Friday's Joy

Dragon's Breath Brooch in Sterling

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The Unusual and Unique
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Gold

since 2019
Photos were taken both indoors and outside in natural daylight, and are not retouched.
Pictures don't do justice to the mysterious beauty of Dragon's Breath opals. They're even more spectacular in person, only part of what makes them so desirable.
Dragon’s Breath opal is considered "costume jewelry." Does this mean they're worthless? On the contrary. These Art-glass stones typically have a high price tag, especially when vintage or antique.
Comprising Czechoslovakian art glass, and also called synthetic "Mexican Opals," Dragon's Breath stones were first used in jewelry at the turn of the 20th century. They've become rare and highly collectible. But why?
The answer lies in a marvelous mystery from Jewelry History.
As is often the case with Bohemian art glass, the exact recipe for making Dragon's Breath opal was lost—the Bohemians took it with them. Dragon’s Breath has in common with nigh-untouchably expensive Saphiret (thought to be colored with gold) that its exact recipe is unknown and cannot be replicated.
The Bohemians were and continue to be master alchemists—there's no better word—of glass. They also invented lead-free crystal during the Renaissance Period; and the color-changing, exquisitely lavender-blue Alexandrite glass, pigmented with the rare earth neodymium. In all of glass history, only the Anglo-Saxon recipe for opaque red glass remains as mysterious as Dragon's Breath.
Nobody can say much for sure about these stones, apart from 1) they were first invented and produced in Czechoslovakia around 1900, and 2) we know they were made by adding a metal to the glass melt, though no one knows just what metal or how much.
When struck by light at different angles, Dragon’s Breath opal changes from red-orange to ultra-violet blue, with hints of other colors which make an overall inner "fire" of purple. The vaporous flashes within the stones are known as the “breath” from which their name comes. Viewed from the side, they are amber colored.
Most DB's are oval or round. Later pieces of classic costume jewelry made primarily during the 1950s and ‘60s also used decorative glass stones declared incorrectly by sellers as Dragon’s Breath. Those are actually foiled glass cabochons rather than true Dragon’s Breath. (If you see foil or metallic paint on the back of the glass, it’s ersatz.)
The stone here is set in sterling and has exceptional colors. It is traditionally cabochon cut and in fine condition. Its C-clasp operates well.
Measures 32.07mm (1.26") wide, 40.3mm (1.58") long, and is 7mm (.27") thick. Weight: 16.5 grams.
Item id: 0B003
Type: Costume, Estate
Color: Blue, Orange, Polychrome, Purple, Red, Silver
Stone cut: Cabochon
Item size: 32mm wide, 40mm long
Item type: Vintage
Material: Silver, Sterling Silver, Glass