Fireworks. Jellyfish. Galaxies. Lightning. Opal’s shifting play of kaleidoscopic colours is unlike any other gem.
Opal’s microscopic arrays of stacked silica spheres diffract light into a blaze of flashing colours. An opal’s colour range and pattern help determine its value.
Because opal has the colours of other gems, the Romans thought it was the most precious and powerful of all. The Bedouins believed that opals contained lightning and fell from the sky during thunderstorms. When Australia’s mines began to produce opals commercially in the 1890s, it quickly became the world’s primary source for this October birthstone.
Facts:
- Mineral: Hydrated Silica
- Mohs Hardness: 5 to 6.5
Fireworks. Jellyfish. Galaxies. Lightning. Opal’s shifting play of kaleidoscopic colours is unlike any other gem.
Opal’s microscopic arrays of stacked silica spheres diffract light into a...
read more »
Close window
About Opal
Fireworks. Jellyfish. Galaxies. Lightning. Opal’s shifting play of kaleidoscopic colours is unlike any other gem.
Opal’s microscopic arrays of stacked silica spheres diffract light into a blaze of flashing colours. An opal’s colour range and pattern help determine its value.
Because opal has the colours of other gems, the Romans thought it was the most precious and powerful of all. The Bedouins believed that opals contained lightning and fell from the sky during thunderstorms. When Australia’s mines began to produce opals commercially in the 1890s, it quickly became the world’s primary source for this October birthstone.
Facts:
- Mineral: Hydrated Silica
- Mohs Hardness: 5 to 6.5
