COLORS
Opal shows a flashing display of different colors on a white, black, or gray background. Fire opals are usually orangy red.
OPAL
Opal flashes colors as you turn the stone or move around it. This phenomenon is called play-of-color. An opal might show a single color, two or three colors, or all the colors of the rainbow! The best play-of-color is the brightest; if it also has all the rainbow colors, then it is very rare and valuable. Opals are known by their background colors and are called black, white, gray, or fire opals.
HISTORY
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DISCOVERY
The famous Roman scholar Pliny described opal colors as deep and rich as the colors used by painters.
LORE
Nessie is a two-meter (6.6-foot) pre-historic reptile called a pliosaur. Nessie’s bones turned into opal over millions of years.
Cody Opal, courtesy of The National Opal Collection
what's in a name?
OPAL
[oh-puhl]
(noun) The Romans gave opal its name – opalus, meaning “precious stone.”
