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Stone Lore
Opal takes its name from the Latin
word "Upala" meaning "prescious
stone". Pliny, a learned Roman
scholar, described opal as having
"the fire of the carbuncle, the
brilliant purple of the amethyst and
the sea-green color of the emerald,
all shining together in incredible
union". The Romans believed opal
was the symbol of hope and purity.
They called it "cupid paederos"
(child as beautiful as love) and
thought the wearer safe from
disease. The Arabs believed that
opals fell from heaven in flashes of
lightning and thus acquired their
marvelous play-of-color. Ancient
Greeks also believed the opal had
the power of giving forsight and the
light of prophecy to their owners.
To help preserve their beauty, opals
should be treated with care due to
their fragile nature, Opal is the
birthstone for the month of October
and is designated for the 13th
wedding anniversary.
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Opal is brittle, heat sensitive, and breaks and
scratches easily. Some varieties self-destruct
through the loss of water. Even with these
drawbacks, opal still is a premier gemstone.
Opal's name evolved from the Roman word opalus from
the Greek word opallios - "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."
As indicated by the derivation of its name, opal
has centuries of history as a treasured gemstone.
Historically, beliefs associated with the wearing of
opal have varied.
The early Greeks thought that opals gave their owners
the powers of foresight and prophecy.
Romans adored it as a token of hope and purity.
Eastern people regarded it as sacred.
Arabs believed it fell from heaven.
In the nineteenth century, superstitions grew about the
bad luck or fate that could befall one for wearing opal if
it were not the wearer's birthstone. Today, these
superstitions have diminished, but some people still
believe it is bad luck to wear opals.
Opal has over one hundred variety and trade names,
but the list of accepted or commonly used names is
much shorter. The most important and most widely
known opal is the precious opal. Precious opal may be
subdivided further by color modifiers, white, black,
pinks, and blue, which describe the body color of the opal.
Australia is famous for its white and black precious opal.
Fire opal, the bright red, reddish-yellow, orange body
colored opal is the second most important opal
commercially. Until recently, the best fire opal came
from Mexico.
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