World's Most Expensive Opal Glows in the Dark
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World's Most Expensive Opal Glows in the Dark. Photo: Richard Lyons courtesy South Australian Museum |
Say hello to the 'Virgin Rainbow,' the finest opal ever unearthed
It literally glows in the dark. In fact, as it gets darker around the opal, the opal appears ever more vibrant. The stone's vivid and sparkly nature is in stark contrast to Coober Pedy, Australia where it was discovered.
The area is a hot, more-or-less desolate and barren desert laid waste by millions of years of heat, heat and more heat. The mining community was built underground and looks more like Tatooine than Earth.
Unearthed by a lone miner working an old mineshaft with an excavator in 2003, the virgin rainbow is comprised of water and silica gel which ran together millions of years ago before hardening into its present shape.
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World's Most Expensive Opal Glows in the Dark. Photo: Richard Lyons courtesy South Australian Museum |
It's valued at over $1 million and was purchased by the South Australian Museum in Adelaide which will be presenting it as part of their "Opals" exhibit to celebrate 100 years of gemstone mining in the region.