I've recently been looking through my collection of gemstones and thought I would share some of them with you! I'll focus on one gem each week giving you a little glimpse into the wonderful world of gemmology..
This week is my favourite gemstone:
The OPAL
The name is derived from the Indian (Sanskirt) word for 'stone'.
The special characteristic of Precious Opals are their play-of-colour, a display of rainbow like hues which changes as you view them from each angle.
This is produced by the diffraction of white light through a micro-structure of orderly arranged spheres of silica. Small spheres produce opal of blue colour (the most common), whereas larger spheres produce red (the rarest colour). Between these sizes the rest of the colours of the rainbow occur.
The most famous opal deposits are found at Lightning Ridge and White Cliffs in New South Wales, Australia. The locations where originally a vast area of inland sea approximately 100 million years old.
Fire Opals
A subcategory of the Opal, these are characterised by their vivid orange and red colours.
Often showing no play-of-colour, the best qualities are clear and transparent making them suitable for being faceted.
These stunning Fire Opals where chosen from my collection of gems to be made into a pair of earrings in 18ct gold. A lovely example of how you could commision your own piece around one of my gemstones!
All the opals photographed are available to be made into commissions. If you would like to find out more about my unique collection of gemstones simply get in contact via email at megan@meganbrownjewellery.com
Comments