Juliebureau Natural Healing Remedies

Quartz Sphere Crystal

27 Jul 2010

27 Jul, 2010 Natural Healing Remedies

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Carnelian Band Ring Natural Gemstone New Size 65 Gem Stone
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DOWSING RODS GHOST HUNTING SPIRIT GLOW N DARK COPPER
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Quartz Sphere Crystal

Opal is the most colorful of all gems. It is frequently referred to as the "Queen of Gems". More than any other gem, each gem is distinctly an individual. It is an extremely rare gemstone and for this reason is precious. Precious opal, as compared to common opal, offers the rainbow iridescence that has been so highly prized since Roman times.

It is a fascinating gemstone with an ancient history. The name is believed to have been derived from the Sanskrit name "upala", precious stone. During the Medieval period, a change in color intensity of this gem was believed to indicate ill or good health. In India, this gem is regarded as a lucky gemstone for those in business. It is said to help its wearer find true love. Did you know that opal is the birthstone for October? It is a common fallacy that wearing this gem, if it is not your gemstone, will bring bad luck to the wearer. Perhaps one of the most common myths about this stone is that it must soaked in water or it loses its luster.

Opal is considered a mineraloid because this structure is not truly crystalline. It is one of the few gemstones that are sedimentary in origin. White opal is an opaque stone in which the colors appear as flashes or speckles. In startling contrast to white is the black variety of Australia and Nevada. This stone is most often found in cracks, cavities, and in veins within rock. It is neither very hard (5 1/2 to 6 1/2 on a scale of 10) nor very tough. This stone is a delicate mineral, hydrated silica or amorphous quartz. Actually because it is a gel, it is, strictly speaking, not a form of quartz. Precious opal is composed of small spheres of amorphous silica packed in a regular array. This gem is formed by silica when it is liquefied and then hardened. The gemstone is composed of particles closely packed in spherical arrangements. It is a formation of non-crystalline silica gel. Therefore, in the strictest sense, this gem is a mineral until discredited. It is brittle, heat sensitive, and breaks and scratches easily.

Opal is the only gemstone that holds all colors of the spectrum.. The phenomenon displayed by opal is called play of color. Fire Opal is Opal with a red to orange color, and even yellow. Harlequin opal is one of the rarest. Black opal is generally more sought after and more valuable than light opal. Black crystal opal is a very clear opal, with many different colors flashing through it. Like the popular black opal stone, the boulder opal is dark in tone. Precious opal usually only refers to solid opals, but Queensland boulder opal is often thick enough and of high enough quality to qualify. Not all opal is so precious however. Common opal is mostly opaque and shows no play of colors. Common opal is rarely transparent, but may be colored or contain inclusions.

Opal is one of the few minerals, which can be extracted economically by a miner working alone. Australia supplies over 98% of the world's opal and the most valuable, the black variety, is mined at Lightning Ridge. The first mining claim was pegged on 9th February 1915 and in 1956 the largest precious opal gem in the world named "Olympic Australis" was found.

Nevada is known for precious opal from Virgin Valley. This variety was first discovered in Virgin Valley, Nevada in 1905. Two commercial mining operations in Arizona produce the blue variety. There are two geological occurrences of this gemstone in Australia. The greater part of the world's supply of this gem comes from the Coober Pedy and Andamooka fields in South Australia. There are three types of this gemstone found in Australia: - the Boulder, the Light (or white) and the Black. All precious opal in South Australia occurs in rocks affected by weathering during the Tertiary Period, some 15 to 30 million years ago.

The doublet is a slice of precious opal glued onto a backing of non-precious opal called "potch". We call it potch and it is what is termed common opal. Common opal, is amorphous and rather opaque, and some of its varieties are named honey opal, milk opal, and moss opal.

Now that you know about Opal, find out more about emerald rings and heart shaped emerald rings.