Australian opal Pendant / new- 2.12 g - (1)

Pendant Australian Opal / Cabochon / new Set in 925 sterling silver Includes leather cord Weight: 2.12 g / 10.6 ct (weighed without leather cord) 26.1 mm x 8.5 mm x 3.6 mm New and unworn The opal is a mineral of the mineral class of “oxides and hydroxides.” As an amorphous solid, opal (like glass) has no crystal structure and usually appears as a massive vein filling or nodular form. Opals are processed exclusively into gemstones. The word opal was borrowed from Latin opalus or the Greek ὀπάλλιος opallios for ‘precious stone’ and presumably goes back to upala in Sanskrit. According to Allan W. Eckert in his work The World of Opals, it was used to denote various rocks, while the early Hungarians called opálbánya opal mines. Opals were already considered especially valuable gemstones in antiquity, sometimes even valued higher than diamonds. Pliny the Elder wrote about it: ‘... it has a fire of its own, finer than that in the carbunculus, it possesses the purplish spark of amethyst and the sea-green of emerald and an altogether incredible mixture of light.’ Shipping as insured registered mail.

Estimate:£126.72

View all items fromCatawikiorEthnographical