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History of Opals and Opal Mining
> Australian Museum National Opal Collection
> Australian Museum researches opalised fossil
> Fossicking in NSW
> Fossils, opalised fossils, sea snails and shells
> Legendary Opal Miners
> Opal Legends
> Opal Mines
> Mining Opals in Wyoming USA
> Opal Links
Types of Opal
> Black Opal
> Boulder Opal
> Crystal Opal
> Fire Opal
> Matrix Opal
> White Opal
> Yowah Nuts
> Opal Doublets
> Opal Triplets
> Opal Jewelry
Famous Opals
> The Andamooka Opal (The Queen's Opal)
> Aurora Australis
> The Black Prince
> The Butterfly Stone
> The Flame Queen
> Halley's Comet
> Jupiter Five
> Olympic Australis
> Pride of Australia
> The Virgin Rainbow
Buying Guide for Opals
> Opal Store USA
> Birthstone for October (modern); alternate for June
> Care for Opals
> Cutting Opals
> Opal Store Amazon USA
> Opal shop Australia
> Glossary of Terms
> Investing in Opals - The Value of Opals as an Investment
> Lapidary Information
> Buy Opals Australia
Australian Opal Mines
> Andamooka Mines, SA
> Coober Pedy, SA
> Lightning Ridge, NSW
> Mintabie or Mintabee, SA
> Opalton, Qld
> Quilpie, Qld
> White Cliffs, NSW
> Winton, Qld
> Yowah, Qld
Gem & Jewelry Pocket Guide:
A Traveler's Guide to Buying Diamonds, Colored Gems, Pearls, Gold and Platinum Jewelry
by Renee Newman
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The History of Opals
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The famous Virgin Rainbow Black Opal is for sale here!
Formation of opal
The best opals are found in sedimentary rock, often ironstone, with the opal lying at less than 30 metres deep.
Opals are made up of minute spheres of silica which have grown around
a central nucleus. Tiny spheres of silica weathered from overlying rock percolates through
cavities or faults where it deposits as a gel. The gradual loss of water from the gel results in hardening of the material and the formation of opal, the whole process taking hundreds of thousands of years.
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Opalised fossils, opalised shells and
opalized sea snails etc.
(70 million years old) from Central Australia.
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'The Red Heart of Australia'
A solid black opal from Lightning Ridge
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Jewelry Information Magazine
Jewelry Store
Gioie - Italian Jewels Online
Gillett's Jewellers for Australian Opals
The Pride of Australia Gold Nugget
Famous Large Diamonds
Famous Gemstones
Famous Gold Nuggets
The Crown Jewels
Wedding Anniversary Gemstones
Birthstones
Jewelry - Glossary of Terms
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