孔隙率。非常多孔的基质比致密基质吸收糖溶液的速度快得多。我不知道如何评估需要多长时间,但 8 小时似乎是一个好的开始。

  • 烹饪后让它们冷却。如果糖溶液由于烹饪过程蒸发而变得太稠,则可能需要在此阶段向糖溶液中添加更多的水。

  • 下一阶段非常危险,因为它涉及使用高浓度硫酸。这具有很强的腐蚀性,而且烟雾也很危险。

  • 使用从化学品供应商处获得的 93% 硫酸。

  • 将少量放入耐热玻璃碗中,然后放入煎锅中。煎锅放在通风良好的棚子里。

  • 将酸倒入碗中时,建议使用橡胶手套和护目镜,因为如果酸溅到皮肤上会严重灼伤您,所以一定要小心。也不要将酸倒入水中,因为它会剧烈反应并可能溅到你身上。最好也使用口罩。

  • 然后用塑料镊子(不是金属镊子,因为它们会与酸发生反应)小心地将石头从糖溶液中取出,然后在让多余的糖溶液从石头上滴下来后小心地放入酸中。不要试图在这个阶段擦拭石头。然后可以将石头在温热的酸中煮两个多小时。在这个阶段,他们会改变颜色。然后可以用塑料镊子小心地取出它们,并将它们放在另一个装有弱糖溶液或碳酸氢钠溶液的碗中。这是为了中和酸。

  • 几分钟后,就可以欣赏它们了,尽管还需要进行最后的抛光。湿润时,您会看到发生的惊人转变。蛋白石的颜色现在将清楚地显示出来。

如果基质非常致密,您现在应该可以抛光石头了。最好不要使用氧化铈或氧化锡,因为抛光剂会进入孔隙并被视为会损坏表面的微小白点。使用带有 50,000 级钻石的皮革圈进行抛光。

需要特别注意不要施加太大的压力,因为这会产生大量热量并可能使石头破裂。多孔基体可能根本无法抛光。如果是这种情况,可以用液体玻璃覆盖表面以产生高度抛光的表面。我将在另一篇文章中讨论这种治疗方法。

不要忘记小心处理酸。非常缓慢地将酸加入水中,然后在非常稀释时将其埋在花园里。不要向酸中加水,因为它会飞溅并很容易溅到你身上造成伤害。如果是这样,请用水彻底清洗受影响的区域。如果有人对此疗法或任何替代疗法有任何意见,请随时发表评论。这个过程对我很有效,并且有一些非常漂亮的石头,它们看起来非常像优质的黑蛋白石,相比之下成本非常低。

购买安达穆卡蛋白石

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Opalplusadmin

Information supplied by an Australian Opal cutter who has treated fairy opal and Andamooka matrix
TREATMENT FOR FAIRY OPAL AND ANDAMOOKA MATRIX WITH SUGAR ONLY.
MATERIALS
250 grams glucose, white castor sugar, pot or pressure cooker, plastic tweezers.
STEPS
-Pre shape the material
- Thoroughly dry the material in oven sun or hairdryer.
- Put water in pot on low temperature and add glucose and castor sugar. DO NOT BOIL.
-Place warmed stones into warm solution and cover the stone with liquid.
-leave on low temperature for 24 hours but DONT BOIL.
-Remove with tweezers and let cool. Use a paper town to wipe away access.
The next step is to carbonize the sugar in the stone. Place the stones on a metal or Pyrex dish and place in a kiln at 600 degrees for one hour. This will burn or carbonize the sugar in the stone.
_When the stones have cooled clean on a grinding wheel.
Remember to take all precautions with gloves and mask and clothing with good ventilation.
This is a natural product so results may vary a bit due to how porous the sandstone is. Some material will have to be treated a few times to get good results. You can also experiment with various temperatures as i like to cook with lower temperatures.
Remember to have experiment and have fun!

16th Apr 2020
Rws1st

At what temperature should you "Cook" the stones?

16th Sep 2016
Saywhere

Also you can boil your stones in sugar water, then dry your stones on low in an oven for half hour, then soak in vegetable oil over night and then wrap them in alfoil and place on an open flame until all the oil is burnt off (you will know when done as the flames stop). Then your ready to epoxy and sand to polish. Black shoe polish applied to the finished stone also helps the shine and might cover fine scratches apparently. Pretty drawn out process but well worth it if you master the epoxying/polishing process which I have not so I just buy mine from a reliable source at a very good price. Peace to the world. Sincerely.

3rd Jun 2016

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