The earliest known opal artifacts were found by Louis Leakey in a cave in Kenya. They are believed to be over 4000 years old and to have been mined in Ethiopia. Opals have been found in Hungary, Mexico, and about twenty other countries. Currently, 90% of the world’s opals are mined in Australia. Until the 1920’s opals were quite rare.
While most people think of opals as being primarily white with sparkling colorful intrusions, they actually come in several base colors with sparkling colorful intrusions. The rarest of the opals is the black opal. The most common background color for an opal is white. Other colors are gray, crystal, a transparent or semi-transparent background and the fire opals in colors of red, orange, and yellow, pink, blue, and blue-green. What makes an opal an opal are the silicon inclusions, which give the stone its sparkling colors.
The opal is the birthstone for October. It is said to represent confidence, loyalty and happiness. It is also supposed to enhance healing, especially of the eyes, dreams, and imagination.
Originally, it was thought that opals had to be cut in cabochon style because they were too delicate to survive any other cut. Recently, however, gem cutters have learned how to cut opals in a variety of faceted styles as well as the cabochon style.
The traditional cabochon cut of opals lends itself to a variety of shapes that make gorgeous opal earrings. In circles, ovals, pointed ovals, teardrops and heart shapes, they can be found in both clip on earrings and on studs. The settings for these can be either just the prongs, leaving the beauty of the opal shining alone, or in a variety of lovely settings that showcase the opal, sometimes alone and sometimes with other precious and semiprecious gems.
Clip on opal earrings are made all over the world. In the U.S., Navaho silver smiths combine the opal with a lovely silver setting that includes three balls on top and a twisted rope design around the circle cut cabochon opal. There are gently faceted blue opal earrings that include a trapezoid dangle that shimmers as if it were made out of mother of pearl and below it a silver heart. You can find oval opal earrings in a gold setting with a cluster of three diamonds on top. Oval opal earrings in a flowerlike gold setting accented by crystal are also available.
Opal earrings for the pierced ear come in an abundance of styles. Teardrop shaped opal earrings with a swirl of silver and gold around them, accented by diamonds, will gracefully adorn any woman’s ear. A pair of teardrop shaped opals in a gold setting with a round diamond between them gives an elegant dangle beside a lovely neck. Four round-cut opals with round-cut diamond accents in a double helix pattern of gold, give a beautiful swirled look.
No matter what your style is, silver or gold, tailored or lacey or something in between, you can find opal earrings that will complement it and enhance your beauty.
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