Collection: OPAL

The Worlds Best Opal is Mined Right Here in Australia

Fireworks. Jellyfish. Galaxies. Lightning. Opal’s shifting play of kaleidoscopic colours is unlike any other gem.

Opal is the product of seasonal rains that drenched dry ground in regions such as the Australian Outback. The showers soaked deep into ancient underground rock, carrying dissolved silica (a compound of silicon and oxygen) downward.

During dry periods, much of the water evaporated, leaving solid deposits of silica in the cracks and between the layers of underground sedimentary rock. The silica deposits formed opal.

Because opal has the colours of other gems, the Romans thought it was the most precious and powerful of all. The Bedouins believed that opals contained lightning and fell from the sky during thunderstorms.

When Australia’s mines began to produce opals commercially in the 1890s, it quickly became the world’s primary source for the highest quality Opal.