Opals - a large family of stunning gems

I adore opals of any kind. There are many 'species' of opal, some you may know of and others you may not have heard about. I thought I would give you a little insight into some of these gorgeous gems. .......................................................................................................... Precious Opal ..................................................................................... Stunning colour play is the signature of this gorgeous variety of Opal. The opal is generally classified into two groups - White opal and Black Opal. White opal is charactorised by a white or very light base colour with a rainbow colour play and black opal is charactorised by a dark grey, dark blue, dark green or grey/black base tone with a rainbow colour play. Pure black base colour is very rare. The black opal in general is much more rare than the white. The colour play is from tiny spheres of a mineral called Cristobalite, aranged in layers on a bed of silica 'jelly'. These tiny mineral balls cause the light to be difracted and bent in different ways, so the stone displays a range of spectrum shades. Opals also contain a percentage of water. This can be lost if stones are dried out, making some people consider the gem to be unlucky when the stones crack. If you can, keep your opals moist to keep them at their best. If opals do ever crack, the colours can be restored, even if it is temporarily, with oils, resins or water. Opals can be treated with plastic to make them more robust. ........................................................................................................... Designed by Louise Farrow ............................................................................................... Precious White and Black Opals are mainly mined in Australia. Famously from Lightening Ridge and White Cliffs in New South Wales, Coober Pedy and Andemooka in South Australia and other places in Queensland. Before opals were discovered in Australia, the best stones were mined in Slovakia. Today, deposits of precious opals can be found in the Americas, Indonesia, Japan, Russia and several African countries. Other types of opal are also classified as precious opals: Boulder Opals have a dark base colour and good flashes of colour from little fisures or hollows within the pebble rocks it is found in. Opal matrix stones have bands of precious opal in veins running through the matrix mother rock. Harlequin Opal is a stunning opal with a transparent or translucent base and a mosaic like colour pattern. Jelly Opal has a bluish grey base colour with a little colour play. Crystal opal has a transparent base with a strong colour play. ...................................................................................................... .....................................Designed by Jacqueline Austen .....................................Designed by Hannah Morris-Knowles .....................................Designed by Jacqueline Austen Opal Triplet and Doublet stones are created by using thin slivers of precious opal, mounted onto a slice of black or white stone stone - often onyx or white jade. The triplet stones have an additional layer of rock crystal quartz on top of the opal for protection. ................................................................................................... ......................................Designed by Deborah Jones ................................................................................................................ Synthetic Opals have been created in the lab. Known as Gilson Opals, these beautiful stones are a more affordable yet gorgeous way to enjoy opals. They come in every base tone colour and have a good colour play - a little like the harlequin Opal. ...................................................................................................... .......................................Designed by John & Dawn Field .................................Designed by Lorraine Tait .............................................. Fire Opals .................................................................................................................. Amazing orange or yellow stones, usually with no colour play, are really popular. It is often quite milky, but none the less stunning. The best ones, of course are the transparent stones with no inclusions. These are usually faceted. They originate from Mexico in the main, but can be found elsewhere in the Americas and western Australia. ................................. Common Opals ................................................................................................................. There are so many varieties of common opal - some more valuable than others. Most are opaque and are widely used in jewellery. Some of the more common types are below: Agate Opal - Agate with light and dark opal layers. Wood Opal - yellowish or brownish opal, preserving ancient, fossilized wood. Honey Opal - Translucent opal in a yellow shade Hyalite - a clear opal with a strongly pronounced sheen. Porcelain Opal - a milky white opal Moss Opal - Dendritic white or porcelain Opal Peruvian opals - found in the Andes of Peru, it is usually opaque and can have dendritic inclusions or rock matrix. ............ .................................................Designed by Dianne .................................................Designed by Eleanor Swinhoe .................................................Designed by J Webberley ...................................................Designed by Debbie Cummins ....................................................Designed by Jan Crompton .....................................................Designed by Jacqueline Austen............................................... There are many types of simulated opal on the market - all popular and more often used in costume jewellery designs. Opalite - a type of man made glass is very popular with its bluish/yellowish glow. There are also other glass and plastic simulations which are very attractive. Please take the time to have a click on the pictures above to be taken to the designers shops and look at their designs more closely. Thank you so much for reading! Jacqueline x