Cernit Opaline is the half-translucent line in the Cernit range, made in Belgium by The Clay and Paint Factory. The colors are roughly 50% translucent, which gives cured pieces a soft, porcelain-like finish rather than the flat look of a fully opaque clay — light passes into the surface instead of stopping at it.

Cernit runs a scale of translucency across three lines, and Opaline is the middle of it: Number One is fully opaque, Opaline is about half translucent, and Cernit Translucent is as clear as polymer clay gets. Which one you want depends on how much light you intend the finished piece to carry.

Opaline is softer than Number One out of the block, and the colors intermix freely with each other and with the rest of the Cernit range. Fourteen colors, and the light, muted palette suits doll and figure work, flowers and anything meant to read as ceramic.

Supplied as a 250g block — roughly four and a half 56g bars, at a lower cost per gram.

Baking: 230–266°F (110–130°C) for up to 30 minutes in a conventional home oven. Do not exceed 266°F. As with any part-translucent clay, thicker pieces are more prone to plaquing; baking slowly from a cold oven reduces it.

For how Opaline sits against the other Cernit lines, see Ginger Davis Allman’s Review of Cernit Polymer Clay at The Blue Bottle Tree.

• Cernit reference: CE0880250460C
• Color: Magenta
• Size: 250g