Gemstones have captivated the world with their beauty for millennia. The star-like sparkle of the diamond, the deep-sea blue of the sapphire, the forest green of the emerald, the fiery red of the ruby have all inspired treasure hunters, collectors, jewelers and consumers to chase after these gems for most of human history. Only one stone displays the best of all of these precious gems… the opal.

Opals are truly one of the world’s most fascinating and beautiful gemstones. A tremendous resource for all things opal is the American Opal Society website. Here you can read articles, find out-of-print books, learn about cutting and polishing opals at home and find links to member sites as well. The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is also a storehouse of information regarding opal formation, types and some beautiful photographs of gem grade opals. Other good resources for opal information such as colors, patterns, metaphysical properties, value ranges, varieties of different types of opals, etc. are the GemSelect and Gemdat opal pages.

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