A simple look at this Australian-originating fine stone can bring joy into our hearts and peace into our life, because if there is one gem out there that could be praised for having the ability of reuniting all that is beautiful and good in the world, then that is, undoubtedly, the opal.

Just take an opal in the palm of your hand and gaze at it for a couple of seconds, no more than this - can you see the incandescent beams of the sun and the restless waves of the oceans reflected in it? What about the lightning and thunders of a wild storm and, at the same time, the perfumed summer rain that brings freshness and liveliness to the dry days and nights of this hot season? And what else can you see there, in those very lavishly and seductively combined colors of the opal? You can see the heaven and the earth, the mortality and the infinite, the passion of love and the bright ideas of a keen mind, isn't it? And there still is so much more to it... because this delicate stone seems to have stolen the charm of life, from the grandiose things to the sometimes overlooked details and encapsulated it all within its warm stone heart. But why have I asked you all this, you may wonder...

The answer is as easy as it can be - just to show you by a simple act why opal is considered - justly! - the queen of the gems. Because if there is one stone in this whole world that can bring together delicacy and strength, mystery and openness, purity and innocence to blend with sophistication and chic, then that is definitely the opal. And if an image is worth a thousand words, then this gem is worth, on my humble opinion, all the words in the world because it is beyond verbal language - it is that warm fire that gets right through your heart, melts it, and stays there for ever. Ladies and gentlemen, I am presenting you: the magnificent opal gemstone!

Composition/Formation. Even if discovered relatively early in history, an explanation for the wonderful play of colors and shades in the opal, which seems to be most of the times an abstract ingenuous masterpiece of a famous painter, was found as late as in the 1960s. During this period of time, still striving to find the secret lying at the core of the opal stone, a team of Australian researchers came with the brilliant idea of analyzing the gem under an electron microscope. Their findings finally shed light on the mystery of opal's simply magnificent play of color, showing that it arises from small spheres of silica gel that cause interference and refraction manifestations.

History. Opal is one of the most praised stones all throughout history, because it has been ever since its discovery the favorite gem of kings and queens. Even its name shows the high rank at which it was classified - 'opal' may come from the Sanskrit word 'upala', which translates as 'valuable stone', or from the root for the Greek word 'opallios', which means 'color change', or from the 'opalos' stone that seems to have existed in Roman antiquity and was considered 'a stone from several elements'. Whichever term would have been the seed for what we call today 'opal', one thing is for sure - the beauty and exquisiteness of this stone has never been overlooked.

The stone that has been famous since centuries ago for its ability to promote good luck and perfect health in those who hold it close to their bodies for a long time is also considered to be one of the gems that enhance love, tenderness and the whole range of positive emotions in humankind, for which reason it is the birthstone for all those born in Cancer in the Western zodiac, who are known for their deep emotions and sensitivity, as their very sign is often thought to be the synonym for the verb 'to feel'.

 

The famous Roman writer, Pliny the Elder, stated that Opal is the most beautiful gem ever to have been seen, as it combines in an exquisite manner all the top characteristics of the other stones - the shining violet of the amethyst, the deep blue of the sapphire, the delicate sparkles of light seen in the almandine and the golden-yellow shade and iridescence of the topaz. The conclusion to be drawn from this was and remains a sole one - the opal brings together the best colors and shine of its siblings in the gemstone family.

Variety. Besides the fact that in this stone the most fascinating hues are blended to create a wonderful appearance, the opal comes in a myriad of colors, shades and patterns. There are many types of opal stones known world-wide, among which the most popular are: fire opal, opal matrix, boulder opal, dark or black opal, light or white opal, milk or crystal opal etc. The most treasured and sought after are the ones that have a more intense, deeper shade of the main body.

Opal is mainly extracted from Australia, which is actually the origin country for this stone. However, other deposits where the gem is extensively mined are in Mexico, Brazil, some US states, Ethiopia and Mali, the West-African country.