Opal is one of the most unusual gems, and probably, therefore, with a difficult fate. Opal experienced many changes - he had ups and downs, admiration, love and complete oblivion, and sometimes the name of the stone alone caused mystical horror. This is how the imagination of people influences the "life" of the stone, although some argue, on the contrary, - the influence of the stone on the life of people. Apparently, in this case, there was a relationship.



Legends and legends were written about the origin of the beautiful stone among all the peoples of the world, and they are all associated with the presence of the gods at the birth of opal. Ancient Greeks ranked their Zeus to the creation of a stone, in India they retell legends about a beautiful goddess, the Arabs also believed that gems fell from heavenly peaks along with lightning, and the Romans paid huge sums of money for opals and put him above other precious stones.



Opal aroused black envy, for the possession of it, some preferred exile, poverty and blasphemy. So what description did Pliny the Elder give to this stone? "Its fire is like the fire of a carbuncle, only softer and more tender, while it gleams with purple, like amethyst, and the green of the sea, like an emerald: all together merge into an unthinkable, sparkling splendor ...".


The name of the stone came from different languages. From Greek - opallios ("changing color"), from Latin - opalus - ("enchanting sight"), from Sanskrit - upala ("precious stone"). As you can see, everyone called the stone approximately the same and with admiration.

Opal is an unusual gem, and its color really matches the rainbow. More than 130 varieties of this mineral are known. And the shades that it possesses are caused by impurities of iron, manganese, nickel and other elements. But what is the mystery of such an iridescent opal color?



Only in the 60s of the last century was it possible to solve the mystery of this phenomenon. Opal is a silica hydrogel, it is fused silica containing up to 10% water. Inside the mineral there is a silicon solution, in which tiny balls of silica float. Transparent balls-spheres easily transmit light, but getting into the liquid, the light beam deflects from the obstacle and decomposes into components, which produces the effect of a rainbow.



The size of the spheres also affects the color. And the more spheres with different sizes, the more varied the colors. This iridescence of the gem is called opalescence. But not all opals have such an interesting phenomenon, therefore they are divided into two groups - noble opals (with iridescent iridescence) and ignoble (without it).



The most important opal from the group of noble ones is considered to be white opal. It is a milky stone, transparent, shimmering, with light blue highlights. White opal is the most common and most readily available. Then there are rare and expensive opals: black, darkpurple, blue, burgundy, green stones.

Among them there are cherry opal, amber, fire, golden, honey, mother-of-pearl and many, many others that you should definitely get acquainted with, or even better buy.Opal - harlequin has an unusual color fireworks. This gem shimmers with purple shades of amethyst, sparkles with bright blue sapphires, shimmers with emerald, shimmers with golden topaz and sparkles with red ruby.



One can talk about the beauty of opals for a long time, and not only about noble species. The base opals are also story-worthy, though of course they are less dramatic. It should be noted that the beauty of opal is not only in rainbow shades, but also in a variety of patterns on the surface of the stone. The beautiful pattern makes the opal original and thus increases its value.

Opal - synthetic stone

For a long time, scientists failed to create synthetic opal, but in 1964 Australian mineralogists obtained synthetic opal, the beauty of which is not inferior to natural ones.

Since 1973, the Swiss jewelry firm P. Gilson began to produce synthetic opals. Manufactured in Japan. Synthesis of artificial opals was successfully completed in Russia - in Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg. The assortment of synthetic opals is wide enough today.

Natural deposits of opals

Opals are found and mined in many parts of our planet. The stones mined in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and India have long been known. There are known deposits in Mongolia, USA, Iraq, Syria, Serbia, Brazil, Turkey, Ethiopia. Opal is also found in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.

Huge deposits of fire opals were found in Mexico, blue-green opals were found in Peru, black gems were found in Honduras.

Australia is considered to be the country that contains most of the world's opal reserves, and mostly of the noble species. It is known from geography that millions of years ago part of the continent was covered by the sea. Silicon-rich sea water has accumulated in sedimentary rocks and has created its treasures over the years. Opal is nothing more than natural silicic acid. Therefore, the stone has become a national symbol of Australia.




In the Middle Ages, opal began to acquire many superstitions. Some said that it glows in the dark, and its flicker hypnotizes, others assured that the stone can make the owner invisible. Opal has become a favorite stone of black magicians, alchemists and occultists. It was they who declared the stone The eye of evil and used it to make their noxious potions and the philosopher's stone.

Some superstitions gave rise to others, fictions gave rise to belief in the "evil eye". With fantasy and imagination, you can see anything in the stone. And they saw. Fear of witchcraft and dark influences ruined the reputation of an innocent gem.

But it was not the Middle Ages with their ominous magic that became fatal for the stone, but the 19th century after the publication of W. Scott's novel Anna of Geierstein, in which the story of the mysterious Lady Hermione, who appeared from nowhere and turned into a heap of ashes, is superbly conveyed. But the main thing was that the shining opal adorned this lady's hairstyle and changed its color depending on her mood.

And when the lady turned to ash, a mysterious opal gleamed ominously beside her. The gem from W. Scott ended his life at sea, so as not to bring misfortune to anyone. This is where the fateful days for opal began in reality. The power of a work of art influenced people in such a way that many parted with their precious gems in the same way.

The Queen Victoria of England returned the glory to the disgraced for no reason. Since Australia belonged to the British crown in the middle of the 19th century, Queen Victoria quickly appreciated the benefits of the discovered opal mines for her state and made advertising for the opals. She herself wore opal jewelry, gave her daughters as wedding gifts, which others feared to do so that there were no divorces and misfortunes in the family.

Opal was successful. Jewelers appreciated the beauty of the stone.



What do they say today about the extraordinary stone? Now they assure that opal collects and concentrates powerful energy around itself and suits people strong and self-confident, and will harm the weak, weak-willed and selfish. What do you refer to yourself?

But still those who trust the magical properties of stones see duality in disgrace. Protects some from enemies, while others lead to trouble. In the East, opal has always been considered a symbol of trust, happiness, hope and even love. In the modern world, the stone is given the property of attracting financial luck, and doctors find the right treatment for the patient.

Most likely, many of us have had to deal with the rudeness of doctors who, in addition to everything, are poorly versed in their profession, and moreover, are engaged in extortion. These people have forgotten the Hippocratic oath, and they definitely cannot wear opal jewelry, otherwise they themselves will receive the same harm that they bring to people.

When there are no good doctors, you have to rely on stones. Or maybe they will help. In any case, man and stone are part of nature. If you hope for the help of opal, then it has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, improves the condition of all internal organs, cleanses the circulatory system, has the ability to regenerate cells, and relieves depression. Old recipes tell about opal healing of eye diseases.




Opal has a low hardness, but it is impossible to ignore the beauty of the color effect. For jewelry, the factor by which a stone is judged is the level of opalescence. Noble opals are used in jewelry. The stone is not cut, since the opalescence cannot be enhanced by cutting, therefore it is processed in the form of a cabochon.

Transparent fire opals are cut with emerald cut, in the form of a rectangle, oval or trapezoid. Inserts for rings, pendants, pendants, earrings, bracelets are made of noble opal. Opal jewelery prices are varied and range from hundreds to several thousand US dollars.



The darker the stone, the more expensive, multi-colored opals are highly valued. In the latter case, the price depends on how many colors are contained in the stone, their saturation and brightness. The play of color is one of the main advantages of the stone. How to evaluate the effect of iridescence or opalescence? If the color overflow in normal light is clearly visible from a distance of 60 - 90 cm, then the opal is of the highest quality.

What matters is the beauty of the pattern in the stone, the size of the stone, weight, and the quality of processing. Since opals are quite fragile and have low hardness, they are quickly damaged. Jewelers make frames that protect the stone from damage. The frames are made in gold or silver. For additional protection, the stones are impregnated with colorless artificial resin.

How to clean an opal stone

The mineral is quite capricious. If there is a possibility of contact with any chemicals - acids or cleaning agents, jewelry with opals must be removed. These stones do not like cosmetics either. Opal items can be washed in soapy water at room temperature, then left to lie for several hours wrapped in a damp cloth. Then you can dry it naturally.

Opal always contains water. Without water, the stone ages and cracks, that is, it can collapse. Therefore, opals love to be worn. Thus, the stone takes water from the air that surrounds you. From time to time, jewelry with stones must be immersed in water. You can store jewelry in a container with some water to prevent drying out.