The listing, Genuine Opal CZ Cluster Gold-Plated Ring has ended.
Up for bid is this lovely piece of estate jewelry. It belonged to my grandmother, and my aunt passed it on to me after my grandmother died (she took the more expensive ring for herself).
This ring is not really my style, though, and I don't remember my grandmother ever wearing it, so it doesn't even have much sentimental value attached, It's just a ring that's taking up space in my jewelry collection, and I think it can find a better, happier home somewhere else.
The focal stone is opal...and it's genuine, as far as I can tell. It passes all the genuine opal tests I found on the Internet. The stones around it are, I'm pretty sure, cubic zirconia. They're glassier looking than diamonds, although the sparkle is just about right (check out my close-up sparkle picture showing the differences between the sparkle of the diamonds set in my wedding band and the CZ in this cluster ring - they're both about the same size). The thing is, though, these stones look WAY clearer than my diamonds, so I'm pretty sure they're not real diamonds, but they don't have the sparkle and fire of Moissonite or Swarovski crystal, so I'm going with CZ.
The metal is 18K yellow gold-filled brass. This is another reason why I'm relatively sure the stones in the cluster aren't anything better than CZ - because why put something as expensive as diamonds with metal that's not even real gold? I'm still trying to figure out why some jewelry designer would put such a gorgeous genuine opal in such an otherwise cheap piece. Still, it does raise the interest and value of the total piece.
As you can tell by now, I'm kind of a snob when it comes to jewelry! Like I said, this piece needs someone who can appreciate better than I can. If that's you, don't hesitate to bid. :-)