The term cabochon is referred to as a curved and polished dome. The best way to cut and polish an opal is with a cabochon, even when the opal is a free-form shape you would still try to polish a cabochon on the stone.
A cabochon is best cut on lapidary equipment. Lapidary equipment is a process of polishing wheels and cutting compounds that slowly wear the stone down. By moving the stone or opal around on a cutting wheel, gives the stone a smooth cabochon that will eventually be polished.
An opal having a cabochon is better than being faceted because the hardness of an opal only about a 6, so if the opal had hard corners or facets they would very susceptible to chipping and breaking. With a cabochon the worst that can happen is you will acquire scratches if you rub it along a rough surface. This can be re-polished out.
The most popular way of cutting an opal for most markets around the world is an oval shape with an even cabochon. By having a cabochon it allows a setting edge so a jeweler has a setting edge to set the opal into a piece of jewelry. When cutting the opal you always have to make sure that edges of the dome are slightly moving inwards so it cannot fall out of a setting, giving the opal a better chance at staying fast in the piece of jewelry.
Putting a cabochon on the back of the opal is a god way to keep carats on the stone especially if the opal is worth a lot per carat. You can also polish the back of the opal, if there is color on the backside.
Cabochons look much better than a flat gemstone. The dome gives the opal more of a depth when the pattern is deep in the stone. Most opal solids that fetch very high prices have domes or cabochons because this is the ideal of a perfect opal.
For more information on opal cutting or purchasing opal. Please email blackopalsdirect@live.com or you can call me on Skype My username is Blackopaldirect and it’s free!
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