Opal and Opal Jewelry

The name opal comes from the Latin word opalus and means "precious stone". In Sanskrit, the term upala means "noble stone". Even in ancient times, the opal was a particularly valuable gemstone, perhaps even more sought after than a diamond .
The opal group consists of a large number of varieties. There is the precious opal, which has a very special "opalescence". Depending on the viewing angle, the colored shimmer of an opalescent gemstone changes. A precious opal can combine all the colors of the rainbow.
Opalization is caused by tiny spheres consisting of the mineral cristobalite, which is embedded in a silica gel mass in the opal and causes the rainbow-like reflections.

The precious opal is divided into different groups depending on its color; the most well-known of these are white or light opal and black opal.
In addition to the opalescent precious opals, there is the yellow-red fire opal and the common opal. As the name suggests, the fire opal is usually a strong red or orange. As a rule, the fire opal does not show any opalescence, but is rather milky and cloudy and only rarely transparent.
The common opal is also usually cloudy and does not show any play of colors. It is also called a semi-opal. Common opals exist in different colors from whitish to yellow and green to brown.