Drewnem Pisane (Wood Written) - Behind the scene - How a fountain pen is made Part 15 Resin - Synthetic Opal

This is our latest discovery. We are constantly browsing the Internet in search of inspiration and new materials. Synthetic opals have been known since 1964, but they were of very poor quality. It was not until Pierre Gilson in the seventies that he produced a synthetic opal that imitated the real one quite well, although it had little in common with real opal. The following years allowed for the improvement of Gilson's method, but the real leap was made when the Japanese company Earth Chemicals joined the production of synthetic opal. Based on Gilson's patent, the production of a material was started in which small balls of zirconium oxide were added to silica grains. Subsequent modifications concerned the material in which these grains were suspended. Ultimately, synthetic opal becomes a resin-based material. We found such blanks in the depths of the Internet. Modern synthetic opal is created in laboratories and is a quite expensive material. Opals are characterized by opalization, i.e. a change of color when the stone moves. The effect that causes opalization is based on the phenomenon of refraction, splitting and reflection of light on small silica balls located inside the mineraloid. In these synthetic opals, small and larger silica particles are suspended in a polymer matrix. The degree of ordering of the structures, their size and type of packing are responsible for the type and color of the opal. How it is created is a secret of only a few manufacturers. It was important to us that this material has an insanely opalescent and looks phenomenal, is durable and can be processed well. In this respect, it is very different from natural stones, which are brittle and spontaneously crack when dehydrated. A fountain pen made of synthetic opal visually resembles a natural mineral, but it is more durable, will not dehydrate, cannot be scratched or chipped so easily and will be much cheaper than a natural mineral.