Opals Part 2

The name Opal was derived from Sansknt “upala” meaning “valuable stone”. This was probably the root for the Greek term “opallios”, which translates as “colour change”. In the days of Roman antiquity there existed a so-called “opalus”, or a “stone from several elements”.

In the Middle Ages, it was considered a stone that could provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose colour was represented in the spectrum of the opal. It was also said to confer the power of invisibility if wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and held in the hand. Following the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s Anne of Geierstein in 1829, however, it acquired a less auspicious 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, it turns into a colourless 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 that when a Russian saw one among other goods offered for sale, he or she should not buy anything more since the opal was believed to embody the evil eye.

In France a specifically French superstition has it that the opal is a jinx. The origin of this belief is the fragility of the opal: lapidaries and jewellers were penalized if they damaged the stones they had to mount, and the frequent breaking of this mineral came to make them feel that it had bad luck attached to it.

In Austraila a legend has it that the creator came down to Earth on a rainbow, in order to bring the message of peace to all the humans. And at the very spot, where his foot touched the ground, the stones became alive and started sparkling in all the colours of the rainbow. That was the birth of the Opals.

Australia is the classical origin country and today is the worldwide most important supplier of Fine Opals. Almost 95 per cent of all Opals come from Australian mines. The remaining five per cent are mined in Mexico, and in Brazil’s north, also in the US states of Idaho and Nevada, but recently the stones have also been found in Ethiopia and in the West African country of Mali.
Queen Victoria was a lover of this mesmerising gemstone, and made certain all her subjects knew she did not agree the rumors and superstitions surrounding the stones. Proving her point she wore and collected opals throughout her reign.

In 1954 an extensive search for the finest opal ever found at the South Austrailan opal fields was announced by the South Austrailian Government. The opal would be presented to Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her first visit to Austraila. An outstanding piece of rough opal was found and once cut it weighed 203 carats and displayed a magnificent array of colours. It was set into palladium necklet.