Question 1

The Jewellery

Accepted Answer

We create all of our pieces from start to finish here in the Acid Pickle studio.
Acid Pickle jewellery is created using precious metals only, meaning our items won't ever leave 
marks on your skin or discolour. Where possible, our stones are purchased from small mines, 
directly from the miners.

We go the extra mile to make jewellery that you can count on to last. We take steps such as soldering together all links and connections where possible - a step that is often skipped even on some of the most expensive pieces on the market. At times we will oxidise the gold or silver inside the stone setting for translucent stones in order for it to absorb more light and display more intense colour. This way, your Acid Pickle piece remains constructed only of precious metal and natural gemstone, but you see more colour in your piece.

*Please note that we cannot resize our pieces. Opals are unable to be resized without a laser welder, a machine which only some jewellers have access to. Acid Pickle can normally size your ring up (make it bigger) up to half a size or sometimes even more, but unfortunately we can't make your opal ring smaller. If we are able to resize the ring, we will make a note in the description.

Question 2

A Little Jewellery Jargon

Accepted Answer

While viewing our pieces, it may help to know what we're going on about in the description. 
​
Set into/nestled into/dropped into vs top-mounted

When we connect a setting into the band of a ring, we cut away part of the ring and fit it to contain the setting within it. This means that the ring will sit more snug and flat to your finger, whereas top-mounted means that we join the setting to the top of the ring, giving much more height. The benefits of a top-mounted ring are that you achieve a much more dramatic look, and the inside of your ring will remain perfectly round, as no material has to be cut away after fitting. A ring that has the setting set into the ring will sit nice and flush to the finger, making it more suitable for everyday wear.
​
Shank

A shank is just another name for the band of a ring. In other words, any part of the ring
that is not the setting.
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Profiles

Full-round: round, cylindrical wire creates the shank or band.

Half-round: imagine round wire that is cut down the middle lengthways. If you were to intersect this ring, it would look like a D.

Flat: A rectangular wire is used to create this profile.

Square: In this profile, the ring has square edges smoothed down to make it comfortable.
Often the outer edge of the ring will be slightly rounded off.

Question 3

Caring for your Opal

Accepted Answer

​Opals are between 5.5 and 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. This means they can be a little more susceptible to breaking than a garnet or diamond if they take a hard knock. Care should be taken when doing things like opening drawers, where your ring could get caught, and you should avoid knocking your opal pendant or ring against something hard. In saying this, do not be shy when it comes to flaunting your opal piece! Just remember that it's there, and it is vulnerable. 
​
Over the years, depending on how you have worn your jewellery, its possible your opal can lose its lustre and therefore display less colour and colour-play. This is from small scratches covering the surface of the stone. It is recommended to have your opal polished if this happens. This can be done with the stone left in the setting. Acid Pickle can provide this service for you. 
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As we use Australian Opal, you do not need to worry about "hydrophane" issues like with stones such as Ethiopian opals. Wear your opal in water without issues!

Question 4

Estimating your ring size

Accepted Answer

There are a number of ways you can estimate the ring size of you or someone you know, but unless you have solid ring sizers then it is difficult to be able to guess the size accurately. Here is the best way to find out your ring size without visiting a jeweller.

Take a ring that fits you well and use a ruler or vernier callipers to measure the inner diameter of the ring at its widest point. The ring must be round, (not bent or caved in) in order this way of measuring to be as accurate as possible... and yes! include quarter and half-millimetres in your measurements too.

Information and Care

The Jewellery

A Little Jewellery Jargon

Caring for your Opal

Estimating your ring size

Acid Pickle