International Jewels : Opal

What is an Opal?
It is thought that the Opal was named from the root for the Greek word "Opallios", which means "color change" or "precious stone". It is said that in the day, a famous Roman author named Pliny call an Opal a gemstone which best unites the best description of all stunning gemstones today. There is the sparkle of Almandine, the glimmer of the purple of Amethyst, the vibrant yellow of the citrine and the blue of the sapphire, combining all the beautiful colors in one combination.

The precious opal is made up of tiny uniform spheres of transparent hard silica, which fit together in an orderly three dimensional frame, sitting in a bath of silica solution. It is the orderliness of the spheres that separates precious opal from common opal. Light passes through the transparent spheres in a direct line, but when it hits the bath of silica, it is bent and deflected at different angles, thus producing a rainbow effect. The size of the spheres has a bearing on the color produced. Smaller spheres bring out the blues, from one end of the spectrum. Larger spheres produce the reds from the other end. The more uniform the spheres are placed, the more intense, brilliant and defined the color will be. Although opals may be beautiful in color they have poor characteristics such as softness, cracking and physical weakness or heat sensitivity.

Opal's Mysterious Powers?
Some people for years have believed that opals carry a healing power, such as depression or it helps whoever is wearing the stone find genuine love and are to enhance the positive side for people born under certain zodiac signs. Others also believe that the continuous color play reflects the changing emotions and moods of people.

Common Opal Shapes
Opal's can come in many different styles and shapes. There are four types of opal stones out on the market today; they are the: precious opal, the fire opal, the common opal and the rarest of them all the black opal. The precious opal stones are predominantly white with blue layers, however will have slight coloring such as hints of reds, oranges and violets, but the most common characteristics is blue and greens. The fire opal will range in colors with a deep red to many shades of orange on to yellow. The common opal is primarily used as backing for the more desirable precious stones but combined with some of the fire opals or the precious opal can create and interesting look. The black opal is the rarest and probably most desired of them all. The black opal is mainly black with hints of dark gray to blue blacks, but when containing reds and oranges the value goes up. The black opal can be just as expensive as a diamond or one of the other precious stones. There have not been any major finds to this day, but so far the best black opal found is from a place called Lightening Ridge Australia.

However like many other gem stones, an opal can be lab created as well, and the material used provides a very close approximation to the natural material. It is produced by a controlled precipitation, and alignment of small silica spheres. After many months the spheres form a three dimensional diffraction pattern which produces the color play.

What To Look for in an Opal
Be sure that when looking at the stone that it is deep in a multi colors and that it changes color in the light, take a moment to pay attention to the cut of the stone. Although opal comes in an array of styles and shapes, you want to make sure that the light reflects properly off of the stone when looking at it from different angles. You can even go one step further and choose several different styles and shapes, place them along side of one another to do a quick comparison. After you have taken these steps you can then choose your opal with piece of mind.

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