Jelly opal is an opal that has a jelly look to it. It is just like crystal opal but the opal color is a little bit faint so you can see through the opal pretty easily.
Jelly opal can come in nobby opal and seam opal. The different grades of jelly opal can be from light to dark opal. All is still jelly but they have different densities and tints from light to dark.
Jelly opal is a great stone for the opal enthusiast that has got most other types in their collection. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to own most jelly opal compared to black opal or gem crystal opal.
The nature of jelly opal means that its appearance is usually due to its relative thickness. This means most jelly opals are cut with a high cabochon. Many jellies are mostly green in color and it can’t be explained why the green color is the most common.
Jelly opal is also recognised as crystal opal since it is transparent. When held up to the light under a 10-power loupe you will see the clarity that they have. They come in all sizes from 1 carat right up to 200 or 300 carats, but the larger opals are more rare and expensive.
Jelly opal can be cut by a lapidist very easily because it there is clarity in the stone – resulting in more visible impurities which are easier to polish away.
All in all jelly opal is a beautiful phenomena. Less and less of it is being found in large quantities and it is becoming quite collectible with the larger pieces being quite valuable.