Fire Opal with play-of-colour - Opalescent colours
Fire Opals consist - like all other opals – of silica, with a relatively high proportion of water. Their wonderful, lively, warm body colours range from bright yellow to orange to a vivid cherry red.
Fire Opals with play-of-colour are extremely rare and are considered to be real treasures. They are usually cut in cabochons. This variety will therefore be priced much higher than good-quality faceted Fire Opals without play-of colour. The rarest and most valuable Mexican Fire Opals are the intense red-orange gems with strong play-of-colour.
Fire Opals are gemstones for active, lively people. Their bright colours always attract attention. The rare gemstone's warm body colour conveys vitality and joy for life. These gems are truely natural works of art.
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 most significant opal-producing country, with a long tradition centering around these gems. Mexican Fire Opals were formed by the enormous power of volcanic eruptions. For this reason, rocks containing opal are often found in the Mexican highlands, with its many extinct volcanoes. Particularly significant finds have been made in the areas around the city of Magdalena in the province of Jalisco, and in the province of Querétaro, about 200 kilometres north of Mexico City.
In the mining of this precious gemstone, impressive open mines with labyrinthine corridors and walls up to 60 metres high are formed. The Mexican opal fields are extensive, and the mining process is laborious and costly. It takes a lot of risk, endurance, and luck to unearth the beautiful Fire Opal.
