{"id":60467,"date":"2024-02-02T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-02T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/australias-national-gemstone-opal\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T09:29:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T01:29:39","slug":"australias-national-gemstone-opal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/australias-national-gemstone-opal\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s National Gemstone \u2013 Opal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h3>Table of Contents<\/h3><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#%E4%BB%8B%E7%B4%B9\">Introduction to Opal<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#%E8%9B%8B%E7%99%BD%E7%9F%B3-opal\">Opal<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#%E8%9B%8B%E7%99%BD%E7%9F%B3%E5%95%86%E6%A5%AD%E5%83%B9%E5%80%BC\">Commercial Value of Opal<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"&#x4ECB;&#x7D39;\"><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Opal is October\u2019s birthstone and the national gemstone of Australia. Among gemstones, opal is perhaps the most rainbow-like in beauty. Gem-quality opals often display a kaleidoscope of colors, although they may not be transparent like many other gemstones. Their unique, radiant play of colors, known as opalescence or play of color, gives opal its well-deserved reputation.<\/p>\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignfull is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-f7a85e60 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-left:0;font-size:0px;line-height:0\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240202_&#x86CB;&#x767D;&#x77F3;.webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240202_&#x86CB;&#x767D;&#x77F3;.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-38501\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\" id=\"&#x86CB;&#x767D;&#x77F3;-opal\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Opal&amp;sca_esv=6a8e8a6372ddea43&amp;sca_upv=1&amp;udm=2&amp;biw=1536&amp;bih=695&amp;ei=yytxZofFItL_1e8Pxs-XiAI&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjH1ovUxeSGAxXSf_UHHcbnBSEQ4dUDCBA&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=Opal&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiBE9wYWwyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAESNwlUIEFWN4jcAJ4AJABAJgBMqABkQGqAQEzuAEDyAEA-AEC-AEBmAIFoAKgAcICBhAAGAcYHsICBhAAGAgYHpgDAIgGAZIHATWgB_wE&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Opal<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Crystal system: amorphous system<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Hardness: 5~5.5<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Specific gravity: 2.1<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Gloss: Glassy to waxy gloss<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Transparency: Transparent to opaque<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Color: white, gray, blue-gray, brown, black, colorless<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Refractive index: 1.37~1.47<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Birefringence: None<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Fluorescence: blue-white fluorescence in long and short wave<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Cleavage: No cleavage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"line-height:2\">Characteristics: iridescent, play-of-color (Opalescence), low specific gravity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"&#x86CB;&#x767D;&#x77F3;&#x5546;&#x696D;&#x50F9;&#x503C;\"><strong>Commercial Value of Opal<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Opals are classified by their base color into white opal, dark or black opal, orange-red fire opal, and colorless crystal opal. Black opals are generally the most valuable, followed by fire opals. Opals form in weathered rock deposits and are typically found irregularly within sedimentary rock. When opal is cut with its host rock, with the opal visible on the front and the sedimentary rock at the back, it is referred to as boulder opal. Boulder opals are more affordable but still exhibit beautiful play of color, offering an excellent option for buyers.<\/p>\n\n<p>The play-of-color in opals displays a spectrum of colors, with large patches of red being the rarest. The appearance of this play-of-color is the main factor influencing an opal&#8217;s value. The play-of-color is classified into three types based on its presentation:<br\/>1. Pinfire: Small, pinpoint flashes of color.<br\/>2. Flash: Large, broad flashes of color that appear as the gemstone is moved, resembling splashes of ink.<br\/>3. Harlequin: Large, distinct, angular patches of color.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opal is the birthstone for October and the national gemstone of Australia, renowned for its vibrant play of colors, referred to as opalescence or play of color. Opals are categorized based on their base color into white opal, black opal, fire opal, and crystal opal, with black opal being the most valuable. Boulder opal, which is opal cut with its host rock, is less expensive but can still exhibit a strong play of color. The play of color in opals comes in three patterns: pinpoint (small dots), broad flash (large patches), and harlequin (angular shapes), with red flashes being the rarest and most valuable. The quality of the play of color is the primary factor determining the value of an opal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2251],"tags":[2845],"class_list":["post-60467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gemstones","tag-opal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/honwaygroup.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}