Opal-Like Resin Hairpin, Glimmering With Color

I’ve always loved the play-of-color in opal — that shimmering rainbow that changes its expression depending on the light and the angle. I’d long wanted to make an accessory that captured that feeling. The well-known example is “Kyoto Opal,” and these days you can even find overseas synthetic opals on auction sites. They say that modern lab-grown opal can fool professionals, which really shows how far technology has come.

What I made isn’t anything that grand, but the image I had was simple: something that sparkles and shifts in color when you tilt it, and that even glows faintly in the dark. I poured a thin layer of glitter resin into a silicone mold, pressing the center down a little before curing it with UV light (the UV lamp from Amazon was only about a thousand yen!). Then I sprinkled a thin layer of glitter from the 100-yen shop and cured it again. After that, I added a raised layer of transparent resin mixed with gold powder, dusted phosphorescent pigment on top, cured it once more, and finally attached it to a hairpin — and it was complete.

Maybe this is what people call “bling-bling.” When I was younger, I used to think flashy accessories were unnecessary — youth itself was enough of a charm. And yet, I found myself wanting someone to wear this sparkling piece… putting it on, taking it off, slipping it back on again whenever I had the chance, repeating the ritual over and over.