Oregon Fire Opal

Description

Oregon Fire Opal is a transparent to translucent variety of Opal, Fire Opal usually does not exhibit colour play – unlike precious opal. For this reason, it is sometimes called “Jelly Opal”. However, Fire Opals are prized for their rich colours, such as yellow, orange, orange-yellow, and red. Transparent specimens are usually faceted and are often set into silver jewellery.

Some Fire Opal varieties called “Girasols” exhibit fiery reflections, or colour play similar to that of precious Opals. The beauty of Opal has long been admired and the Greeks prized it as much as diamond. The magic properties of the stone were aptly characterised by “Pliny the Elder” who wrote about what he termed “Opallus” …..’because it possesses a fire finer than that of carbuncle’.

Oregon Fire Opal has a Mohs hardness of 5.5 to 6, which is soft enough that it can be scratched by many objects that it might encounter during everyday wear. Fire opal also has a low tenacity, which means that it can easily be chipped or broken.

Fire opal is best used in jewelry such as earrings, pins, and pendants that usually are not subjected to rough wear. If a fire opal is set into a ring, a setting especially designed to protect the stone from abrasion and impact is recommended.

Mentally, the fire opal is said to be a wonderful stone for those people who are shy and lack self-confidence. Its fire supposedly rouses them and gives them the boost of self-confidence they need.