Fire opal: what properties does it have and where is it used?

There are a lot of varieties of opal, one of its representatives is a fiery mineraloid (Mexican opal, hummingbird stone) - a precious mineral that stands out with incredible external splendor and fiery glow. It is often called a sun stone. Noble mineral education is especially appreciated by specialists in the manufacture and repair of jewelry, jewelry connoisseurs, and collectors. Anyone who has ever seen such beauty with his own eyes at least once in his life will never forget how magnificent he is.

Opals are many semiprecious and precious stones, divided into a number of groups. The Mexican fire opal, which will be described later, is in a special position among its many "congeners".

Formally related to the category of precious minerals, it, as it might seem, does not correspond to those characteristics that are typical for noble opals, and more closely resembles ordinary opals. The main thing is that this species is not endowed with a natural play of color. Only sometimes, somewhere very deep inside this stone, one can catch peculiar bright short bursts of color.

Nevertheless, the amazing texture of the mineral, apparently, forced experts to forget about the physical and optical standards. Many believe that this stone deservedly occupies a special place in the society of noble stones of this category for its beauty and fantastically bright colors, which in most cases are closer to the red region of the spectrum.

The weak point of this stone is that catchy intense color over time able to fade. Moreover, fiery mineraloids, like all other types of this precious mineral, are fragile, and in this connection it is necessary to handle them carefully. It is also able to crack due to loss of moisture - stones contain water, the volume of liquid in the mineral is about 3%however, sometimes this percentage reaches 25-30, therefore it is required to periodically lower them into the water for a while.

Mineraloid fire opal is considered rare, but comes across quite often. It is equated to rare ones for the reason that only a small part of the discovered opals is applicable in jewelry. The industrial fiery mineral, which has a low cost and is not used by specialists in the field of jewelry manufacturing, is found in virtually all corners of the earth: in the United States of America, Ukraine (in the Carpathians), the Russian Federation (in Transbaikalia), the Slovak Republic, Mexico, Germany , Indonesia, Honduras, Czech Republic, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Australia.

High quality stones were found only in Mexico, Brazil, Kazakhstan, the United States of America and the Republic of Honduras. Samples of this kind are used to create jewelry.

Most of the gemstones are formed from the frozen amorphous silica anhydride, and fire opal is one of them. As mentioned above, the stone has a rather high water content - from 10 to 30%. Gradually, under the influence of natural processes, the liquid from the rock partially evaporates, only a small percentage and additional impurities remain - iron, aluminum, magnesium and manganese.

The mineraloid is distinguished by a curious structure design. It contains a lot of transparent sized balls (globules) of the same size, which are ordered in a strictly geometric order. The key property of the stone is opalescence (scattering), which is characterized by the blinding of the eyes with a fiery glow on the surface of the gem.

Mohs hardness on the mineralogical scale varies from 6 to 6.5 units, density - 2 units, refraction - 1.45. Externally, the mineraloid can be completely transparent or semi-permeable. The stone differs in shine similar to shine of glass, is rather fragile. Upon contact with alkaline compounds, acids, as well as temperature extremes, it rapidly collapses.

For a long time, the mineral was practiced as a therapeutic product. He was considered the best tool for healing diseases associated with the activity of the cardiovascular system. A characteristic feature of the mineral is the ability to absorb human pathologies and diseases. Modern champions of alternative medical practice of stone treatment - lithotherapists - advise using the mineral for healing:

• nervous system;
• insomnia (insomnia);
• depression
• eye diseases;
• diseases associated with the activity of the kidneys and intestinal tract;
• intraocular pressure (IOP).

This stone is very ambivalent and to some extent dangerous, and therefore you should be very careful with it, show all respect for it. The stone, having acquired its owner, begins to work for it, but sometimes so dynamically that one can even speak of an excess of such devotion.

It is known that a mineral can help a person and his hidden talents to manifest as much as possible, moreover, he does it regardless of the worldview, life and spiritual values ​​of his possessor. More precisely, one can never be sure what the mineral will contribute to: the unlawful pleasures and immoral acts of a person or his endurance and non-recognition of base instincts. If the owner of the mineral is a weak-willed person, it means that he is very at risk of finding himself as a toy in the hands of an unknown fate.

Another interesting property of the stone should be designated. Attitude towards it varies based on the geography of its use. So, Europeans believe that stone represents love, prosperity and faith. Meanwhile, the population of the Asian mainland sees in it a stone of vain hopes, because of which most people waste their physical energy and spiritual strength in vain on ghostly and unrealizable fantasies.

Again, in Europe and in Asian countries, this mineral was rarely consumed when performing magical rites. Well, except that the sorcerers in India, by changing the color of the stone, are able to prophesy the imminent danger. As a rule, such minerals are regarded as gems that protect one’s own owner from dangerous elements or give him the possibility of clairvoyance. But it is not ruled out that the owner of the mineral may acquire “gifts” of a slightly different type: a sense of anxiety for no apparent reason, fear of darkness.

Based on a combination of shades and colors, several types of minerals can be distinguished:

• Mexican;
• white;
• blue;
• honeysuckle.

Fire opals mined in Mexico are considered the most sought after. They stand out with a clean and rich orange color with an intense red tone that shimmers in various shades. As a result, Mexican minerals are considered the most expensive. Fire opal can have a yellow and brown tint, but the value of these stones is much less.

Rare varieties of fire opal:

• backlash - characterized by a uniform game of colors over the entire area of ​​the mineral;
• pinfire or flashing - possesses tints of several colors at the same time;
• fire opal - has the highest purity and inimitable color: red or bright orange;
• jirazole (girazole or “sun stone”) - transparent, almost colorless opal, with a wavy bluish tint.

Inexpensive and unpretentious samples are used as a material for creating dishes, rings, signets, figurines.

Stone is heavily used in the chemical industry, for example, for the manufacture of dynamite. The tripoli, chalky limestone and kieselguhr rocks that contain opal in their structure raw materials for fillers, cement and other building materials, for example, raw materials for ceramics and light bricks. Due to its characteristics It is practiced in the construction of facilities in conditions of high humidity, in particular, bridge supports. The decoration of the cabinets through opal tiles is also in demand.

Precious samples, as a result of thorough processing, turn into jewelry. In order to better express the game of the color of fire stones, they are given an oblong-round or spherical shape of cabochons, or other smoothly convex outlines based on how much raw material allows it.

When creating mass-produced products, doublet opals are often used - polished stone plates glued to black glass, obsidian, onyx or ordinary opal. Due to the low strength of opal, jewelers, when making jewelry, make frames that protect them.

Fire opal is a mineral with quite a stormy and indomitable energy, so it is not suitable for everyone. It is much easier, of course, to achieve harmony with him when the owner is related to one of the signs of the element of Fire. For example, Aries, due to the influence of the stone, will become more active, more successful and at the same time more balanced. It will become easier for him to implement the most reckless personal plans.

Sagittarius miraculous qualities of the mineral will provide an opportunity to protect themselves from unexpected turns in life, not always pleasant, and black magic. It will be easier for lions to expand their circle of interests, find out more about their own person and surrounding society.

Regarding the remaining six representatives of the zodiac circle, we can say the following: they have the opportunity to receive the favor of the stone. It will probably be harder to establish harmony with him than the signs of the elements of Fire, but the miraculous and healing characteristics of opal are worth it.

For how red opal is mined, see the next video.