The black Opal is the most sought variety. It is officially recognized as the stone of the State of New South Wales in Australia. We so name it because of the base darkened in contrast with the white Opal which, it, has a clear base. Colors are there much more impressive; even if, in the white opals, this effect of set of colors can be spectacular.
Opale noireOne of the biggest opals is "Andamooka Desert Flame": it weighs 6,843 kg.
The black Opal represents only 8 % of the Australian total production.
To know more about the mineralogy of the Opal, see Mindat.org->
Legends:
Opals are known for a long time and their beauty gave rise to numerous stories(trouble) and legends. A very beautiful comes to us from Australia.
The god Creator of the Time of the Dreams came among the men thanks to a rainbow which put down it on earth. In its departure, the rainbow disappeared, but all the stones affected by this one were transformed into a stone in thousand fires: the Opal.
Indeed, they inspired such an admiration worldwide integer that many peoples wanted to explain or to understand their peculiarities. In the Arab world, the Opal had magic and fallen from the Paradise. In East, it was considered as the stone of the Hope. Medieval Europe attributed it the power to make invisible …
Varieties of opals
