By Ray Lundin – Gemologist
In the ancient dreamtime of the Australian aborigines, it is said in their legends that the creator came down to Earth on a rainbow to bring a message of peace to all the humans. And at that very spot where his foot touched the ground, the stones became alive and started sparkling in all the colors of the rainbow. That was the birth of opals.
The Romans called opal “cupid paederos” (child beautiful as love) and revered it as the symbol of hope and purity. The opal, Orpheus wrote, “fills the hearts of the gods with delight.” The Arabs believed opals fell from heaven in flashes of lightning and thus acquired their marvelous colors. In ancient Greece they were supposed to possess the power of giving foresight and the light of prophesy to their owners.
The name of the opal species comes from the Latin “opalus” from the Greek word “opalios,” which itself comes from the Sanskrit word “upala,” meaning “precious stone.”
In 1849 the first opals were accidentally found on an Australian cattle station. In 1890 opal prospectors started mining opal at White Cliffs. And even today the eyes of opal lovers light up when somebody mentions places like White Cliffs, Lightning Ridge, Andamooka or Coober Peddy: for these are the legendary sites of the Australian opal fields. The most famous one is Lightning Ridge, the place where mainly the coveted black opal is found.
Andamooka, where crystal opal and light opal are brought to the light of day, is the place where probably the largest opal was found, with a weight of 6,843 kilograms, the “Andamooka Desert Flame.” (Your author has mined opal in the Andamooka opal fields.)
Coober Peddy, by the way, is a word from Aborigine language meaning “white man in a hole.” This clearly describes how opal was in fact mined: Many opal prospectors made their home in deep holes or caves in the ground (carved out of white clay) to protect themselves from the burning heat of daytime. Australia is the classical opal country and today is the worldwide most important supplier of fine opals. Almost 95 percent of all opals come from Australian mines. The remaining 5 percent are mined in Mexico and Brazil; also, in the U.S., opal is mined in Idaho and Nevada.
Mexican Fire Opals
Mexican Fire Opal
Fire opals are transparent or translucent opals with warm body colors yellow, orange, orange-yellow or red. The most famous source of fire opals is in Queretaro, Mexico. It was believed that a gem that bubbled over with color and beauty to such an extent as the fire opal could only have been created in the waters of paradise. The Mayas and Aztecs loved this gemstone and liked to use it in mosaics and for ritualistic purposes. They called it quetzalitzlipyollitli, the “stone of the bird of paradise.” The fire opal is now known as the national gemstone of that country. Sometimes, these orange-red gemstones are also found in other countries, such as Honduras or Guatemala, in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Ethiopia and Turkey, but these are mostly sites of little or no economic significance.
Following the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s Anne of Geierstein in 1829, opal acquired a negative reputation. In Scott’s novel, the Baroness of Arnheim wears an opal talisman with supernatural powers. When a drop of holy water falls on the talisman, the opal turns into a colorless stone and the Baroness dies soon thereafter. Due to the popularity of Scott’s novel, people began to associate opals with bad luck and death. Even as recently as the beginning of the 20th century, it was believed when a Russian saw an opal among other goods offered for sale, he or she should not buy anything more since the opal was believed to embody the evil eye.
Even those who prefer not to subscribe to the energies in gemstones and the forces that emanate from them will undoubtedly get a feeling of warmth and well being when they look at a fire opal. Some say that fire opals bestow courage, stamina, willpower and energy on the wearer. Opal is considered the birthstone for people born in October or under the sign of Libra and the star stone for people born under Scorpio.
