The Opal - Nature's Most Beautiful Gemstone?

The opal is a thing of pure beauty. A gemstone so beautiful and mystical, it has been sought after by Kings and Queens for centuries. Its mystical qualities matches its origin deep in the Dreamtime of the Australian continent. It is known for its display of color - showing nature's entire splendor in one stone. The fire within and its sparkles and flashes sometimes makes it even more valuable than a diamond.

It never gets tiring to look at an opal, its flashes of colors changing as you change the angle from which you look at it. These flashes of colors from all over the rainbow is known as opalescence. These flashes may vary considerably in size and texture.The variety, distribution and size of these colorful flashes are what determine the value of the gemstone.

No gem is as colorful and mysterious as the Australian opal. With its intense flames, play of color and sparkle, it is a gemstone that has been sought after for hundreds of years. It's simply unsurpassed in raw beauty. For these reasons, a particularly beautiful opal may in some cases be even more valuable than a diamond!

The opal was originally discovered in Australia and that is also where it's mined today. Almost all, 95 percent or more, originate from there, so it's not a stretch to say that is an Australian gemstone. There are other sources of mining, such as Mexico, Brazil and some states in the US, but they make little of the total supply.

Opals are classified into two major groups: precious opals and common opals. Those that display the characteristic play of color are known as precious opals, while those lacking this - single color specimens - are known as common opals. Gems used for jewelry can be cut from both the common and the precious. Both precious and common opals come in many different forms and varieties. The absolutely must cherished opal is the black precious opal; with a black, dark blue or dark green main background coloring, with a play of colors to match. The second most popular precious opal is the white, which is white, cream or yellow color and with a strong internal play of color. The most valued common opal is the so called Mexican Fire Opal, which is a common almost translucent opal in orange red color.

It's common to cut precious opals into thin slices for use in jewelry. This makes the prize of jewelry with precious opals, much cheaper than a solid stone.

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