Opal & The Mastery of Colour

Jewels of fantasy…. Tutti Frutti! Deliciously delectable like tropical fruit! Natures Art: designed to inspire Life….

Modern Colourful Creations

The famous French jewellery houses still operating today Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin, and the newest entrant Dior have all recently featured opal in their designs. In the United States Tiffany & Seaman Schepps continue to create opal jewellery. Often the stones are selected in the rough and cut by in-house lapidaries; as does Piaget of Switzerland who create single piece opal faced timepieces.

1.Jellyfish by Dior 2005

2. Tiffany Bracelet

3. Black Opal breasted hummingbird by Verdura

4. Verdura Ring c.1950

5. Scavia necklace 2006

6. Van Cleef & Arpels Ring

7. ‘Picasso’s Man’ by bolda

8. Mauboussin Jellyfish 2000

The use of Opals in Jewellery design is wide spread. Those designers who truly appreciate these diverse and phenomenal gemstones have used them more extensively and creatively to produce beguiling jewels which celebrate the artful nature of jewellery and adornment.

Being the most colourful gemstones Opals are well sought after by jewellers to portray flora, fauna and nature.

It is by no coincidence that Dior, Mauboussin – the House of, and Patrick Mauboussin (opp.) have all recently used Opals in their renditions of Jellyfish. (Photo.1,8,9)

Van Cleef & Arpels ‘Nuit d’Orient’ ring (Photo.6) features a magnificent black opal of 22.96 carats. The ring has aquatic highlights enhanced by the mounting which represents the pools, cascades and bridges of peaceful Oriental gardens.

Fulco di Verdura established himself in the US in the late 1930’s, until then he had been working there for the famous Hollywood jeweller Flato. Verdura’s whimsical flair made for unforgettable jewels, the themes of which included beasts, birds, fish and neptunes. He emphasised colour and semiprecious stones, often using Opals. Clients with important jewels and gemstones would come to his small atelier and trade in their valuable pieces for his up to date creations. However Verdura retained the respect of New York’s precious jewellers to whom he sold back the jewels and gemstones which were out of place in his repertoire.

Nicholas Varney NYC	Paula Crevoshay NYC	bolda Noosa Australia

In Europe, Scavia of Italy and Majoral of Spain are successful contemporary designers who use opals extensively and to great effect. Whilst in America a trip to Bergdorf Goodman luxury department store on New York’s 5th Ave confirms that Opals are popular amongst the elite clientele of the hot new jewelry designer names such as Nicholas Varney & Paula Crevoshay. In Australia the twenty-first century has seen the emergence of Opal jewellery brands like bolda, focused on bringing Opal to the attention of fashionable customers whose passions are awakened by exciting modern designs.

Objet d’Art

Opals continue to be adapted with great effect in the decoration of Objet d’Art such as these beautiful and practical items below:

Active Image

Swiss watchmaker and jeweller Piaget made a lasting impression when he launched ultra-slim precious watches with gemstone dials. After 1964, the two-millimetre high case incorporated hard-stone dials just seven-tenths of a millimetre thick. These generously sized dials made numerals and hour markers superfluous. In the early 1970s Piaget used hard stones both for dials and to adorn its oversized cuff watches for men and women. The firm still produces solid Opal faced watches, they are highly collectible and particularly popular in Japan. Pictured: Cuff watch from the ‘slave’ collection with Opal dial and 1,000 brilliants made in 1971.

Famous jewellery house Mauboussin formed a horological division in 1994, since creating beautiful and functional jewel set watches. The Haute jewellery version of the 1995 female sports model (pictured) has an automatic movement and is made of solid white gold set with sapphires, Opals and diamonds.

Haas & Cie of Switzerland are renowned watchmakers who have been creating fine timepieces since 1848. In the mid 1980’s Haas produced a series of solid gemstone watch cases, Opal featured amongst these highly collectible editions.

Active Image

Marcus & Co. of New York (1892-1942) always added a level of complexity to what is already a complex stone. This marvellous brooch deftly recreates the church’s traditional marble floors, featuring a lozenge pattern dark and light Opal mosaic, within the golden frame of a Gothic Cathedral.

In 1914 Louis Comfort Tiffany, who was an accomplished stained glass window designer, reproduced his ‘Four Seasons’ on the cover of this 18K Gold Jewel Box encrusted with more than 100 Opals as well as tourmalines, sapphires and chrysoprases.	The geometrically designed Art Deco vanity case below is a mechanical marvel with sides parting to reveal miniature drawers to hold a lady’s cosmetic needs; Tiffany & Co., c.1920; gold & Opal mosaic.


This hammered golden cigarette case by Verdura & the renowned multi-talented artist Salvador Dali was part of a collaborative collection in 1941. Depicting a Medusa headed spider in a barren landscape. An Opal bodied beetle lurks on the border of this surrealistic yet functional piece.	A wonderful Tobacco Case by Josef Hoffman of the Wiener Werkstatte uses various coloured stones including several opals.