Stone Mania

Opal used for jewellery falls within one of two categories, precious opal and common opal. Precious opal displays the rainbow iridescence so highly prized in jewellery from Roman times onwards and common opal has a strong attractive colour but lacks  iridescence.

The play of colour in precious opal is caused by the reflection and scattering of light from the minute, uniformly sized and closely packed silica spheres that make up this gemstone.  Common opal comes in a wide range of colours but the best known are pink and green but they are opaque and display no iridescence because they lack the regular fine structure of precious opal.

Almost ninety five per cent of all opals come from the outback deserts of Australia. The remaining five per cent are mined in Mexico, Brazil, the US states of Idaho and Nevada and more recently they have been found in Ethiopia and Mali.

Gold seekers in Australia found the first few pieces of precious opal in 1863, but it is believed that the Aztecs mined opal in South and Central America.

As with all gemstones, there are numerous legends and tales which surround the opal. One story comes from the Australian Aborigines who believed that God came down to Earth on a rainbow in order to bring the message of peace to all humans.  At the very spot where his foot touched the ground, the stones became alive and started sparkling with all the colours of the rainbow and that was the birth of the opal.

The name opal probably derived from the Sanskrit word 'upala' which means "valuable stone" and this in turn was probably the root for the Greek term "opallios" meaning "colour change".

The Ancient Greeks believed opals could give the wearer the power of foresight, the Romans revered them as the symbol of hope and purity and believed they could protect from disease. Eastern people regarded them as the symbol of truth and the ancient Arabs believed they came from heaven and acquired the play of colour from flashes of lightning.

During the Middle Ages, opals were thought to be beneficial for eyesight and some even believed they could render the wearer invisible and hence they were recommended for thieves.

The French Emperor Napoleon gave his wife Josephine an opal called 'The Burning of Troy' because of its variation of colour.

In the nineteenth century a superstition brought about by the novel 'Ann of Geirstein' by Walter Scott, in which the opal is described as an unlucky gemstone, has damaged its popularity, but public figures such as Queen Victoria and the French actress Sarah Bernhardt subsequently re established its popularity.

Boulder opal is another variety of opal.  The opal in a boulder opal forms in thin veins within ironstone boulders, these are fine grained, heavy and compact sedimentary rocks whose main components are the oxide of iron, clay and/or sand. Freshly broken ironstone is usually grey, however the brown external appearance is due to oxidation of its surface.  Ironstone is not always homogeneous and can be found in a red and black banded form which is known as tiger iron.  Boulder opal is the lucky gemstone for Aries. 

In crystal healing, it is believed opal can help with depression and also help its wearer find true love. It is also supposed to further enhance the positive characteristics for people born under the zodiac sign of cancer.

Opal and Tourmaline are the birthstones for the month of October. Opal is also the anniversary gemstone for the 14th year of marriage.

Opal is graded 5.5 to 6.5 on Mohs scale of mineral hardness.

The following links offer further reading on opal

 Click here to view our exclusive collection of opal pendants