Historically, Opal was considered a lucky charm that brought beauty, success and happiness to its wearer.
 

Reportedly, Opal's name evolved from the Roman word “Opalus” from the Greek word “Opallios” meaning "to see a change of color". The Greek word was a modification of the ancient Indian Sanskrit name for opal, “Upala”, which meant "Precious Stone". If one spoke in mixed tongues, then Opal would be Opallios Upala, "to see a change of color precious stone".
 

The Romans cherished Opals considering them to be a symbol of hope and purity, an appropriate attribute for a gem with a rainbow locked within it. They also used Opals in carvings.
 

The Arabs thought that Opals must have fallen from heaven in flashes of lightning giving them their unique fiery play of color or "Opalescence".
 

Members of the Arab community held belief that Opal would prevent lightening strike, shield its wearer from any undesirable elements in their day-to-day lives and give a cloak of invisibility to its wearer when desired.
 

The history books would have us believe that the European supplies of Opal came from India and the Middle East, but it is far more likely that they came from Hungarian mines.
 

Opals made the headlines in the 1890's with the first samples of Australian Opal. The Hungarians declared that the all-new Australian variety was not the real thing. Gems with such a fusion of fire and color had never been seen before.
 

Queen Victoria intervened in the near destruction of the 19th century Opal market when the writer Sir Walter Scott started a superstition that Opals were bad luck for people not born in October. In one of his novels the heroine owned an Opal that burned fiery red when she was angry and turned ashen gray upon her death. Queen Victoria finally dispelled the curse by giving Opal Jewelry as gifts at a royal wedding.
 

Opals possess a special quality called “Iridescence”. The effect is similar to the rainbow colors displayed on a soap bubble, only much more dramatic. This rainbow like effect is also seen in Ammonite and Moonstone.
 

The physical structure of Opal is unique. Tiny spheres of silicon dioxide form a pyramid shaped grid interspersed with water. Tiny natural faults in this grid cause the characteristic "play of color".
 

Opals vary widely in body color, with white being the most abundant. Black is considered the most valuable as it enhances and accentuates the play of color.
 

Depending on the color of their “Potch”, the host rock on which the Opal formed, Opals will either be classified as Black, Gray, White, Fire and Light: including Crystal and Jelly. Opal actually exhibits many different colors: Cherry colored specimens that rival ruby, fiery-orange Opals that sparkle like spessartite garnet, tropical blue gems as intense as larimar, and even deep gorgeous pinks.
 

Today 95% of the world's Opal is sourced from a handful of prominent mining areas in Australia, namely Lightening Ridge, Coober Pedy, Andamooka and Mintabe.
 

Opals are usually thought of as a gemstone unique to Australia, however the kaleidoscope of hues and tones of Opal occur in many locations around the world including Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Indonesia.
 

Black Opal is principally found at Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, Australia. This magnificent gemstone is the most valuable form of Opal. Its dark background color, usually black, blue, brown or gray, sets the spectral colors ablaze much like a storm cloud behind a rainbow. Black Opal is a gemstone that has had an important effect overseas, as a product of Australia. So valuable is black Opal that even wafer thin slices are made into doublets or triplets to give them enough strength and depth to set into gold rings and other Jewelry items.
 

Boulder Opal is found sparsely distributed over a wide area of Australian ironstone or boulder country where the opal in fills cracks and crevices in the ironstone boulders. Opal bearing boulder is always cut including the host brown ironstone. Boulder Opal is in very high demand and extremely precious. Boulder Opal is usually cut to the contours of the opal vein creating a baroque wavy surface and is often freeform and irregular in shape, making boulder opal unique.
 

Crystal Opal is transparent and is pure opal (hydrated silica.) It typically has sharp clarity of diffracted color visible from within and on the surfaces of the Opal. When held out of the direct light, Crystal Opal displays some of the most intense Opal color. This is the type of Opal used in Opal inlay Jewelry, which has the base of the setting blackened before the precision cut crystal Opal is set into it.
 

White Opal is the most common type of precious opal and is translucent with a creamy appearance which dominates the diffracted colors. All of the Australian Opal fields produce White Opal with most of it being mined in Coober Pedy.
 

Fire Opals are appropriately named for their fiery cherries, sunburst yellows and deep tangerines. Unique and mysterious, Fire Opal is remarkable in that unlike many other Opals its “Play of Color” is minimal. Also known as Mexican Opal, Mexican Fire Opal or Sun Opal, its legendary popularity instead comes from its breathtaking brilliance, extraordinary “fiery” hues and stunning clarity. Fire Opals have been treasured in the Americas since the time of Aztecs, where they were named “Quetzalitzlipyollitli” or “Gemstone of the Bird of Paradise”. Coveted by the Aztecs as symbols of intense love, such radiant gemstones were believed to have emerged from the primordial waters of creation.
 

Predominately mined in Mexico, Jelly Opal (also known as Water Opal) is a type of Opal with an attractive blend of indistinct, fuzzy colors. It is transparent with a gelatinous appearance and an occasional bluish sheen. The “play of color” is a subtle sheen of color dancing through the gem, rather than color patches. Very occasionally it is also found in Lightning Ridge, Australia, where it is essentially Black Opal without the black potch background.
 

Hailing from the Andes, Peruvian Opal is extremely rare and exhibits exquisite translucent coloring. Favored by the ancient Incas, it typically comes in subtle blue or pink colors.
 

There are many beautiful Opals found all over the world but "Black Opal" is prized the most because of its black “Potch” (the host rock on which the Opal formed), as it shows the brilliance of the Opal more than any other color.
 

125 million years later, sandstones were deposited by waterways over the top of these sedimentary rocks. Eventually these younger rocks weathered, and their silica filtered down to cavities in the older host rock in the form of a gel.
 

Buckets are then loaded and hauled to the surface using simple mechanical winches. The material is then separated by hand, separating out the larger rocks then reducing it further by hand sieving.
 

The remainder of the gem rich material is taken to small converted cement mixers, which wash off the excess dirt from the “Nobbies” (rough).