Types Of Opals & Their Usage

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Types Of Opals & Their Usage
green opal meaning

Last Updated on May 28, 2022 by azamqasim

A gemstone or semi-precious stone is a piece of mineral crystal that’s been cut and polished to make beautiful pieces of jewelry. Opals are no exception. These are lovely gemstones with their iridescence and patterns. People also want to know the meaning of different colors of opal, for instance, green opal meaning.

Writers have analogized opals to galaxies, fireworks, and volcanoes. Admirers and connoisseurs of the stone gave poetic names to unusual opals: “Light of the World”, “Pandora”, “Empress”, etc. In ancient Rome, this gem represented hope and love. And it was the Romans who gave the mineral the name that we use to this day – “opal”, which means “precious stone”.

But what exactly is Opal?

Opal is an amorphous form of silica, chemically similar to quartz but containing an average of 3% to 21% water in its mineral structure. Gem-quality opals most often contain 6% to 10% water. The hardness of gem opal is on average 5.5 to 6.5 Mohs and its density is 96-2.20 g/cm³.

Opals cannot handle sudden changes in temperature. Also, Since the water content in their composition is quite high, you cannot keep them in places with dry air. Sufficient humidity is extremely important for them.

Talking about colors, the number of colors of noble opal cannot be counted, since one such stone can have different reflections and shades. It may also contain inclusions, and some varieties exhibit interesting opalescence. Broadly speaking, you can have opals in ruby ​​red, emerald green, topaz yellow, sapphire blue, and amethyst purple. They all can be used to make striking kinds of jewelry, but, many people want to know about green opal. Let us find out!

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Green opals mean health and cleansing

In fact, the green opal is a common stone that ranges in color from a very pale shade of green to a dark green.  With covid-19 putting more spotlight on what a precious gift good health is, with the green opal supporting health, cleansing and rejuvenation, it’s not surprising that people want to wear the green opal in their rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

Various processes in nature and geology are responsible for creating colors in stones so where does the green come from in the opal stone? What causes the other colors in opal and what are these opals used for? 

Opal colors are determined when white light waves go into the top of an opal and refract. As light passes through the spheres it diffracts or splits. The angle at which light is split determines the color of the opal, with black and red being rare colors and the most valuable.

Hundreds of opal types

There are hundreds of opal types but the main way to classify opals is by color and other ways to determine types of opals is to look at inclusions and sources. Even though there are so many opal types, some types are more significant such as the white opal, the gray- and black opal.

While Australia is known as the leading source of Opal stones, you can also find them in other countries such as Brazil, Peru, and the USA. They are actually found in other areas too and have a variety of uses. They are a crystalline form of silica with the raw stones having a dull luster but which can become shiny when polished.

Opals pick up on the wearer’s emotions

The fascinating thing about the opal stone is that being an absorbent stone it is able to pick up on a person’s emotions. If you wear Opal jewelry close to your heart, the energies of the opal stone will give you a feeling of being lighthearted and carefree.

One of its other uses is to protect the person wearing it as it absorbs the energies of people around you, and reflects them back to you. So if someone has negative thoughts about you, the stone ‘warns’ you about it so that you can respond in the right way.

The opal stone is also known as a karmic stone, which means that whatever you ‘give’ is returned to you. This means that if you want to receive love and friendship, you need to be friendly and caring about others as well. You can’t just take but you have to be a giver as well. Opals have many uses, but today in a world of sickness and war, perhaps its emotional healing powers are the most valued. Being a stone of balance it can help to balance your emotions and also offer emotional protection in a chaotic world.