About Opal
Not only is it the birth stone of all you October babies, but Opal is a hydrated silica and is classed as a mineraloid rather than a mineral due to its amorphous character.
As a result of the natural physical properties of opal, we decided to only ever use Obsidian to back or Doublet as it is also a natural occurring silica.
There are three general types of opal: Precious, common and fire. Here at Jackson Opals, we only work with precious opal. These are identified by the term "Play of Colour" - POC.
Opal may be transparent, translucent, or opaque and the background colour may be white, black, or nearly any colour of the visual spectrum. Black opal is considered to be the rarest, whereas white, grey, and green are the most common.
There are many variant of opal as list below. I have underlined which ones you’ll be able to see here at Jackson Opals.
Types of Opal (May include)
- Australian Boulder Opal (QLD)
- Black Opal
- Nobbie Opal (Lightning Ridge)
- Kernel Opal
- Solid/Seam Opal
- Opal in Rhyolite (Volcanic)
- Crystal Opal
- Surface Opal (floaters)
- Opal Replacement (Wood & Fossils)
- Common Opal
- Contra Luz
By Location:
- Andamooka Opal
- Brazil Opal
- Coober Pedy Opal
- Ethiopian Opal
- Honduras Black Opal
- Hungarian Opal
- Indonesian Opal
- Lightening Ridge Opal
- Lambina Opal (Mines Closed)
- Mexican Opal
- Mintabe
- Peruvian Opal
- White Cliffs
Varieties of Cut and Polished Opal may also include:
- Solid
- Doublet
- Triplet
- Inlay Doublet
- Mosaic
- Carved
- Faceted
- Treated (Matrix)
- Imitational
- Synthetic
