White Opal 140 (cut and polished) by Opal cheapest Outlet

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Opal Outlet provides finished, cut white & crystal opals. I personally cut the crystal opal from either opal rough or opal rubs. Crystal opal can be white or clear and the majority of crystal opal rough comes from Coober Pedy are of southern Australia.

Opal rough is opal material in it's original rocky state, as it is dug out of the ground. In most cases, marketable opal rough will be cut or broken stone with some opal material exposed. Cleaned opal rough can reveal an opal rub.

An opal rub is a cleaned piece of rough that exposes the fire of the opal. Rubs are ready to cut and shape into an opal gemstone.


White Opal 140 (cut and polished) by Opal Outlet

White Opal 140 has great colors of blue, green, red, yellow and orange. If it was a perfect oval, it would be worth 10x this listing. I encourage you to look up websites in Australia and compare similar opals.


11.6 x 7mm

1.40 ct


Thank you for shopping with Opal Outlet. I hope you find the gem…or gems you are looking for.


Rich Miller

Opal Outlet


OPAL BIRTHSTONE

OPAL BIRTHSTONE MEANING & HISTORY
The name of this, the traditional October birthstone, is believed to have originated in India (the source of the first opals brought to the Western world), where in Sanskrit it was called upala, a “precious stone." .” In ancient Rome, this became opalus. Most opals are valued for their shifting colors in rainbow hues – a phenomenon known as “play-of-color.”

The October birthstone's dramatic play-of-color has inspired writers to compare it to fireworks, galaxies and volcanoes. Bedouins once believed opal held lightning and fell from the sky during thunderstorms. Ancient Greeks thought opals bestowed the gift of prophesy and protection from disease. Europeans long maintained opal to be a symbol of purity, hope and truth. Hundreds of years ago, opal was believed to embody the virtues and powers of all colored stones.

Opal is also the stone given to celebrate the 14th wedding anniversary.


WHERE IS OPAL FOUND?
The opal birthstone can be found in many places. The fields of Australia are the most productive in the world for the October birthstone. Ethiopia, Mexico and Brazil are also important sources. Additional deposits have been found in Central Europe, Honduras, Indonesia, Madagascar, Peru, Turkey and the United States.

Lightning Ridge, a small town in New South Wales, Australia, is famed for producing prized black opal. A dry and rocky region softened only by small trees and scrub brush, Lightning Ridge gets little rain and bakes in the scorching summer temperatures. The climate is so unforgiving that miners often live underground to find respite from the punishing heat.

Light shines on the surface of the Lightning Ridge mine where the October birthstone is found, revealing black opal nodules in a line.
Black opal nodules are sometimes found in a line, as you can see in this photo from the Lightning Ridge mine. Photo: Vincent Pardieu

Australia is also a source of other types of the October birthstone. White opal is found in the White Cliffs area of New South Wales, as well as in Mintabie, Andamooka and Coober Pedy in South Australia. Boulder opal, which comes from only one location in the world, is mined in Queensland.

In Ethiopia, the October birthstone is found near the village of Wegel Tena, in Wollo Province. Travel 340 miles (about 550 kilometers) north of the capital Addis Ababa and up 8,000 feet (2,400 meters), where miners pry opal from shafts dug into the side of a plateau. Gems unearthed here range in cheapest body color from white, yellow, orange and brownish red to “chocolate” brown. Some of the opals show play-of-color. Another mine, in Ethiopia's Shewa Province, yields the coveted black opal, as well as orange, white and crystal opal. Its treasures are buried in steep cliffs that tower over the landscape.

Querétero, a state in Mexico, is known for producing fire opal in yellow, orange and reddish orange to red, some with good play-of-color. The mines are a tourist destination, and getting to them requires taking a dirt road through dense forests of pine and oak, past scrubby plateaus of cacti and shrubs, and up winding mountain roads.


OPAL BIRTHSTONE CARE & CLEANING
Opal may be treated by impregnation with oil, wax or plastic. Opal doublets or triplets are fine slices of opal glued to a base material and covered with a thin dome of clear quartz. The safest way to clean this October birthstone is with warm, soapy water. Other cleaning methods might damage the opal or filler material. Note that prolonged exposure to water may weaken the adhesive in opal doublets and triplets. Even natural opal can fracture if exposed to high heat or sudden temperature changes.

This October birthstone ranges from 5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness. To prevent jewelry set with harder gems from scratching opal, store it by itself. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are just a few of the gems that can scratch the October birthstone.

https://www.gia.edu/birthstones/october-birthstones#birthstone_1