Category: Opal Classification

   What is ‘play of color’? Is it unique to opal? How can we tell?   This week, Justin dives into what play of color is in different gemstones and why the play of color found in opal is so special.   Most gem stones have a trace element in them that gives the gemstone its color and when faceted, light refracts around the facets to show off that gorgeous color. This is an awesome display but it’s not considered play of color – very few gemstones have this!   The technical explanation of play of color is the phenomenon of spectral colors created due to the orderly array…

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Watch out… opal color rant! Justin’s back this week and boy, he’s got something on his mind… In the early days of opals discovery, when someone stumbled across a gorgeous gem that resembled a rainbow and a galaxy of stars all rolled into one, why did they decide to name it… by it’s greyscale body tone? C’mon, can we not give the stunning myriad of opal colors at least a mention?! The diamond industry has done a great job at naming their gems which is something the opal industry should take into consideration when describing the breathtaking colors of opal. Diamonds that are off-yellow or brown have been cleverly re-marketed…

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The latest edition of InColor magazine is here with not one but two articles by Black Opal Direct! InColor is the magazine produced by the International Colored Gemstone Association, of which we are a member. First we give the international community a rundown on the Opal Symposium held last July in Lightning Ridge as well as updating the community on the matter of opal classification. There are articles on the sustainable practices of the opal mining industry as well as a not to be missed article on opal formation by Dr Simon Pecover. Below is a link to the full online version of the magazine but please grab a copy…

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