![]() Girasol opals are bluish gems that displays reddish reflections. Derived from the Latin words for “turn” and “sun,” “girasol” is used to describe gemstones whose sheen moves with the jewel as it’s moved about. ![]() Some potch opal possess clarity characteristics, which in turn give the gemstones names like agate opal for banded jewels, moss opal for vine like tendrils, or jasper opal for when jasper and opal merge as one.Ĭertain types of potch opal are capable of exhibiting optical phenomena. They come in many colors, such as brown, white, blue and pink. Then the mixture dries slowly, silica is more likely to form an orderly pattern.Ĭommon opal may lack play of color, but have their own beauty. ![]() Scientists believe that when the mixture that becomes opal dries quickly, the silica arrangement become chaotic. These types of stones are known as common or potch opal. When spheres are arranged willy-nilly, optical phenomenon doesn’t occur. Play of color happens when the pieces of silica in an opal sit neatly against one another in a grid pattern. Harlequin patterns feature rectangular patches of play of color whose edges touch one another. They may look like small squiggles on the stone, or take up most of the jewel. The amount of pinfire on a stone may range from a few flecks to great clusters of dots.įlashes are larger shows of play of color on an opal with irregular edges. Opal patterns can be organized into hundreds of different categories, often with fanciful names like “church window” or “peacock.” The three basic terms are “pinfire,” “flash,” and “harlequin.” Pinfire is play of color that is made of a series of tiny sparkles. How the play of color appears on the jewel is known as a pattern. Red is the rarest color opals with large amounts of red can fetch high prices. Blue is the most common hue, followed by green. Diameters in between these measurements create other colors. The largest size, 0.2 microns, creates red. At their smallest, 0.1 microns, the silica bends light in a way that produces purple. Hues are determined by the size of the silica spheres. A small number of opals display every color of the rainbow. Some opals may display just one color, or have two or three hues play across its background. The types of color also matter, with some hues being rarer and more in demand than others. One classification is color range, or the number of hues which appear in the opal. Play of color is evaluated in different ways. Vivid play of color is rarer and more likely to catch the eye than play of color that is moderate. Opals may exhibit play of color, the result of opal’s silica spheres acting as prisms, turning white light into an array of colors. This may be expressed as a cat’s eye or a star within the jewel, color change, or a unique sheen. Phenomenal gemstones are those that interact with light in unusual ways.
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