Australian Opals
"The belief is that by wearing the stone it will raise emotions, desires and lessen inhibitions and promote spontaneity"
The beliefs surrounding this prercious stone show how unique it is
An Opal is a precious stone that changes colour in the light; the fires of the reds, blues and greens have attracted people to the stone the world over.
"WOW WHAT A GEM"!
The early Romans considered the stone to be a token of hope and purity. It was said that Mark Anthony loved the opal and the early Greeks believed the stone held extraordinary powers of foresight. Others believed the stone fell from heaven because it had encapsulated flashes of lightning.
Australia is the premier opal producer of the world, we dominate opal production with more than ninety per cent of the global output. There are now mining towns and opal shops in a number of places all around Australia and they are all worth visiting.
The discovery of opals in Australia
The first discovery of opals in Australia was made near Angaston in South Australia in or around 1849, then at Opalton in Queensland in the mid 1880's and later at Lighting Ridge in New South Wales around 1905.
The history of Australia's largest and possibly best known opal area, Cooper Pedy, takes us back to the early 1900's. The story is that a young man, while gold prospecting with his father, stumbled on Surface Opals or "Nobbies" and it has grown from there". Now there are mines up 40 kilometers from the town ship.
More than half of the people live underground in homes they call dug outs. As a point of interest the ABORIGINAL name of Coober Pedy means "White man's burrow"
Opals are valued by the brilliance, brightness and sharpness of colours in the colour bar of the stone.
Photo The Opal Shed Mining Company
The common opal with no colour, or Potch, be it any number of shades from black, creamy milk white, it could have a green tinge, yellow or even blue. Potch has no real value in itself. The value of an opal comes from the effect created from the colours above it. An example the same piece of COLOURED OPAL on top of the Potch as described would look totally different.
"Buy a stone or two, one for you and one as a special gift for her; it will last forever"
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