DISCOVER LIFE'S PRECIOUS GEMS!

The arrival of October has me asking “Where did this year go?  Wasn’t it just June?

Happy Birthday to all the gentle, gracious and agreeable Libras.  I promise not to ask you which restaurant to go to tonight.  I like to have dinner before 2 AM.  ; > )

To me, October represents the beginning of Autumn, cooler weather, Halloween, Thanksgiving around the corner, followed by the Holidays and a New Year before we know it.

Like its predecessor month, October’s birthstone starts with the same first letter as its name.  “O” for Opal.  In 1912, opals were made the official birthstone of October by the American National Association of Jewelers.

Opals are a favorite among many collectors despite the fact that they are brittle, not terribly heat resistant and scratch easily.

Where the name “opal” came from….

There are several origins on the name “opal.” Pliny the Elder, a Roman author, philosopher and commander in the Roman Empire named the stone after Saturn’s wife “Ops,” the goddess of fertility. The Roman word “opalus” means “to see a change in color.”  The Greek word “opillos” has two meanings “seeing” and “other” as in “alias.” The Sanskrit word “upala” means “valuable stone.”  Take your pick.

What are opals?

Opals are hydrated silica which is a composition of silica and water. The water content of most opals is between 6% – 10%.

Opals are an amorphous (not having a distinct shape) mineraloid, which means that unlike minerals, they do not have a true crystalline structure. However, some opals do have crystalline formations that started to form. These opals are known as cryptocrystalline or microcrystalline opals.

Even though opals aren’t truly crystalline, they do have an internal structure.  They have many VERY tiny stacked silica spheres that can be seen with a microscope. Millions of these amorphous silica spheres are closely bonded together and are stacked in a 3 dimensional formation. The miniscule silica spheres and the voids that form between them create a grating. This grating is what causes the diffraction of white light or sunlight. Diffraction is the process of light waves being divided when they pass through something solid. It is this process that creates the beautiful display of rainbow colors. The size of the voids between the tiny spheres plays a big part in how the light is split and the colors it produces. (Sorry that this is so technical!)

This is a big difference between opals and other gemstones, which get their colors primarily from impurities.

An interesting note…

The term “opalescence” is often used to describe the opal’s phenomenal display of colors, however the correct term for that is “play of color.”

The correct application of the word “opalescence” is the reference to the milky, cloudy and opaqueness of “common” opal, aka “potch”.  There is no display of color in potch opal.  More on that in a moment…

Where most opals are found…..

Over 90% of the worlds opals are found in Australia and not surprisingly opals are the national gemstone of that great country.

The town of Coober Pedy in South Australia is a major producer of opals. If you want to read about a most fascinating town, where there are underground homes and businesses. You may want to Google “Coober Pedy.”

The largest and most valued gem opal was discovered in August 1956 at the “Eight Mile” opal field in Coober Pedy. Its name is “Olympic Australis”and it is 17,000 carats, 11 inches long, 4 ¾” tall and 4 ½” wide. It is quite valuable.

How opals grow ….

Opals are usually found in the cracks and crevices of many kinds of rock including sandstone, claystone (AKA bulldog shale) basalt, limonite, marl and rhyolite. Opal deposits are usually spread over a large area and finding them can be difficult.

One reason opals can be expensive…

Mining for opals is usually done by individuals who work with hand operated machinery, small instruments and explosives as opposed to large mining companies.

Coloring of opals….

Opals can be translucent, opaque or a host of colors: white, clear, yellow, gray, green, olive, blue, magenta, pink, rose, orange, red, slate, brown and black. White opals are the most common (60%) with black opals comprising 8% of the market.

Properties of opals…..

The many types of opals have their own properties, however there are inherent properties that ALL opals share. One is their ability to magnify our good and not so good traits and attributes.  This can be a good thing because it encourages us to change our undesirable characteristics.  Opals put us in touch with our own creativity by providing us inspiration and imagination. Opals help release our inhibitions to follow through on clean, true and spontaneous action.  All opals purify our blood and kidneys, regulate insulation production, ease our fears, help with vision dis-orders and stimulate our circulation.

Many varieties of opals…..

There are many kinds of opals, however only the following will be mentioned in this blog: Common Opals (which include Fire Opals), Precious Opals, Peruvian Blue Opals, Boulder Opals (which includes Matrix Opals) and Synthetic Opals.

** COMMON OPAL (POTCH) Has no display of “fire” because their internal make-up is not stacked or consistent in size.  Clarity varies

Coloring: usually opaque, can be clear, white, pink, blue, brown, black, yellow, orange and red.  The yellow, orange and red colors are considered Fire Opals.

Less valuable than precious opal

Lower vibration frequency than other opals

Gentle energies, extremely calming, soothing and relaxing

Benefits those who are overwhelmed by stress or who use stones that are too powerful for them

Clear common opals can be faceted

Various properties of the common opals:

White: purifies our energy field, cleans, rebalances and supports our chakras, attracts angels

Pink: emotional healing, especially subconscious pain, resolves painful wounds and remembrances from past lives or dreams, gentleness and compassion for ourselves

Blue: counteracts restless thoughts, place under the pillow to quiet an active mind, remembering our dreams, encourages expression of our feelings

Brown and Black: helps physical healing, supports our emotions, eases isolation, lifts depression, stimulates 1^st and 2^nd chakras increases our life force

** FIRE OPAL (AKA MEXICAN FIRE OPAL), a form of COMMON OPAL.

Coloring:  vivid and intense orange, yellow, orange-yellow or orange-red transparent or translucent, can have bright green flashes, although don’t usually have a display of color.

Originally found in Mexico and now mined in other countries

Properties:  mystery, variety, progress and change, reflection upon life, benefits eyesight, emphysema and central nervous system

**PERUVIAN BLUE OPALS (aka blue opal)

Coloring: greenish blue opaque or translucent.  No display of colors

Properties: aids sleep, calms the mind.

The blue opal is found in the area of the Andes Mountains.

The blue opal is the gemstone of Peru.

** PRECIOUS OPAL (AKA Noble Opal)  Contains “fire”

Coloring:  white (milky colored) or black

White Precious Opal: (aka “crystal” opal) most well known

Properties: intense spiritual energy, release of our unhealthy energies, intensifies our positive and negative emotions, brings to our conscious whatever needs clearing

Black Precious Opal: similar to white, however its dark background (black, dark gray or dark blue) really shows off the iridescent “fire.”

Properties: magic and mystery. Links our root chakra to crown chakra, thus connecting our spiritual to our physical, very powerful manifestation stone, magnifies the intensity and effect of our emotions and intentions, releases karmic patterns from previous lifetimes, represents death and rebirth

Interesting Fact:  cannot be faceted

The Virgin Valley Black fire Opal is the state gemstone of Nevada

**  BOULDER OPALS

Opal that forms on ironstone boulders …the ironstone backing makes it very durable

MATRIX OPAL is boulder opal that is mixed throughout the ironstone

Properties:  connection to the stars, brings about communication between the Earth and the star children, clears our aura, brings about all aspects of healing, removes cobwebs from our mind

The water content is very low, so it seldom cracks as it ages.

**  SYNTHETIC OPALS

All types of opals have been lab created since 1974. These synthetic gems are made from exactly the same material as “natural” gems with almost the same exact structure. Only with a magnifier can an expert distinguish a synthetic opal from a natural opal.  The pattern of the synthetics has more regularity and the arrangement resemble the skin of a lizard. Synthetics are usually not as dense and are often more porous than natural opals.

Since opals are popular in jewelry, they are often enhanced to be gem quality.  One way of enhancing their colors is by attaching the thin outer layer of the opal to a dark mineral, sometimes one that it grows with. The dark mineral “backing” makes the display of colors even more spectacular. A thin domed outer layer of quartz or plastic can both protect the opal and magnify the display of colors.

Beliefs about opals……

Throughout the years and depending on the civilizations, opals were considered to bring hope, evil, good luck and bad luck.

During the Middle Ages, opal was considered a stone of good luck. With their wide spectrum of colors, opals were believed to possess all the benefits of every gemstone.

In the 1800s, some superstitious folks believed that only those who had birthdays in October should wear opals. They thought that others who wore them would have bad luck or a horrible fate.

As recently as 100 years ago, many Russians believed that the opal represented the evil eye.

Other places where opals are found…….

Significant deposits of precious opal have also been found in Brazil, the Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Nicaragua,Slovakia, Turkey and the U.S.

In late 2008, NASA announced that opal deposits were discovered on Mars.