Opal Lexicon

What Is an Opal? The Gemstone That Is Not a Crystal

Diamond, ruby and sapphire are crystals. The opal has no lattice, contains water and creates its colors from light. What that means in practice.

Opal Sources: Where the Finest Opals Come From

The source determines body tone, play of color and price. Which regions count and how to spot the origin on the stone.

How Are Opals Formed?

How opals form is above all a story of patience: what you hold as a finished stone in your hand formed over spans of time that our...

Opal Play of Color: The Physics of the Glow

An opal’s properties begin with a contradiction: the stone contains not a single pigment and still glows in every color.