The Opal
By Rhea Raghaven
A precious gemstone Opal has formed over millions of years from the hardening of silica gel. Today they form a family of some of the most calming and beautiful gems that thousands desire. As light falls on this little gem the white light diffracts breaking into a color spectrum that puts forth a spectacular yet subtle array of colors. The pride of Australia, almost 95% of the world’s supply of this mesmerizing gem comes from the deserts of Australia.
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With their continually shining and ever sparkling appearance opals tickle every woman’s fantasy with its colorful play of appeasing colors. This phenomenon has been tagged opalising by experts who study it. From dark and black opal to white and light opal, the gem projects and imbibes a variety of forms based on its structure, patterns and form. Except for fire opal that is transparent all other forms of this gem seem like you own a special part of the rainbow in your palm. The name of the gem comes from the Sanskrit word ‘upala’ meaning valuable, a testimony to the popularity it enjoyed amongst royalty across the world. The name also finds its roots in the Greek word ‘opallios’ which means ‘color change’ and is probably more akin to the sentiment it gave vent to amongst the wearers and finders of this gem who were taken aback by this mystical quality.
It is often said that the opal combines the best properties of all the gems. From the blue of sapphire to the majestic purple of the amethyst and the royal yellow of topaz the opal in essence embodies all the colors of beauty.
A symbol of good fortune and luck, opal has been regarded very highly since the ancient times and was amongst the choicest of the royal gems due to its magical powers. It displayed a plethora of qualities by merit of the spectrum of colors one could faintly see in the stone. Just like the seven colors of the rainbow are considered luck so was the opal and its spectrum of color.
Even Shakespeare refers to the magical powers of this fantastic gem by referring to it as a “miracle” and even affording it the honor of the “queen of gems”. With a large amount of belief in the stone’s power to reverse fortunes and enhance psychic powers, opal surely can be classified amongst the treasures of ancient royalty.
 As its contemporaries the opal gemstone also has various colors and variations within its family. The most reliable hints in assessing the quality of the opal are in the clarity of its color. In order of color, red is considered to be the rarest and is closely followed by greenish orange, greenish blue and blue. The brilliance of the colors, clarity and patterns in the stone are the markers of quality in amongst jewelers and collectors. While the black opal displays the most fascinating play of colors, the crystal opal is slightly more transparent and the white opals which are the least expensive of the set show a more set diffusion of colors.
Just like human sentiments and feelings vary is spectrum and nature, the opal too reflects the moods and essence of human emotion in its body. Its positive characteristics are a main attraction amongst its admirers and are considered especially lucky for the cancer zodiac sign. With its effervescent colors the gem reflects the moods and countless emotions of men and women and is perhaps the most apt to gift someone in acceptance of all their nuances.
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