This natural Ethiopian opal impresses with a rare combination of characteristics that make it a choice for fine jewellery. The stone is round, 6.00 mm, and has a yellow-white colour with a strong iridescence that captures and reflects light spectacularly. This opal weighs 0.50 carats and is distinguished by its exceptional clarity, with no visible inclusions that accentuate its appearance and brilliance. Being untreated, it retains all the natural qualities of opal without being altered by artificial processes.
Native to Ethiopia, this opal is a testament to natural beauty and rarity and is ideal for adding a touch of elegance and uniqueness to any gemstone collection or jewellery creation.
Opal (from the Latin opalus, which probably comes from the Sanskrit upalus, meaning "precious stone") is an exceptional mineral that occurs only amorphously, being a hydrated silicate with the chemical formula SiO2*nH2O. The percentage of water can reach 25% as an amorphous solid; opal is like glass with no crystalline structure. The mineral frequently occurs in nature as the filler of a vein or as granules.
Opal is rare and therefore not mined industrially. Opal has been found on all continents, but 97% of opals come from Coober Pedy, southern Australia. Significant opal deposits have recently been discovered in the Welo region of Ethiopia.
The colour of the mineral is highly variable, ranging from colourless to greyish, red, brown, yellow, and, more rarely, due to impurities, orange or reddish copper (called 'fire opals'). The expression 'opalescence' is a fascinating play of colours, formed by the phenomenon of light interference caused by the mineral's microcrystals.
Hydrophane, or 'water opal' shows a water-like play of light colours. Opal in Roman culture was considered the'stone of love' or'stone of hope'.
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