ABOUT OPALS
Background of Opal
With the Opal, Mother Earth
presents a gemstone whose fascinating, radiant colour display gives us the
impression of flickering sparkles of a fossilized rainbow.
In the Orient, opal has always been seen as an "Anchor of Hope",
whose wearer would be in God's hands and would never have to fear any illness.
The history of the name OPAL points to India with the old Sanskrit word "Upala",
meaning "precious stone".
According to the Hindu myth, the Eternal One TRIMURTI (the triad of the three
gods Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) transformed a beautiful maiden, adored by the
three gods, into a foggy phantom because of her extreme jealousy. But to recognize
her again, Brahma gave her his heavenly blue, Vishnu gave her the brilliancy
and golden colour of the sun and Shiva, the flickering red of the fire. Now
easily recognized, the Eternal One transformed her again, this time into an
opal.
The ancient Romans also adored the opal; they named it "opalus",
before the days of Christ. They also used it as a universal cure against eye
diseases, as the so-called eye-stone ("optahlmos"). Marc Antony
wanted to show his love for and impress Cleopatra with an opal ring, but its
owner, the Roman senator Nonius, preferred to rush into exile instead of handing
over his beloved opal, about the size of a hazelnut.
According to Plinius, opal is a cup of unification, from which the carbuncle
(garnet) drank its smoldering glow, the amethyst its saturating purple, the
emerald the oceans green, the topaz its golden yellow and the sapphire the
blue of the deep sea.
For Shakespeare, opal was "The Queen Of Gems".
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The myth of
'bad luck' opals:
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| The treasure chambers of the European monarchies contain uncountable and unbelievably beautiful pieces of opal jewelry. With the discovery of the Australian opal fields and its production of unexpected high quantities of precious opal, the myth was born that the wearer of an opal would bear the curse of bad luck. The main reason for this myth was, according to some sources, that is was now possible for middleclass people to own one of these highly-desired gems, previously only available to the aristocracy. So why not try to scare "them" away to keep the privilege of owning this Queen of Gems in the hand of some chosen ones? Thank goodness intelligence remained victorious, so that today everyone who wants to, can own and enjoy an opal. |
Today opals are not just appreciated as gemstones but also as investments. Reputable firms, like members of the Australian Opal and Gem Industry Association, guarantee you a fair and unparalleled good trading practice through their Code of Practice. We too are a registered member of the AOGIA since July 1995.
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So what
is an Opal?
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Opal is a form of
silica, chemically similar to quartz, but containing water in its mineral
structure. Precious opal generally contains 6 - 10% of water and consists
of small silica spheres arranged in a regular pattern. The diameter
and spacing of the spheres controls the colour range of an opal.
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Opal in Australia
Australian opal occurs in rocks affected by weathering
during the tertiary period (1.8 - 70 million years ago). Opal has a long history
and opal artifacts, several thousand years old, have been discovered in a
cave in East Africa. Opals do not need mathematically exact calculations to
show the whole spectrum of the rainbow; it reveals its beauty immediately
on the opal field as soon as it is chipped.
The first discovery of common opal in Australia was made by the German geologist
Johannes Menge, near Angaston (SA) in 1849. Production of precious opal began
at White Cliffs (NSW in 1890, and in Lightning Ridge (NSW) in 1905. Opal was
discovered at Coober Pedy (SA) in 1915 and at Andamooka (SA) in 1930. Boulder-opal
was first discovered in Western Queensland at Listowel Downs, south of Blackall,
in 1869.
Now approximately 95% of world production of precious opal comes from Australian
opal fields.
Created
by Lisa Barry ©
