Compared to common opals which are truly amorphous, precious opals contain structural elements. From the Sanskrit word “up álá” that means stone, Greek word “òpalliòs,” and the Latin word “opalus” comes the word opal. In South Australia the official gemstone is opal. The womens national basketball team as well as the Commonwealth of Australia is nicknamed as The Opals. While in the state of Nevada, the official state gemstone is the precious black Fire Opal. It was to give recognition to the black opal that was found in Humboldt County of Virgin Valley in Nevada. For the month of October, the gemstone opal was made to be its traditional birthstone.

Mineraloid gels of opals are usually deposited at temperatures which are relatively low. These gems commonly occur in rocks such as limonite, rhyolite, basalt and sandstone. The term opalescence is the common description of the beautiful and unique process of opal solidification. There are also common opals in the market such as milk opal, wood opal, resin opal, hyalite, geyserite, menilite, and diatomite. Peruvian opal or the blue opal and Fire opal or Girasol is also other varieties of the gemstone. One of the most famous opals is the “Andamooka Opal that was presented to the queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II and was called the “Queens Opal”.

In the nineteenth century, Cervenica in Slovakia is the only mining district for the Europeans known for its precious opals. Ninety-seven percent of opal all over the world is produced by Australia. Its major source comes from a town found in South Australia called the Coober Pedy. Black opals with predominantly black background are found in another town of the same place in New South Wales called the Lightning Ridge. Sporadically, boulder opals are found in western Queensland. While fire opals are mostly found in Mexico and Mesoamerica and white base opal comes from Spencer Idaho. Other places around the world where there are significant deposits of these precious gems are Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Honduras, Brazil, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Guatemala.

If you wish to possesses a gem as enchanting as an opal, be reminded that this precious gem was regarded to be a provider of good luck during the Middle Ages; however, according to our modern superstition, the stone is tainted with bad luck but the bad luck is believed to be avoidable once the stone is offered as a gift and its the persons birthstone. Nevertheless, opal with its bewitching characteristics is one valuable gemstone one would be glad to possess.