Lightning Ridge Opal
Precious opal is a silicate formation where tiny cells of silica have trapped traces of water inside. The water trapped within these cells refracts light like a prism, breaking the light into it’s different color spectrums. Opal, one of nature’s most mysterious gems, can shine with an internal rainbow of colors, that move and change, almost as if they were lit from inside. Australia has long been recognized as the source for the finest Opals in the world, and Lightning Ridge is legendary for producing some of the finest opals ever found in Australia. The most expensive and rare type of Australian Opals are those with a very dark, even black, body color with flashes, (play of color) contrasted against. This material, “Black Opal” is produced almost exclusively from Lightning Ridge. Also notable from Lightning Ridge are clear crystal type opals that have colors, (often electric blues, greens and purples) floating mysteriously down inside of the stones.
