Opals – Beautiful Gemstones From Australia

The opal is a thing of pure beauty. A gemstone so beautiful and mystical, it has been sought after by Kings and Queens for centuries. Its mystical qualities matches its origin deep in the Dreamtime of the Australian continent. It is known for its display of color – showing nature’s entire splendor in one stone. The fire within and its sparkles and flashes sometimes makes it even more valuable than a diamond.

It never gets tiring to look at an opal, its flashes of colors changing as you change the angle from which you look at it. These flashes of colors from all over the rainbow is known as opalescence. These flashes may vary considerably in size and texture.The variety, distribution and size of these colorful flashes are what determine the value of the gemstone.

No gem is as colorful and mysterious as the Australian opal. With its intense flames, play of color and sparkle, it is a gemstone that has been sought after for hundreds of years. It’s simply unsurpassed in raw beauty. For these reasons, a particularly beautiful opal may in some cases be even more valuable than a diamond!

The opal was originally discovered in Australia and that is also where it’s mined today. Almost all, 95 percent or more, originate from there, so it’s not a stretch to say that is an Australian gemstone. There are other sources of mining, such as Mexico, Brazil and some states in the US, but they make little of the total supply.

There are two different classifications of opals: precious opals and common opals. The precious opal is the most valuable and is characterized by ‘flames’ and displaying flashes of colors. The precious opal comes in different background colors, but it is the distribution of different colors within that makes it a precious opal. The highest valued precious opal is the black opal, with a background color of deep black, deep blue or deep green and exhibiting opalescence in different colors. The second most valued precious opal is the white opal; white, yellow or creamy in background color with opalescence. If an opal is only in color and translucent or transparent, then its known as a common opal. The highest prized type of common opal is the Mexican Fire Opal which is a transparent orange red opal.

Opals are used in jewelry and may be cut in thin slices that are put on a matrix material. Gems made this way are much cheaper than a solid precious opal and is a way to achieve the same display of color as a solid precious opal. The opal is a relatively soft stone, so a coating made of quartz is sometimes used in jewelry, to avoid scratches.

The stone in many different types of jewelry from necklaces, to pendants and earrings. There are stones and jewelry for all budgets.

Get your fine opal jewelry at http://www.jewelrymall.com