The Opal: Characteristics of the opal:

Characteristics of the opal:

For centuries the waters have drained to the silica into opal found in small amounts, often embedded in the rocks and shells. This shows how the operation of the opal is delicate.

Opal has a hardness of about 5.5 to 6.5 out of 10.

It can contain up to 30% water. This explains why we should not store in a dry place at risk it becomes dehydrated and splits.

The opal, transparent to translucent consists of a stack of silica beads. The crystals are formed in pseudo morphs, the most common being those of wood, shells and bones.

The pure mineral is transparent or milky.

The opalescence of opal is an optical phenomenon observed on the background transparent or translucent. This gives an opal or a milky appearance, with iridescent reflections.

The color of the opal is mostly lighting effects resulting from its stratification that causes interference and gives it its pearly luster.

Opal also inherits a color based on pigments it contains.

Traces of iron oxides, for example, give it a color which range from yellow to brown or even orange.

The fires, that is to say, the iridescence, are the guarantee of quality opals. They are due to the diffraction of light by layers of silica beads perfectly spaced. This diffraction is not in the common opal called "potch" in which the balls are randomly arranged. The reflections of the most common are white, blue and gray, blacks are rarer. The red glare, due to larger spheres, is the rarest.

The opal has different varieties which are distinguished by their origin, background color or nature.

Without color schemes, with only a milky white with shades of gray, it is considered "common". With color schemes, it is classified "precious." The "harlequin design" means a distribution extremely rare color of an opal that of the tile to dress well defined. An opal "Harlequin" may be black, white, boulder...

Opals include the following:

• The opal white or opal noble: it has burners of bright colors on a white translucent to milky
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• The Black Opal: It has multicolored lights bright on a dark gray to black.
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• The fire opal: It is transparent, yellow-orange to orange fluorescent red, with or without color schemes.
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• Opal "crystal" is transparent, with or without color schemes.
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• Opal vitrifies, vitreous, colorless and without lights.
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• The opal "boulder", rich in iron, cracks formed in a host rock.

Opal is an opal hydrophane opaque white, rarely tinted, including transparency and lights only appear when wet or immersed in water.

Producing countries Opals

Australia produces most and the most beautiful opals in the world. Followed in the disorder Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, the United States, Ethiopia, Honduras, Japan, Peru, Indonesia and Slovakia.

In the United States, San Francisco, we produced synthetic opal beauty.

The wedding of opal

Celebrating the wedding of opal on the occasion of 21 years of marriage.

On the astrological point of view, the black opal, white areas are more specifically attuned to the signs of Pisces, Aquarius, Cancer, Gemini, Virgo and Capricorn.

The fire opal is ideal for signs of Aries and Scorpio