Opal rainbow in your hands

Opal rainbow in your hands
The stone of paradox, opal as if woven of contrasts, from the royal crown to thief amulet, from complete oblivion to the fabulous expensiveness. Perhaps, no one gem was so loved and feared of, as opal. Besides, it obtains unusual, like nothing on earth, beauty. Meanwhile, opal is a forever frozen tear of rain, holding rainbow reflection. Indeed, it is such joy and magic just to have such a thing, always changing, fickle, and illuminating the gray days with billions of colored sparks. And finally, isn’t it cool to hold a rainbow in your hand?

However, precious opals are rare. Even in the very rich deposits of opal, its noble varieties account for only 1%. By the way, precious opal is the brother of diamond. And it is a consequence of the lush color of complex play of reflected light (opalescence), not related to the chemical composition of the stone, and the color of opal – just a visual effect. Meanwhile, “Nobility” and the value determined by the amount of pure opal colors (maximum four: red, yellow, green, and blue). And that can be seen on the surface of the stone. In other words, the range in which the reflected light is expanded. Thanks to this phenomenon – the cause of the diamond game, it is called the “king of precious stones.” Indeed, Opal – a member of the royal family.

So, Opal games know no boundaries. And all of them, in their own way, show an amazing play of colors, with the exception of fire opals, which are precious because of its transparency. By the way, if there is no color games, such opals are “ordinary.”

In fact, depending on the type, place of occurrence, and the primary color, we distinguish different opals. In particular, black opal, white opal, milk or Crystal Opal, Boulder Opal, Matrix Opal, Job-Nuts from Queensland, called a “picture stones”, as well as Mexican fire opals and ordinary opals.

Pink opals are found in Peru. A very peculiar type of opal, which is not only pink, but blue. Pink opal is only found in the Andes and is a national Peruvian stone.

Blue opals are of all types: black, crystal and boulders. The blue color is especially characteristic of Australian opal, but occurs in all countries.

Transparent Opal – hyalite more like glass and has no color. Hardness and other properties of Hyalite is no different from the rest of opals. Fire opal is also transparent, but usually it is colored in yellow or red. Fire opals are mined in Mexico. Transparent opals come with the play of color. This type of opal is called jelly opal and found in Australia and Mexico. Transparent jelly opals may have dominance in a variety of colors.

Tanzanian green opal. These opals are very unusual, because no one had suspected that these green stones also opals. These opals have a green cat’s eye, which is caused by microscopic inclusions in the body of the opal. Green opal from Tanzania cost about $ 10-20 for the stone.

Peruvian green opal. In Peru, there are pastel opals – green tones, but more pink and blue. It is believed that green opals from Peru are rejuvenating and curative for a person. Peruvian green opal is pretty cheap, material for making beads and various crafts.

Synthetic Opal – created in controlled laboratory conditions. Sometimes opal produced in the lab can be more expensive than natural, but mostly it’s fantastic stone at a very affordable price.

Black Opals of Green color are from Australia. This precious opal, which sometimes can be very expensive and has a unique play of colors and opal effects. Black Opal – the name of the type of stone, and not the color. Black because they have bright colorful layer formed on a black iron base. Black opals are very expensive, they are often synthesized. There are even some synthetic opals that are valued more than natural, but it’s still a rarity, and who can argue with nature …

Black precious opal must have effect of opalescence and the play of color. Distinction from the rest of the black opal is that massive gelatinous material, necessarily opaque dark substrate, which creates a dark background on which opal-jelly can play clear colors. Shiny paint at his dark perception distinguish black from white opal. Black Opal – the most rare and valuable species and most highly valued stone in general. Boulder is like a black opal, with the difference that opalescence layer is very thin and was formed on the iron stone, which gives it the appearance of black opal from the top.

Beautiful red color is widely represented in nearly all types of opal. The red color is most common in Mexican opals, often in Ethiopian and very highly regarded in Australian opals. In addition to fire opals, a lot of red color found in Mexican opals. This Flash type of opal is similar to fire, but differs in special color overflow, which is typical for opals. Red Opals from Mexico. Such red opals usually are cut and used as inserts in the jewelry. The more shiny red color shows the stone, the more opal costs. Small insert faceted opal of bright red color can cost 30 – $ 100.

Red opals from Australia. The red color in Australian opals are extremely rare, and automatically mean higher price. As Opal – the stone with dynamic color, the more appropriate to speak of a dominant red. Opal can be completely red, but on the other hand may appear different colors. That’s what we like in opal. The red color is common in Ethiopian opals as dominant, but completely monochrome are rare.

White opals are of different types, the name “white” is not always accurately describes the color properties of the stone. In a professional environment, black opals of light colors are also called white or light. Milk Opal – ignoble kind of opal, sold by weight and an ornament of stone. Pure white Opals- semi-precious stones, used for manufacturing applied products. In Russia, white opals are called Cacholong.

Cacholong – inexpensive opal, used for jewelry inserts and applied products. Completely opaque or slightly translucent minerals, Cacholong actively absorbs moisture, but is afraid of water, and after wetting and drying may even crack. There is a theory that the name derived from the Kalmyk word kahe (river) and halong (stone).

Meanwhile, In Mongolia cacholong is close to lotus – a sacred flower in Buddhism, and a symbol of purity and innocence. And in India, this stone is revered for its whiteness and called petrified milk of sacred cows. In addition to the above-mentioned countries, cacholong fields are in Russia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, as well as in Iceland and Armenia. By the way, jewelers usually prefer to fax cacholong in silver.

Mosaic stone Opal is a creation of man. Pieces of natural opal collected in an irregular pattern. Doublets and triplets. Doublets are stones, in which the upper part of the whole opal glued on black stone base.

Jelly Opal is a solid stone, almost transparent. It looks as if made of jelly and has uncertain color.

Australia – classic country of opals and today the largest exporter of precious opal in the world. Almost 95 percent of all opal deposit are Australian. History of Australian opals began millions of years ago, when parts of Australia were covered by sea. In the cracks of rocky sediments accumulated silica-rich water, the remains of plants and animals. Silicon was slowly turning into an opal, opal because it silicic acid and water. More precisely, this silica gel and water. Precious opal contains 6 to 10% water.

Opal rainbow in your hands

source opalauctions.com