| Few gemstones evoke the excitement of a precious fire opal. The flashy show of this gem makes each specimen unique, a fountain of mystery, enchantment and legend. Some say that opals convey foresight and good health and it is the .
Fire Opal are something unique in the splendid world of Opals. Even in ancient times, in India and the Persian empire, in the empires of Central America and in Native American tribes they were cherished as symbols of deepest love. Such gemstones sparkling with utmost vividness like Fire Opals were believed to have originated in the waters of paradise. Mayas and Aztecs loved it for jewelry and used it also for mosaics and religious cults. It was named “Quetzalitzlipyollitli“, which means“ Stone of the Bird of Paradise“. But there came a time when the gemstone knowledge handed down from generation to generation in Mexico was almost completely forgotten until sometime in the year 1835 when the fiery treasures hidden in the Mexican highlands were remembered, and a systematic mining was slowly beginning. Today Mexican Fire Opal is considered as the National Stone of the central American state.
Mexico has the most important locations of Fire Opal in the world. The Mexican plateau with its many extinct volcanoes is threaded and veined with opaline rock. With only few exceptions the gemstone is hidden in niches and caves and is mined above the surface, so that in the areas of occurrence you will come across canyons with walls rising up to heights of up to 60 meters, and labyrinthine routes carved into the mountains.
The ancient Aztecs are said to have decorated their most prized artworks and figurines with inlaid fire opal. Today precious opals produced from Mexican mines are sought after in the U.S.A., Canada, Europe and the Orient. When these radiant stones are enhanced by a gold mounting, the results are spectacular. Working with native material, Mexican jewelers create beautiful treasures of opal jewelry. Indeed, the value of jewelry exported from Mexico in the first half of 1999 was estimated at just over 100 million dollars, with some opals valued more than diamonds. Opal is the most colorful of all gems. Its splendid play of color is unsurpassed, and fine examples can be more valuable than diamond. The play of color consists of iridescent color flashes that change with the angle at which the stone is viewed. This phenomenon is often called opalescence. The play of color may consist of large, individual flashes of color (known as schillers), or may be of tiny, dense flashes. The intensity and distribution of the color flashes is a determining factor in the value of an opal. The play of color exhibited in opal is distinctive, and no gemstones (aside from some synthetic materials which somewhat emulate opal) can duplicate this gemstone. Mexican fire opal may appear similar to topaz, citrine, chrysoberyl, and carnelian. Certain opals display different colors when viewed from different directions, or when the stone is turned, or when the light source is moved. This phenomenon, called play of color, gives a stone color flashes, or schillers of different colors which vary from stone to stone. The play of color in many Opals is truly exceptional and unsurpassed.
Mineral information: Opal
- Chemical composition: SiO2 · nH2O
- Hardness: 5.5 to 6.5 mhos
- Luster: vitreous, pearly, waxy, resinous
- Colors: Colorless, white, yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green, gray, brown, and black. These are some of the base colors of Opal.
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