Fire Opal with play-of-color - Opalescent colors
Fire Opals consist - like all other Opals too – of silica, with a relatively high proportion of water. Their wonderful, lively and warm bodycolors range from bright yellow, to orange to a vivid cherry red.
Fire Opals with play-of-color are extremely rare and are considered as real treasures. They are usually cut in cabochons. This variety will therefore be priced much higher than good faceted Fire Opals without play-of color. The rarest and most appreciated Fire Opal from Mexico is the intense red-orange one with strong play-of-color.
Fire Opals are gemstones for active, life-affirming people. Their bright orange always attracts attention. The warm and in the gem world rare bodycolor conveys vitality and joy for life, and at the same time, these gems are pieces of absolutely true nature.
Jewellery with Fire Opals
Here you can see a small selection of jewellery with Fire Opals.
You can find more examples in the opal jewellery section and in our online shop.
Mining and processing
Next to Australia Mexico is the second classic Opal country with a long tradition. Fire Opals from Mexico were formed by the gigantic power of volcanic ember. That’s why you find rocks containing Opal in the Mexican highlands, with its many extinct volcanoes, particularly in the areas around Magdalena in the province of Jalisco and Querétaro about 200 kilometers north of Mexico City.
In the mining of this precious gemstone, impressive open cuts, with up to 60 meters high walls and labyrinthine corridors are formed.
The Mexican Opal fields are extensive and by far not exploited, but the mining is laborious and costly. It takes a lot of risk, endurance and luck to find the beautiful Fire Opals.
