OPAL.
The Aura Enhancer
Opal has a refreshing energy that enhances your aura and makes you feel strong, empowered, and chilled. Metaphysically, Opal is used to tap into your intuition and give you clarity on big decisions. Opal is connected to the Throat Chakra, helping you speak up when others stifle your voice. Meditate with Opal to find inner peace through its soothing and gentle vibes. Boulder Opal and Opalized Wood are also very grounding and deeply magical - you just need to learn how to tap into it.
Opal contains silica like many crystals such as Quartz; however, it is a hydrated amorphous form and, as such is classified as a mineraloid. You can find Opal in fissures and cracks in rocks where silica-rich water has been present, and Opal itself has a water content of between 3% and 21%.
You can generally classify Opal into two groups: precious and common. Precious Opals have iridescence, also called colour-play, when discussing Opals. Common Opals do not have this iridescence.
Precious Opals include:
White Opal | Ethiopia, Australia, commonly from Coober Pedy
Dark Opal | Australia, from Lightning Ridge and Mintabie
Black Opal | Australia, with the best from Lightning Ridge
Fire Opal | Australia, Mexico, Ethiopia
Boulder Opal (in Sandstone or Ironstone) | Australia, Brazil, Canada
Opalised Wood (formed in fossilised/petrified wood) | Indonesia, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, USA
White/Transparent Opal from Australia. On loan from specialist crystal jeweller Zoe Nina Jewelry.
My daily wear. Boulder Opal from Australia, set in a Silver ring. From Terra Incognita, Amsterdam
Common Opals include:
Pink Peruvian Opal | Peru, Mexico, USA
Morado Opal | Mexico
Blue Peruvian Opal or ‘Andean Opal’ | Peru, Brazil
Green Opal | Global
Peruvian Pink Opal pocket stone.
Green Opal palm stone.
Other types of Opal include:
Hyalite is also a type of Opal that is entirely transparent but will fluoresce bright green under UV light.
Hyalite on Ilmenite, Erongo, Namibia. From Minerals4You, Portugal.
Under UV light.
Menilite, also known as Liver Opal, is often brown inside with a white outside coating and is commonly confused with Menalite, aka. Fairy Stone. You can read more about the difference between the two in the Menilite vs Menalite blog >>
Menilite from the private collection of Zoe Nina Jewelry.
Warning
Some common misconceptions float about what is and is not authentic Opal in the crystal world.
Opalite. Opalite has nothing to do with Opal at all; it is, in fact, a manufactured ‘glass’, a mix of dolomite and metals.
Opalite - man-made ‘crystal’
Dendritic Opal, which is also known as Merlinite, is probably Chalcedony rather than Opal. Learn more about why, here >>
Merlinite aka Dendritic Opal, from the private collection of Zoe Nina Jewelry.
Pink Opal is a marketing name sometimes used for Pink Mookite from Australia, with the colour caused by pink opalised radiolarite. Not to be confused with Peruvian Pink Opal (see above).
Lab-Produced Opal is, as the name suggests, created in a Lab. While it can be challenging for a novice to distinguish, look for a repeating structure in Lab Opals, while natural Opals will have a very random colour-play.
Buyer’s Guide to Opal
Private Buyers
Adding an Opal to your collection can be a costly enterprise, so decide how you want to use it. If you would like a soothing pocket stone, then a Pink Peruvian Opal is perfect. A piece of Opal jewellery would work well for daily clarity, empowerment, and a positive aura. I can’t recommend blue Boulder Opal enough for this purpose. It is cost-effective and holds a kind of magick.
If you can drop some cash, then a White/Transparent Opal set in jewellery is an heirloom piece you could invest in. If you have even more cash, an epic Black Opal is the rarest choice for jewellery.
I recommend a Boulder Opal and/or Opalized wood for crystal and mineral specimen collectors. A thumbnail Hyalite also looks fantastic in a UV cabinet. But if you want to go down the rabbit hole and make a serious investment then it is worth noting that other cool things opalise! You can sometimes find fossils and shells that have opalised and these are big money if you can get your mits on one.
Retail Buyers
If you are a spiritual store, start with two types of Opal: Pink Peruvian Opal and Boulder Opal tumbles. Pink Peruvian Opal was always a top seller for us; pink always sells well, but this crystal is exceptionally silky-soft to the touch and has a beautiful pink colour. It is a very soothing crystal that customers seem drawn to. Depending on the size, you can retail these for $€4-8 per tumble. Boulder Opal tumbles are a bit more expensive and, for decent quality, will retail for $€6-12 - BUT you must ensure some of the veins of Opal with its distinctive colour play can be seen in all the tumbles. Hand-pick these if you can to avoid wastage.
If you are a crystal-specific store, you can add other Opals such as Menilite and Hyalite thumbnail specimens for collectors and Blue and Green Opal tumbles for general sale.
Boulder Opal Ironstone tumble demonstrating a vein with typical colour-play.
Quick Guide | Opal
Zodiac: Opal is associated with the zodiac sign Libra.
Ruling Planet: The ruling planet for Opal is Venus.
Chakra: Opal is associated with the Throat (Vishuddha) and Crown (Sahasrara) Chakras.
Element: Opal is aligned with the element of Water.
Crystal Charging: Opal can be charged under the light of a Full Moon. Avoid Sun charging as heat and light can cause an Opal to crack.
Crystal Elixir: Opal is water-safe, so it can be used to make a crystal elixir. However, I would avoid soaking this gemstone - there are more suitable, less expensive, and less fragile crystals for making elixirs.
Crystal Care: Opal can be cleaned with a warm, damp cloth. Avoid harsh chemicals, do not put Opal in an ultrasonic jewellery cleaning bath, or use a steam cleaner. Avoid wearing Opal jewellery in swimming pools or the ocean.
The chemical formula for Opal: SiO₂·nH₂O