the.com/opal
a rock that swallowed a rainbow and refuses to give it back.
means A precious stone prized for its shifting, milky play of colors that flash and change as the light moves across it.
from From Latin opalus, likely borrowed through Greek opallios, and often traced back to Sanskrit upala, meaning simply 'stone' or 'precious stone' — though the exact chain is debated. The humble root is a little ironic for a gem so flashy: a name that just means 'stone' ended up on the rock that hoards every color at once.
- composition
- Up to 20 percent trapped water inside
- play of color
- Silica spheres bend light like microscopic prisms
- can crack
- Dries out and shatters if dehydrated
- space find
- Discovered on Mars by NASA rovers
- old superstition
- Once feared as cursed bad luck
lightning ridge — town in australia producing 70% of the world's precious black opals
coober pedy — south australian mining town with 80% of earth's opals, underground population
mexican fire opal — transparent orange-red opal mined in querétaro, mexico, valued for jewelry since aztec times