When you consider the cuts, emerald, square, tear drop and more, it's enough to make your head spin.

From dangle earrings to studs, solitaire rings to clusters, pendants and beaded necklaces, there's no end to the possibilities. Silver settings makes it seem like the gemstone is floating yellow gold just enhances the stone's warm features. From shimmering yellow pendants to burnt orange statement rings in men's and women's styles, JTV has fire opal for sale in stylish cuts, settings and styles, everything you need to create striking looks without leaving you feeling the burn of buyer's remorse.įire opal jewelry looks great no matter the setting. Mexico is a primary source of fire opal, where it was treasured by the Aztecs who called it 'gem of the bird of paradise.' Fire Opal for SaleĬreate a spark with gorgeous fire opal jewelry from JTV. Unlike precious opal, fire opal does not usually display play of color specimens that do are highly valuable. Much of the matrix opal there occurs as small patches of host rock replacement within a light-colored limestone.Unique and mysterious, fire opals are appropriately named for their fiery cherry, sunburst yellow, and deep tangerine coloration. One of the best-known examples of matrix opal in limestone is the Andamooka area of South Australia. This chemical process is known as 'replacement' or 'silicification'. It can also form as groundwater dissolves some of the limestone, and immediately precious opal precipitates in its place. Precious opal can form in tiny voids within the limestone. Limestone is a soluble rock that can be replaced or silicified by the actions of underground waters. The photo is a Creative Commons image by Dpulitzer. It shows spectacular patches of vivid blue, yellow, red, orange and green color. Spectacular Color in Matrix Opal: The cabochon above is another example of treated Andamooka matrix opal. The width of the field of each view is about 1.5 millimeters. It shows, in better detail, how patches of precious opal are in intimate association with the texture of the host rock. A few examples of matrix opal in various host rocks are shown on this page.Īndamooka Magnification: The photograph above shows several small areas of the Andamooka matrix opal cabochon shown at the top of this page, viewed under a microscope. These include limestone, sandstone, claystone, ironstone, quartzite, rhyolite, and basalt. A few types of rock host the colorful display of matrix opal. Some of the best-known are in Australia, Honduras, and Mexico. The hopeful result will be a cabochon exhibiting a nice presentation of colorful opal in the face-up view.Ī few locations in the world are well known for their wonderful matrix opal. Only then can the cutter intelligently take advantage of the color within the stone. To convert a piece of rough into a matrix opal gem, the cutter must study the rough to assess the distribution of play-of-color material and the orientation in which it is triggered by incident light. Movement of the viewer's head or movement of the light source can also ignite a colorful display. When a piece of properly cut and polished matrix opal is turned under a light source, the viewer can see a play-of-color flashing from the stone.

This intimate mixture makes a gem material that looks like the host rock, but with patches of precious opal flashing within. Many people call matrix opal 'Type 3 Opal'. The precious opal can occur as a 'cement' between sediment grains, as replacements of host material, or as infillings of tiny vesicles. Matrix opal is a gem material in which precious opal (or play-of-color opal) is intimately distributed through its host rock.

Fire opal