OneBeacon Insurance Groups CEO Hosts Analyst Meeting Transcript

OneBeacon Insurance Groups CEO Hosts Analyst Meeting Transcript

OneBeacon annual investor meeting, and were happy to have you here on what I understand is a nice, rainy afternoon. So following on this morning from the White Mountains meeting, were going to take you a little deeper into OneBeacon this afternoon and spend a little time talking about how we see the business, how we operate in the insurance business and then answer your questions. So with me today, Ive got Dennis Crosby and Paul Romano, who oversee the majority of our specialty businesses, and theyre going to talk to you in a deeper dive on that; and then Paul McDonough, our CFO. So well walk through this. So we have the Safe Harbor Statement that we are required to put up and have dutifully done so. Moving on, Ive just talked to you a bit about our agenda and what were going to go through and how were going to walk through it, and then well have at the end for questions and answers as we move along.

The next slide, if you were here this morning, you saw these. These are our operating principles handed down by our founder, Jack Byrne, that we still operate by. In fact, we, at many of our meetings, start with this and talk about our belief in these things and what that means to us and how we make them real. But it is truly a living, breathing, guiding document and mantra that we have inside of the company that continues today.

Moving on. This is our booked value growth. Since the IPO and you start with the balance sheet in September of 06 and we went public in November of 06, as youll recall, and youll see over the period of time, up until the first quarter, we have grown book value per share at 6.5% on an IRR basis, including dividends from that period of time. Now, not necessarily the kind of record that we hope to be able to put up as we go forward. But all in, not a bad record, I think, given the period of time that we operated in, in the financial crisis, number 1. And number two, during this period of time, transforming the company. This is when we have done a lot of our work relative to maneuvering the company to get in businesses that we believe will offer higher returns and to extricate ourselves from those businesses that are less so and a bit of a drag. So that is the actual reported result. And all in, its okay but we expect to do better as we go forward.

This is the slide talked about this morning, and Carmen, if wed bring up the right hand side. I mentioned this morning and this is our journey, the specialty slide. On the right hand side of the slide, you see all of the different things weve done in each of the years, which really are part of what has transformed the company. And obviously, we start with the acquisitions by White Mountains. In 2002, OneBeacon Professional, which Paul is going to talk a little bit about this more morning, was started as our first specialty business, and it is our largest business today and a very successful business. And then as you roll forward into 04, we started our specialty property business, which we still have today. As well in 2004, we purchased the specialty commercial book from Atlantic Specialty which was a very good acquisition for us. The principal business was specialized commercial. Out of that came our Technology business, which we still have today and also, importantly, the other asset we received in that is the technology operating platform that we still use in the company today, so a very successful acquisition for us. 2005, we started financial services and Lawyers Professional, both businesses are still on today and Paul will talk about those. In 2006, we had the IPO, as you all know, as we well we started our accident group. And all those businesses that weve talked about were started from scratch with a team of people building out a business. And for example, as Paul and Dennis will talk about, I mean, accident is a great example. We started with a small team of people and, today, thats $100 million of business for us, extremely profitable and doing well. 2007, we commenced the Hagerty relationship. And as youll see in 2013, we end the Hagerty Relationship. But we started in 2007, it was a very successful venture for us. In addition to that, we formed the government risk, which well talk about, Dennis will talk about that a little bit, a very successful specialty for us operating today. 2008, we bought our entertainment business out on the West Coast. We still have that today. 2009, we sold the commercial lines renewal rights to the Hanover group and in a transaction that, I think, both sides would say has been very good. The Hanover, I think, is very pleased with the business they received that I think was very well underwritten and, as well, I think they took roughly about 185 of our associates, who are working there today and form the backbone of their commercial lines operation and we did very well financially on that transaction.

We also started the energy group and one of the things youll hear us talk about. Part of being a specialty company is not only starting businesses but also managing them and making decisions if you dont think you have the ability to continue to hit the hurdle rates and the returns, and the Energy business is one that we have gotten out of in 2012. And well talk to you a little bit about that and talk to you about why and how we think about those things. As you move on to 2010, importantly, we sold the Personal Lines business. So again in our transformation relative to the premiums, you see now as you rolled 2010, were no longer in the General Commercial business, were no longer in the Personal Lines business and, as well, we started our excess and surplus lines, which for us is really focused today on environmental. Its not a broad based E market. Were not in the excess casualty business. But its an opportunity for us, if we feel that time is right to expand our offerings in E and Dennis will talk about the environmental business in a few moments. In 2011, we sold AutoOne, which was our assigned risk Auto business in New York and again the assigned risk auto market had shrunk to a pretty small number and it became a very tough business for us to make money in, and so we exited. 2012, last year, we started the programs operation, and Dennis will talk to you a little bit about their focus here in a moment. As well, we started the commercial surety operation and Chad Anderson and some of his associates are here today that started that. Were excited about the future for that business. And importantly, we reached the agreement to sell our one off business to Armour, which, in our mind, when we closed that transaction, hopefully some time later this year, that will complete the full transformation of this company from a broad based generalist to now a specialized, focused company with, today, 11 or 12 different unique operating segments and our entire premium base will be go forward specialty without legacy liabilities, which is a pretty unique opportunity for us going forward.

So a little more detail on the transformation and on the focus, we looked at this platform and believe we have the skills and the scale and the capability to compete very successfully in the specialty marketplace. When we were a broad based general insurer, that was more of a challenge. In the businesses were in, we feel very good about our positioning.

Carmen, next please. Weve already talked about I think these highlights. I hit the majority of these. Again, I would say, youll see us continue to always look for opportunities to find segments that we think we can attract a group of people that understand and are able to deliver profit in their segments where theyre known and the market respects them. We added 2 new businesses in 12. And as you could see on this slide, we continue to always be active in looking for those kind of opportunities to build out the platform but its driven by the profit opportunity, not by the premium. I get asked fairly often, are we big enough to compete? Im not worried about that. In every one of these businesses, we compete very well, very successfully. We are able to compete in these Specialized Businesses today even if wed never added another one. I dont expect that to be the case. But if it were the case, we could compete quite well with what were doing today. So the only other thing I would add on the transition at the bottom, relative to Hagerty, and I had some people ask me this during the break, again in simplest terms, the way I would describe that for you, thats a relationship. Hagerty is an MGA and a collector car business, theyre very good at the collector car business. We had a very successful run with them in that business, but it was an MGA. And when it comes time to renegotiate the agreement with the MGA, you either reach terms or you dont. You have to figure out how youre going to divvy up the pie and if you dont like the way its going to be divvied up, you move on. In our case, importantly, we were also we dedicated a company to that business, and that company was an important part of the asset that the new carrier needed to go out and write that business for Hagerty, and we were able to get a very good price on our exit, selling that company to them and, in totality, over the 5 year relationship, we did very well. But its a business that were no longer in and we move ahead.

So financial highlights, really this is meant to just show you that in the first quarter of 2013, we obviously had a good start to the year. There may be a 3 ph, just under 7% growth in book value. 2012 was a more challenging year for us, both on the loss side with Hurricane Sandy, which was worth almost 4 points loss on the loss ratio side and, as well, we had some one time expenses. Underneath it, we really look at the business as a run rate, low 90s combined ratio business. If were to look back at the previous slide or even back to 11, you can see the 92.1%. We think thats very achievable and doable and something that we have delivered in the past. And Hurricane Sandy was a significant event for us even though were no longer in the Personal Lines business or General Commercial, it was a significant event for the marine business. And were one of the leading marine markets. And obviously, for those of you that live anywhere near here, you understand the impact on the marine business relative to the otts ph and, as well, relative to the marinas, et cetera. So it was a big event for us. Its one that as we look at anytime you have an event like that, you really look at things. What did you learn? You always learn some lessons, but theres nothing in there that we think we missed blatantly that would cause us to say, what are we doing here? It was a significant event but, in our view, one of the bigger events likely that we could face, hopefully, knock on wood, and we withstood it really quite well.

Next slide. This really shows you, over that period of time, these are calendar year all in reported combined ratios. It shows you our actual reported results, and I think, again, supports our view of the ability for this business to deliver very strong results as we roll forward.

Okay. And now with that. Im going to introduce Dennis Crosby and Paul Romano. They oversee the insurance operations, and Paul Brehm, whos here as well, oversees a few of the businesses, to talk to you about how we look at managing specialty businesses and a little bit of insight into a number of businesses that we have. Gentlemen?

Can we develop our indiscernible.

Good afternoon. Thanks for being with us. Were kind of excited to walk you through this. Its always great when the Chairman discusses indiscernible its not my fault, its his fault, all right. So were going to talk a little bit about the businesses and what we do and how we do it. One of the things that youll hear me talk about today is really differentiated results, and thats what this is all about, were a specialty company. The expectations from our 74% owners and from the Chairman is to basically give results that are better than the market delivers, normally, and we think based on what were going to talk to you about today, the businesses weve got, we have the capability of doing that, and I think thats the key.

I want to walk you through these businesses a bit and Im going to use 2 terms that I just want to explain very quickly. Were not going to we can get in as much detail later as you like, but Im going to call them mature businesses, and Ill talk about those first. The mature businesses, by definition, are businesses that have been with us, say, 5 or more years. Theyve had sufficient time and space to kind of perform the way we expect them perform. So Ill talk about mature businesses. There are other the 2 businesses well talk about here call developing. The Developing businesses, when we start a business, we will give it 3 to 5 years, and Im talking about from incubation to performance. Well give it 3 to 5 years to get up and running. Those Developing businesses well talk about here as well, but I just want to kind of set the table for you, because there is a life cycle in these businesses. Some of them are early on, some of them are much later. Mike talked to you about it a little bit. IMU, Bob Geller, Bob is here. He actually is the president of our IMU operation. Hes based here in New York. IMU was really formed back in the 1900s. It is a mature business for us. Im just talking about North American business, not International Marine but basically in North America, and thats where we focus. His focus is really haul, cargo and the yacht business and they do it very, very well. So the other thing that weve done, as Mike talked a little bit about adding inland marine teams, we added some people to inland marine. It was a stand alone business with us with some online the property. We actually moved it to Bob. And so weve got the inland marine in here. So were one of probably, what, Bobs 6 or 7 companies now that have a combined wet marine, dry marine operation. And theres some huge benefits to this and well talk about them a little bit later, but one of the primary benefits is we get to leverage Bobs distribution with people who are actually in this business very deeply and offer more product. And its not something that we really focus on as a specialty company, but when we can leverage opportunities like that, we really like to do that.

Second business is specialty property. Mike talked a little bit about it. It came to us in 04. this is strictly excess property. The differentiator here is they do business with wholesalers and its not admitted, or surplus lines business. So they nothing but excess property. The team came to us in 04. There were 16 of them. Weve got 20 of them now employees. But that whole team, in its core, has been with us since 04. No ones change. They know this business. They know this market. Were positioned in the right places. Theres minimal cap in this excess property and it fits within some parameters that we agreed to with our enterprise risk folks, but the bottom line is this is a very high performing business for us, the specialty property.

Government risks is unique. This is something that was started in 07, Coles ph started here at OneBeacon. Its really a good story. It really focuses just on cities and counties. We talk about municipalities and special districts, but in their portfolio theyre about 50% county business and about 40% city business, small to medium sized risk. We dont write big cities. We dont do any sophisticated risk transfer with any government entities. These are really just medium and small sized cities and counties. From Coles ph start to now, they write about $75 million of business consistently running combined ratios in the mid to high 80s, so its a very high performing business for us. Were actually looking at ways, that within the reasonable context of the marketplace, to try to get some more business in here, because we think its really well and high performing.

Our technology business. Again, Mike mentioned this. It came to us in 04. This is a very interesting business. It is a mature business. It is another one of our larger businesses. This business here focuses as weve talk about here Information Technology and Medical Technology. It really is hardware and software. We also do this on a package basis, so well put property in auto and general liability together to run at the Technology business. Very interesting dynamic here. Hardware software, when we talk about Medical Technology, this is really equipment, x ray machines, EKG machines, things like that. Thats what we do in the Medical Technology business today. The interesting dynamic here is that this business changes very dramatically. It moves on and on and on. Were constantly dealing with new issues and emerging issues in the Technology business. I think weve got the expertise and the staff to kind of deal with it. So were very happy with the business that weve got right now. We will do close to $150 million of Technology business here. Another interesting dynamic, which Mike mentioned as well is that in the Technology business today, Travelers, Chubb, C Zurich, OneBeacon. Its really instrumental in the specialty businesses to have the staff, the people, the expertise and the placement, and I think weve been very specific about where we put people. Southern California, Northern California, Atlanta, in the New England area, Boston, particularly. Youve got to have people in these locations to write this business and as a specialty carrier, youve got to understand that and move in that direction.

Entertainment business, we call it OneBeacon Entertainment. We acquired it in 08. It was actually an MGA when we acquired it. It is a mature business for us but as we talk about the Entertainment, sports and leisure, if we really boil this business down, we really focus on small productions, which Im talking about films, under $50 million. We dont do any big budget productions. We also do an awful lot of TV, both rely reality TV and network television shows like NBC. The other part is the sports and leisure. Thats really the sports please. We do write pieces of certain sport scenes but it really is about venues, about the actual arena that people play and then well write the GL and push the contingent liability off. So again a business that has taken us a while to get our arms around relative to how it performs and how we believe it should perform, but again we think were in a good position right now in the Entertainment business. The other part as a specialist which youll understand about the Entertainment business is that if you look at it, there are only 3 competitors in this space, serious, significant domestic competitors, let me clarify that. Its Firemans fund, its Travelers and its Chubb and then its us. So youre in a space where you have limited competition and know one another. Clearly, Lloyd is involved in this but for the most part theyd rather deal domestically as opposed to going to London. So its an interesting market to be in.

Excess and surplus is what we call it, it really is a developing businesses. These last 2 are Developing businesses as we spoke about. Theyre up and running. E has been running for 3 years. This is really environmental business. Nobody needs to get overly concerned, again, this is Middle Market environmental business. So if you know anything about real estate development or construction, everybody who touches the ground these days has to have some level of environmental liability. That doesnt mean there is ever any environmental liability, it just means you have to have it contractually, thats what we do. Theres also some products pollution for some light manufacturing that we do

How to Determine if jewelry or coins are made from real gold or fake

How to Determine if jewelry or coins are made from real gold or fake<br /><br />Looking to polish up some old jewelry? Your skin, soap, and even the air can dull your gold jewelry. Bring the luster back with a few household items and these five steps.<br /><br />You Will Need:<br /><br />Sizing a gold ring requires specific tools and procedures that differ between metals. Learn the steps that go into sizing a gold ring in this free instructional jewelry video series.<br /><br />Part 1 of 8 How to Size a gold ring.<br /><br />Size a gold ring Part 2 of 8.<br /><br />These gold stone stringers look like glistening incense sticks and are incredibly beautiful. Check out this jewelry making tutorial to learn how to turn gold stone lumps in blue and an orangey yellow into long sticks, or stringers, made of these melted lumps.<br /><br />Bead expert Kate Drew Wilkinson guides you through the process of encasing the gold lumps in COE 96 clear glass and then pulling stringers using a torch. Be safe and make sure you had experience using a torch before beginning this project!.<br /><br />Join Lisa Niven Kelly from beaducation and learn all the basics on getting started with stamping. Learn how to personalize your jewelry by stamping on metal. In this demo, Lisa discusses the necessary tools and teaches you how to make a pendant by stamping on a metal blank, punching a hole, and oxidizing. So get out your letter stamps, bench block, and hammer and stamp away! Learn how to make a stamped pendant for jewelry making.

How To Make a Beaded Cross Necklace

How To Make a Beaded Cross Necklace<br /><br />Some people wear a cross necklace as a symbol of faith while other people wear it for the sake of fashion. A cross now has simple to complicated designs. Finding the perfect design for your cross is now easy with these so many choices. If you want to make your own accessory, why not try to make a beaded cross necklace?<br /><br />Designing a beaded cross necklace can be easy or difficult depending on the specific style that you want. Some designs can be finished after an hour or two while some can be done within five minutes. Follow the instructions below and you will have a simple beaded cross necklace in less than five minutes:<br /><br />Cut about three feet of 3mm white suede cord. You may use other colors or other kind of cord or string as long as four strands of it can fit into the hole of your chosen beads.<br /><br />Choose your beads and bead colors. For this example, use six pieces of pony beads. Colors are red, orange, green, blue, white, and yellow.<br /><br />Insert the red pony bead into the suede cord. The bead should sit at the middle of the cord.<br /><br />Level the two ends of the cord. Keep the red pony bead at the middle. Insert the orange bead into the two strings until it touches the red bead. This should lock the red bead to its position.<br /><br />Insert the white pony bead just like how you inserted the orange bead. Separate the cords two ends.<br /><br />Insert the blue pony bead into the right end of the cord. Insert the yellow bead into the left end of the cord.<br /><br />Get the right end of the cord and insert it into the white bead. Slide the white bead up to give enough space for stringing the cord. At this point, there are already three strings inserted into the white bead. Doing this locks the blue pony bead.<br /><br />Get the left end of the cord and insert it into the white bead. Do this in the same way that you did with the right end. This also locks the yellow bead. Now, the white bead has four strings inserted into it. The two ends of the suede cord should now be coming from the white bead. Instead of stringing the white, blue, and yellow pony beads together, you can glue them together. Lay the yellow and blue bead on a flat surface so that their holes are facing up. Lay the white bead between them so that its hole is facing the yellow and blue beads. Glue them together to achieve the same position. Once the glue is dry, insert one end of the cord into the blue bead and insert the other end into the yellow bead.<br /><br />Insert the green pony bead into the two strings of the suede cord. You now have a beaded cross necklace. Secure it by tying the two ends of suede cord together. The tied portion should be near the green bead. Tie the ends of the cord so that the necklace will be long enough for the wearer.

How To Make a Beaded Cross Necklace

How To Make a Beaded Cross Necklace<br /><br />Some people wear a cross necklace as a symbol of faith while other people wear it for the sake of fashion. A cross now has simple to complicated designs. Finding the perfect design for your cross is now easy with these so many choices. If you want to make your own accessory, why not try to make a beaded cross necklace?<br /><br />Designing a beaded cross necklace can be easy or difficult depending on the specific style that you want. Some designs can be finished after an hour or two while some can be done within five minutes. Follow the instructions below and you will have a simple beaded cross necklace in less than five minutes:<br /><br />Cut about three feet of 3mm white suede cord. You may use other colors or other kind of cord or string as long as four strands of it can fit into the hole of your chosen beads.<br /><br />Choose your beads and bead colors. For this example, use six pieces of pony beads. Colors are red, orange, green, blue, white, and yellow.<br /><br />Insert the red pony bead into the suede cord. The bead should sit at the middle of the cord.<br /><br />Level the two ends of the cord. Keep the red pony bead at the middle. Insert the orange bead into the two strings until it touches the red bead. This should lock the red bead to its position.<br /><br />Insert the white pony bead just like how you inserted the orange bead. Separate the cords two ends.<br /><br />Insert the blue pony bead into the right end of the cord. Insert the yellow bead into the left end of the cord.<br /><br />Get the right end of the cord and insert it into the white bead. Slide the white bead up to give enough space for stringing the cord. At this point, there are already three strings inserted into the white bead. Doing this locks the blue pony bead.<br /><br />Get the left end of the cord and insert it into the white bead. Do this in the same way that you did with the right end. This also locks the yellow bead. Now, the white bead has four strings inserted into it. The two ends of the suede cord should now be coming from the white bead. Instead of stringing the white, blue, and yellow pony beads together, you can glue them together. Lay the yellow and blue bead on a flat surface so that their holes are facing up. Lay the white bead between them so that its hole is facing the yellow and blue beads. Glue them together to achieve the same position. Once the glue is dry, insert one end of the cord into the blue bead and insert the other end into the yellow bead.<br /><br />Insert the green pony bead into the two strings of the suede cord. You now have a beaded cross necklace. Secure it by tying the two ends of suede cord together. The tied portion should be near the green bead. Tie the ends of the cord so that the necklace will be long enough for the wearer.

How to Care for Opal Jewelry

How to Care for Opal Jewelry<br /><br />With their flashes of red, orange, and blue, opals may have more color than diamonds, but theyre not nearly as tough. In fact, compared to most gemstones, opals are relatively soft and have a higher water content, so they can be damaged by things that wouldnt affect stones like rubies or sapphires. Taking care of opal jewelry properly isnt difficult, but it does require some special knowledge. How to avoid damaging opal jewelry<br /><br />Opal is fairly delicate and really shouldnt be worn every day. This is why opals arent recommended for engagement or wedding rings. When you do wear your opal jewelry, take care not to hit or scrape it against anything. Even a relatively soft object, such as a wooden banister, could scratch or crack an opal.<br /><br />Sudden changes in temperature can also damage opals, so dont wear your opal jewelry while doing dishes, cooking, or while youre in the shower. Keep in mind that opals can tolerate both some heat and cold; what damages them is abrupt temperature change, such as coming into an air conditioned house from a hot day or washing your hands with an opal ring on in hot water then going out into the cold.<br /><br />If you have an opal doublet or triplet, dont leave it immersed in water for prolonged periods, such as while youre swimming or taking a long bath. Of course, that doesnt mean if you forget to take it of in the shower or youre caught out in a storm your opal jewelry will be ruined. Just try not to let it sit in water for more than 5 minutes.<br /><br />How to store opal jewelry<br /><br />The most important issues to consider when deciding how to store opal jewelry are maintaining the moisture in the stone and avoiding sudden changes in temperature. Opals have a fairly high water content, usually around 5% or 6%. This is part of what gives them their color flashes, but its also what makes them so fragile.<br /><br />For day to day storage, keeping your opal jewelry in its own soft cloth bag will help keep it from getting scratched. If you need to store opal jewelry for a long period or you live in a very dry climate, seal it in a plastic bag with a slightly damp piece of fabric or cotton balls to help keep the gemstone from drying out. Avoid storing opal jewelry in a bank vault, where the humidly is low, or in a dehumidified room. You may have heard that opals should be stored in glycerin, but this isnt really necessary. It wont harm your opal, but all it will do is cover your jewelry in sticky stuff thats hard to wash off. If youre concerned about low humidity, just use the plastic bag method mentioned above.<br /><br />Dont store opal jewelry in conditions where the temperatures could fall below freezing or become very hot, such as in a basement or attic. At high temperatures, the natural water in an opal can evaporate. Also, opal jewelry is better off stored away from windows, doors or heating/air conditioning units, so the gemstones arent exposed to sudden temperature in changes.<br /><br />How to clean opal jewelry<br /><br />Keep in mind that some dust particles are actually harder than opal, so just rubbing the dust off can cause microscopic scratches that, over time, dull the shine on your opal. To clean your opal jewelry, first rinse it in luke warm never hot or cold water and then carefully polish it with a piece of soft material such as tissue or silk. If the jewelry needs a more serious cleaning, use luke warm water with mild soap and a soft brush to gently scrub the back of the jewelry. As long as you dont do this frequently, you wont damage the opal.<br /><br />Never use harsh detergents, gem polishing solutions, bleach, abrasives, or even toothpaste to clean opals. Some chemicals can alter the pH balance acid/alkali ratio of the opal or be absorbed into the stone. Its fine to soak a solid opal, but soaking a doublet or triplet opal is likely to cause the adhesive used in these opals to break down, which will make the stones look cloudy.<br /><br />Ultrasonic cleaners are another thing you should keep your opal jewelry away from. These cleaners use vibrations that can cause opals to crack or weaken the adhesive in a doublet or triplet.<br /><br />Cleaning is also a good time to look your opal jewelry over for wear and damage. If you notice the claws in the setting are loose or the stones are looking dull, take the piece to a jeweler or gem cutter for maintenance before the problem gets worse.<br /><br />Opals are somewhat fragile gemstones, but when you know how to wear, clean and store opal jewelry properly, your opals will stay beautiful for decades.

How to Care for Opal Jewelry

How to Care for Opal Jewelry<br /><br />With their flashes of red, orange, and blue, opals may have more color than diamonds, but theyre not nearly as tough. In fact, compared to most gemstones, opals are relatively soft and have a higher water content, so they can be damaged by things that wouldnt affect stones like rubies or sapphires. Taking care of opal jewelry properly isnt difficult, but it does require some special knowledge. How to avoid damaging opal jewelry<br /><br />Opal is fairly delicate and really shouldnt be worn every day. This is why opals arent recommended for engagement or wedding rings. When you do wear your opal jewelry, take care not to hit or scrape it against anything. Even a relatively soft object, such as a wooden banister, could scratch or crack an opal.<br /><br />Sudden changes in temperature can also damage opals, so dont wear your opal jewelry while doing dishes, cooking, or while youre in the shower. Keep in mind that opals can tolerate both some heat and cold; what damages them is abrupt temperature change, such as coming into an air conditioned house from a hot day or washing your hands with an opal ring on in hot water then going out into the cold.<br /><br />If you have an opal doublet or triplet, dont leave it immersed in water for prolonged periods, such as while youre swimming or taking a long bath. Of course, that doesnt mean if you forget to take it of in the shower or youre caught out in a storm your opal jewelry will be ruined. Just try not to let it sit in water for more than 5 minutes.<br /><br />How to store opal jewelry<br /><br />The most important issues to consider when deciding how to store opal jewelry are maintaining the moisture in the stone and avoiding sudden changes in temperature. Opals have a fairly high water content, usually around 5% or 6%. This is part of what gives them their color flashes, but its also what makes them so fragile.<br /><br />For day to day storage, keeping your opal jewelry in its own soft cloth bag will help keep it from getting scratched. If you need to store opal jewelry for a long period or you live in a very dry climate, seal it in a plastic bag with a slightly damp piece of fabric or cotton balls to help keep the gemstone from drying out. Avoid storing opal jewelry in a bank vault, where the humidly is low, or in a dehumidified room. You may have heard that opals should be stored in glycerin, but this isnt really necessary. It wont harm your opal, but all it will do is cover your jewelry in sticky stuff thats hard to wash off. If youre concerned about low humidity, just use the plastic bag method mentioned above.<br /><br />Dont store opal jewelry in conditions where the temperatures could fall below freezing or become very hot, such as in a basement or attic. At high temperatures, the natural water in an opal can evaporate. Also, opal jewelry is better off stored away from windows, doors or heating/air conditioning units, so the gemstones arent exposed to sudden temperature in changes.<br /><br />How to clean opal jewelry<br /><br />Keep in mind that some dust particles are actually harder than opal, so just rubbing the dust off can cause microscopic scratches that, over time, dull the shine on your opal. To clean your opal jewelry, first rinse it in luke warm never hot or cold water and then carefully polish it with a piece of soft material such as tissue or silk. If the jewelry needs a more serious cleaning, use luke warm water with mild soap and a soft brush to gently scrub the back of the jewelry. As long as you dont do this frequently, you wont damage the opal.<br /><br />Never use harsh detergents, gem polishing solutions, bleach, abrasives, or even toothpaste to clean opals. Some chemicals can alter the pH balance acid/alkali ratio of the opal or be absorbed into the stone. Its fine to soak a solid opal, but soaking a doublet or triplet opal is likely to cause the adhesive used in these opals to break down, which will make the stones look cloudy.<br /><br />Ultrasonic cleaners are another thing you should keep your opal jewelry away from. These cleaners use vibrations that can cause opals to crack or weaken the adhesive in a doublet or triplet.<br /><br />Cleaning is also a good time to look your opal jewelry over for wear and damage. If you notice the claws in the setting are loose or the stones are looking dull, take the piece to a jeweler or gem cutter for maintenance before the problem gets worse.<br /><br />Opals are somewhat fragile gemstones, but when you know how to wear, clean and store opal jewelry properly, your opals will stay beautiful for decades.

How to Care for Opal Jewelry

How to Care for Opal Jewelry<br /><br />With their flashes of red, orange, and blue, opals may have more color than diamonds, but theyre not nearly as tough. In fact, compared to most gemstones, opals are relatively soft and have a higher water content, so they can be damaged by things that wouldnt affect stones like rubies or sapphires. Taking care of opal jewelry properly isnt difficult, but it does require some special knowledge. How to avoid damaging opal jewelry<br /><br />Opal is fairly delicate and really shouldnt be worn every day. This is why opals arent recommended for engagement or wedding rings. When you do wear your opal jewelry, take care not to hit or scrape it against anything. Even a relatively soft object, such as a wooden banister, could scratch or crack an opal.<br /><br />Sudden changes in temperature can also damage opals, so dont wear your opal jewelry while doing dishes, cooking, or while youre in the shower. Keep in mind that opals can tolerate both some heat and cold; what damages them is abrupt temperature change, such as coming into an air conditioned house from a hot day or washing your hands with an opal ring on in hot water then going out into the cold.<br /><br />If you have an opal doublet or triplet, dont leave it immersed in water for prolonged periods, such as while youre swimming or taking a long bath. Of course, that doesnt mean if you forget to take it of in the shower or youre caught out in a storm your opal jewelry will be ruined. Just try not to let it sit in water for more than 5 minutes.<br /><br />How to store opal jewelry<br /><br />The most important issues to consider when deciding how to store opal jewelry are maintaining the moisture in the stone and avoiding sudden changes in temperature. Opals have a fairly high water content, usually around 5% or 6%. This is part of what gives them their color flashes, but its also what makes them so fragile.<br /><br />For day to day storage, keeping your opal jewelry in its own soft cloth bag will help keep it from getting scratched. If you need to store opal jewelry for a long period or you live in a very dry climate, seal it in a plastic bag with a slightly damp piece of fabric or cotton balls to help keep the gemstone from drying out. Avoid storing opal jewelry in a bank vault, where the humidly is low, or in a dehumidified room. You may have heard that opals should be stored in glycerin, but this isnt really necessary. It wont harm your opal, but all it will do is cover your jewelry in sticky stuff thats hard to wash off. If youre concerned about low humidity, just use the plastic bag method mentioned above.<br /><br />Dont store opal jewelry in conditions where the temperatures could fall below freezing or become very hot, such as in a basement or attic. At high temperatures, the natural water in an opal can evaporate. Also, opal jewelry is better off stored away from windows, doors or heating/air conditioning units, so the gemstones arent exposed to sudden temperature in changes.<br /><br />How to clean opal jewelry<br /><br />Keep in mind that some dust particles are actually harder than opal, so just rubbing the dust off can cause microscopic scratches that, over time, dull the shine on your opal. To clean your opal jewelry, first rinse it in luke warm never hot or cold water and then carefully polish it with a piece of soft material such as tissue or silk. If the jewelry needs a more serious cleaning, use luke warm water with mild soap and a soft brush to gently scrub the back of the jewelry. As long as you dont do this frequently, you wont damage the opal.<br /><br />Never use harsh detergents, gem polishing solutions, bleach, abrasives, or even toothpaste to clean opals. Some chemicals can alter the pH balance acid/alkali ratio of the opal or be absorbed into the stone. Its fine to soak a solid opal, but soaking a doublet or triplet opal is likely to cause the adhesive used in these opals to break down, which will make the stones look cloudy.<br /><br />Ultrasonic cleaners are another thing you should keep your opal jewelry away from. These cleaners use vibrations that can cause opals to crack or weaken the adhesive in a doublet or triplet.<br /><br />Cleaning is also a good time to look your opal jewelry over for wear and damage. If you notice the claws in the setting are loose or the stones are looking dull, take the piece to a jeweler or gem cutter for maintenance before the problem gets worse.<br /><br />Opals are somewhat fragile gemstones, but when you know how to wear, clean and store opal jewelry properly, your opals will stay beautiful for decades.