In Mexican and some Australian stones the opals formed in cracks of pre-existing rocks, so they look like veins. In Ethiopian stones the opal forms inside a thunder egg, similar to agate (see below). Opals are known as an amorphous gem- they don’t form preset crystal shapes, but take the form of their environment. The different colors and patterns within the opal are due to trace impurities and how tightly packed the little orbs of silica are. This phenomenon is similar to seeing a rainbow or flashes of color when the sun hits a pool of water. ![]() The small orbs capture light, and the light reflects back out through the trapped water, resulting in the play of color. The silica molecules form tiny orbs with water in between them. ![]() Technically speaking, opals are hydrated silica- or a glass-like substance containing water. To this day there are those who believe that one can only wear opals if they are born in October- but we have certainly never seen any ill effects from wearing and enjoying gem opals. When opal stones were discovered in Australia they quickly became one of Queen Victoria’s favorite gems and she wore them constantly to prove to her superstitious subjects that the stones were not unlucky. It wasn’t until Anne of Geierstein, an 1830s novel by Sir Walter Scott in which the unlucky heroine is given an opal hair ornament, that opals were thought to be unlucky. ![]() For the majority of its history opals were known as good luck gems because they contained the colors and spiritual powers of all of the gems combined. In the middle ages opals found in central Europe became one of the most prized of gems. The oldest known items featuring opals were found in ancient Mayan and Middle Eastern jewelry thousands of years old. Opals have captured the fascination of gem lovers since antiquity.
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