Types of Opal With Photos
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Types of Opal With Photos |
What is opal?
Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica SiO₂·nH₂O; its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Due to its amorphous property, it is classified as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are considered minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt.
The variety of natural opal is determined by the two characteristics of body tone and transparency.✧ Body Tone - The base tones of light, dark and black opal range from colourless, white, through the various shades of grey, to black.
✧ Transparency - Opal of any body colour will be opaque, translucent or transparent. When it is transparent or very translucent, and the colour clarity is sharp, it is often referred to as crystal opal.
Opal is the national gemstone of Australia.
Types and varieties of Natural Opal
There are two main types of opal: precious opal and common opal.➤ Precious opal is the most valuable type of opal. It has a high concentration of silica spheres, which gives it a brilliant play of color. Precious opals are typically found in black or dark-colored matrix, which helps to enhance their color.
➤ Common opal does not have a high concentration of silica spheres, so it does not have a play of color. Common opals are typically found in light-colored matrix, and they are often used in jewelry and other decorative items.Within the two main types of opal, there are many different varieties. Some of the most popular varieties of opal include:
There are black opal, white opal, crystal opal, jelly opal, fire opal, hyalite, water opal, hydrophane and honey opal.Black Opal
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Natural Black Opal (OPAQUE) Indonesia. Credit : Nur Rachman Effendi |
Black Opal is the most valued of Opals and comes mainly from Lightning Ridge. High quality stones are very rare. The term 'black opal' does not mean that the stone is completely black (a common mistake), it simply means the stone has a dark body tone in comparison to a white opal. Easily distinguished by the blackness of the background "body tone" or body colour.
White opals
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White opal |
White opals with a base tone ranging from colourless to medium grey are called light opal. Some people refer to these as "white" although this expression should only be used where the body colour is very milky. White opal is more common and because of its body tone, generally does not show the colour as well as black opal. Nevertheless, white opals can still be absolutely magnificent in colour if a good quality stone is found.
Boulder opal
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Boulder Opal Specimen Photo by Dieter Rosenkranz Australia |
Fire opal
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Incredible Fire Opal From Mexico. Credit: Opalinda.com |
Fire opal is a transparent to translucent opal, with warm body colors of yellow to orange to red. Although it does not usually show any play of color, occasionally a stone will exhibit bright green flashes. The Fire opal is a term not commonly used within Australia but most famous source of fire opals is the state of Querétaro in Mexico; these opals are commonly called Mexican fire opals. Fire opals that do not show play of color are sometimes referred to as jelly opals. Mexican opals are sometimes cut in their ryholitic host material if it is hard enough to allow cutting and polishing. This type of Mexican opal is referred to as a Cantera opal. Also, a type of opal from Mexico, referred to as Mexican water opal, is a colorless opal which exhibits either a bluish or golden internal sheen.
Matrix opal
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Matrix opal , From Queensland Australia |
The term matrix opal is commonly used where the opal is intimately diffused as infillings of pores or holes between grains of the host rock in which it was formed. Boulder matrix opal is found in Queensland and can be distinguished by the ironstone host rock. Andamooka matrix opal is a porous material from Andamooka,South Australia, Which may be enhanced by soaking the specimen in a sugar solution and then boiling in acid to deposit carbon in the available pore spaces, resulting in a dark background.
Hyalite
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Hyalite, from Megyaszó (Hungary). Copyright: Stone Ásványfotós |
Hyalite or Mullers Glass, is a colourless opal which gives the appearance of glass. Rarely, it does display a faint tint of colour (blue, green or yellow). It is also sometimes referred to as water opal, too, when it is from Mexico. The two most notable locations of this type of opal are Oregon and Mexico.
➽ Girasol opal is a type of hyalite opal that exhibits a bluish glow or sheen that follows the light source around.
Hydrophane opal
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Hydrophane opal. Photo: James St. John |
Hydrophane opals are opals that have a higher porosity and will absorb water, when in contact. You can easily spot a hydrophane opal because when placed in water, they will become transparent and their colors subdued. It is often used in jewelry and other decorative items.
Peruvian opal
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⚒ Stunning Blue Green Peruvian Opal Photo : © Trudi Unsworth |
Peruvian opal (also called blue opal) is a semiopaque to opaque blue-green stone found in Peru, which is often cut to include the matrix in the more opaque stones. It does not display pleochroism. Blue opal also comes from Oregon in the Owyhee region, as well as from Nevada around Virgin Valley.
Honey Opal
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Bright honey opal from hungary |
Honey-yellow, translucent to clear and resinous to glassy in appearance. It may or may not have play-of-colour.
Jelly opal - Water opal
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Photo: Opal Trove |
The jelly opal, also known as the water opal, is a unique opal variety that has a gelatinous appearance. The jelly movement across the jelly opal gemstone body resembles the flow of water, which is likely behind the stone’s alternate name, “water opal.” Jelly opals get their gelatinous appearance from a couple of features: thickness and transparency. It is found in Mexico and Ethiopia.
Synthetic opal
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White Gilson Snythetic Opals
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Opals of all varieties have been synthesized experimentally and commercially. The discovery of the ordered sphere structure of precious opal led to its synthesis by Pierre Gilson in 1974. The resulting material is distinguishable from natural opal by its regularity; under magnification, the patches of color are seen to be arranged in a "lizard skin" or "chicken wire" pattern. Furthermore, synthetic opals do not fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Synthetics are also generally lower in density and are often highly porous.
Natural opal photos
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Stunning Mexican Fire Opal looks like a beautiful sunset in the clouds or a fiery explosion with billowing smoke. Photo: Jeff Schultz |
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The Eagle Opal - 50 carat contra luz precious opal from Oregon, USA |
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Outstanding Rough Opal From Oregon, United States. |
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The Oregon Opal with the Ocean inside Credit: Mckenna Praetorius |
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Oregon Contra Luz Opal with botryoidal Jasper inclusions, from Oregon |
See also:
10 Spectacular Minerals You Won't Believe are Found on Earth
Benitoite: The Rarest Gemstone Found Only in California