They also generally show a more ordered array of colours since artificial material doesn’t duplicate the intricate pattern of natural opal. The colour grain boundaries are generally highly irregular in synthetic opal and within each colour grain there are numerous sub-grains producing a distinctive snakeskin pattern. ![]() Synthetic stones can look like genuine opal, but often show brighter colours with colour patches being much larger than those found in natural opal. Synthetic opals (such as Gilson Opals) are made from the same chemical composition as natural opals (hydrated silicon dioxide), so they have a similar structure to that of a precious opal, but they are produced in a laboratory. How To Identify Synthetic & Imitation Opals Opal is believed to encourage spontaneity and it is said that the gemstone is associated with love and passion, helping you to release your inhibitions. Enhancing self worth and helping you to understand your full potential. Opal amplifies traits and brings characteristics to the surface for transformation. The Crystal Bible (by Judy Hall) explains that the opal is absorbent and reflective - picking up thoughts and feelings, amplifying them and returning them to the source - teaching us that what you put out comes back. The opal is known to stimulate originality and dynamic creativity, as well as aid in accessing and expressing one's true self. Europeans have long believed the gem is a symbol of hope, purity, and truth. The ancient Greeks believed opals were a gift of prophecy protected against disease. Arabic legends say it falls from the heavens in flashes of lightning. The Romans gave it the name opalus, meaning “precious stone.” Opal has been a popular, symbolic stone for many centuries. In ancient Rome, opal symbolised love and hope. Precious opal displays beautiful flashes of colour, whereas common or potch opal displays no iridescent colour and is often opaque (however it can still be very attractive). There are two groups of precious opals - those with a white or light basic colour, known as white or milky opals, and the rarer black opals - these are dark grey, dark blue or grey black - deep black is considered rare. Their physical properties vary considerably and there are many varieties of each type. Opal falls under two main varieties: precious opal or the 'opalescent opal' and the common (potch) opal. Other countries such as the US, Mexico, Ethiopia and Peru (amongst others) produce precious opal and fancy varieties of common opal. It’s these silica spheres that determine the colour of the opal - large spheres create reds and small spheres go through the spectrum of colours with the smallest creating blues.Īustralia produces over 90% of the world’s precious opal with some of the most famous mining areas including Coober Pedy, Lightning Ridge, Yowah, Quilpie and Koroit. Precious opal generally contains between 6 – 10% water and consists of microscopic silica spheres arranged in a regular pattern. ![]() Opal is a form of silica, chemically similar to quartz but containing water within the mineral structure. Opal is the October birthstone and in this blog post we delve into everything opal, from properties and meta-physical properties to history and formation, explore the varieties available plus lots of jewellery making inspiration to inspire your handmade creations. ![]() Opal is the October birthstone and in this blog post we delve into everything opal, from properties and meta-physical properties to history and formation, explore the varieties available plus lots of jewellery making inspiration to inspire your handmade creations. Sourcing amazing, high quality opals from all over the world is something we are quite fond of doing and we have to say, with nearly 50 years experience in the bag, we've got pretty good at it! With so much experience we have collated a lot of information and resources all about this beautiful stone. It is one of those stones that remind you how amazing it is that precious and semi-precious gemstones are created by the natural elements of the earth. There is something about an opal that leaves you staring. Our passion for these stones is clear when you browse through our rather large collection of these stones! One of our favourite stones at Kernowcraft is opal, there are so many different varieties and the incredible colour play in these wonderful stones makes each one so unique.
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