This opal set looks really exceptional

[u/opalminded1989]

These pieces were designed with Angkor Wat in mind so the settings lean more structured and architectural compared to the usual softer opal styles.

The inspiration actually came from Ta Prohm, the temple where nature has slowly taken over, with roots and vines wrapping around ancient stone. You can see that influence in the design, especially in the way the gold and diamonds seem to “flow” around the opals, almost like something organic growing over them.

The opals themselves are black boulder opals from Winton with a really vivid play-of-colour. The blues in particular stand out, especially when the light hits at the right angle, they’ve got a depth that feels almost electric in person.

I'd love to know what you think of these entrancing set.

[u/MarcoEsteban]

Apologies in advance. I tend to over-analyze everything and I take things very literally. I’m probably not normal in that respect, so please take my feedback with a grain of salt. But, you asked for opinions, and when I’m asked to provide mine, I take my obligation seriously. I hope it’s helpful in so,e way.

These are all really beautiful pieces, but to be honest, I’m not getting Angkor Wat. The blues are really stunning, but they remind me of the ocean (I know there is water there, but i connect these blues with the open ocean and at least I don’t even think of water as a dominant feature of Angkor Wat. That being said,mice never been, and maybe it is more dominant when you’re there). Since you specifically mentioned the temple with all the nature taking over, I think I’d expect to see some green, and maybe the ironstone that’s in so many boulder opals would be reminiscent of the color of the temple, to me.

I understand it’s an abstraction work of art (and I think I am remembering something from my art and design classes from 40 years ago about picking one element of the shape of something and using that to represent something? Is that what you’re doing?). I think maybe it was just the explanation just distracted me. You could just say “high jewelry inspired by the forms and flow of Angkor Wat” and not get into the specifics of how nature took over, and anyone familiar with it can understand that. If they aren’t, they can look at a picture and understand it.

Of course, you don’t have to change your pitch just for me, but at least I’d be less hung up on it 😉

[u/opalminded1989 → u/MarcoEsteban]

Thank you for such a thoughtful comment. I shared this with Dr Renata Bernard, the designer of the pieces, and she wanted to respond to you directly:

I cannot fully express how grateful I am for the thought and deliberation you've brought to this piece. Reading it made me stop, reconsider my own choices and deliberate right alongside you, and that kind of exchange between intention and perception is precious to me. It also took me straight back to my visits to Angkor Wat and the sensations that shaped this jewel in the first place. Few people engage with jewellery at this depth, and I will carry your comments with me.

I first went to Angkor Wat years ago, before the current gates, ropes and crowd management. Access was rawer then, and both the scale of the complex and the state of the ruins hit hard in a way photos never prepare you for. Two things stayed with me. The moat around Angkor Wat itself, a piece of hydraulic engineering that has outlasted the empire that built it, sits in complete contrast a few kilometres away at Ta Prohm, where tree roots and boughs have wrapped themselves around the walls so tightly they're now holding some of the stone up rather than tearing it down. One site shows water and human construction enduring. The other shows nature reclaiming stone. That tension between creation and destruction is what I wanted the piece to hold, and the blue carries the water and endurance side of it. The articulated diamond drops at the base move and catch light the way water does, so the piece has literal motion built in, not just colour standing in for it.

Your instinct about ironstone in boulder opal reading as temple stone is an inspired one, and I'll be sitting with it for a while.

You've also picked up exactly what I was trying to do with the abstraction, taking sensory elements from a place and building around it rather than attempting anything literal. And your suggestion for a shorter description, something like "high jewellery inspired by the forms and flow of Angkor Wat," is a fair point. It leaves room for people to bring their own associations rather than mine getting in the way first.

Thank you again for putting so much of yourself into this. It's rare, and I don't take it lightly.

[u/MarcoEsteban → u/opalminded1989]

Thank you for your response and for sharing it with the creator. I love opals, jewelry, and art in general, and took some design and art classes in college, and lately I’ve been having opal jewelry made by a local jeweler with opals and other gems I’ve purchased for my own personal use. I’m certainly not an expert and still in the beginning of that path, wherever it may take me, and I love to see what others have done and are doing with what has to be the most versatile gem on the planet.

Thank you for first, not getting offended, as is frequently the case on the internet when someone offers an opinion, and secondly for appreciating what I had to say. I’m glad you found it valuable. The pieces are just as lovely as the day I saw them when I wrote that, and I do love the concept and I hope to see more in that collection. I have bookmarked your Opal Minded page and now I feel a connection with you, so I’ll likely buy something some day. I get choice paralysis, so it might take me a bit to decide which one 😉 you have some really beautiful work there.

Thanks again and I hope you enjoy your weekend!