Color in Opals
August 25, 2020
Photographer: Mila Zinkova
Summary Author: Mila Zinkova
The most valuable opals, referred to as precious opals, display play of color, patches of spectral colors that occur when this gemstone is tilted. Both frames of the image above show the same Ethiopian opal from Mezezo, and both frames also depict the same part of the opal. The dark patches in the left frame became bright green/blue when I found the proper angle to display the color. These patches are called digits. Making them exhibit colors is simply a matter of working to find the right angle. In some opals, digits create an elaborate color network, as it is seen in the second opal featured in this video. However, only rarely will color appear in multiple digits from different clusters at the same time.