Opal: Get a Piece of Peace
The opal is a very special gemstone. Opal comes from silica and is a gel that contains some water. This causes opal to be a very colorful gemstone that usually has quite a bit of color play.
If an opal does not have color play, it is referred to as common opal. Boulder opal, white opal, and black opal all have great color play. Black opal (red on black) is one of the rarest opal varieties. White and green opal is more common. Fire opal is more transparent.
Opal gemstones contain different percentages of water, usually somewhere between 2-6%, but sometimes as high as 20%. Opal is a gemstone that needs to be worn to keep its beauty. If it stays in storage, its color could possibly pale. Opal needs humidity from the air to keep looking its best. Opal is a softer gemstone, rating a 5.5-6.0 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
Opal was discovered in Australia long ago and has since been mined in such places like Brazil, Mexico, the United States, and more recently, Mali and Ethiopia. Australia produces about 95% of the world’s opal supply.
Australian Aborigine legend says that the Creator descended down from the sky to deliver a message of peace to human beings. The descent was made on a rainbow, and when the Creator touched the ground, the rocks turned into a lively, dazzling array of colors of the rainbow—opals.
Opal is the modern birthstone for the month of October.
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