Every single opal owner will tell you that they feel on top of the world when wearing it. If you think they are exaggerating, you are wrong. When people look at this precious gemstone for the first time, they can hardly believe what they see and once they are captured by the beauty of opal’s mystical fire, it never stops glowing in their eyes. It is no wonder people call it "The Queen of gems".

As being one of the six most valuable gems in the world along with the rubies, sapphires, diamonds, pearls and jade, opal is a truly fascinating stone. Unlike diamonds’ glamorous look, which can make you seem silly and pretentious unless worn to some ball or a wedding, opal jewelry can accompany you everywhere, even to mundane events such as birthday parties or family meetings. The best thing is that it can be combined with the most ordinary fashion styles. Opal has abundance of varieties, which makes them attractive to people with different tastes.

Inimitable colors and patterns of this dream stone are among things that make opal jewelry so unique. Opals are characterized by their background tone and the ever changing pattern also known as “play of color”. The background or base tone of an opal can be black, semi black, translucent, white or light blue. But the play of color is what makes an opal distinguishing. The patterns that change with the angle of light and the position of the observer can be found only in this precious gemstone and they are the most important factor when determining the value of an opal.

Speaking about pattern, it is worth knowing that it is impossible to find two exactly identical opal gems. Unlike diamonds, sapphires, and rubies which can be cut the same way, that is not the case with opal. Besides their unrepeatable play-of-color, another thing unique for opals is that they dictate their shape as the position of rolling flashes and the imperfections within an opal are responsible for its final look and the way it’s going to be cut. Therefore a well cut and polished small opal will have more value than a large, but poorly processed one.

Don't be fooled by common misconceptions about this stone, it won’t crack in a plane nor dry out in the strong light. However, you can find lots of cheap poor quality or, even worse, the fake opals at the market and this fact can lead you to conclusion that opals are not of the miraculous type that some claim them to be. High quality precious opals that are at the expensive end of the scale are simply magnificent. If you take a proper care of this precious opal, your gemstone will last forever and it won't be fragile as many people think. Now that you have appropriate knowledge about them you can add opals to your jewelry collection and make it exclusive and unique.