Opal-AN (Hyalite Opal) ("Blood Vessel Opal")

Item Description

This is one of the few gemstones of this material that we know of. We had this stone cut last a few months ago from a small parcel of rough that we deemed worthy for faceting. We'll have more down the road, but for now we'll only have a handful to place into the auctions. This piece came from rough that was recently discovered (the beginning of 2016) by a friend of ours who is working a claim with a few of the locals for this fine quality Opal. It's very exciting to see specimens of this quality coming out of the ground, as most of the Opal from this area is not nearly as attractive or fine quality as this piece. This "Round Brilliant" cut Hyalite Opal gem is translucent with a golden to orange to colorless interior, but the most important aspect of the piece is the fact that it shows tiny red "capillary"-like inclusions of iron oxide just below the surface, which as given this material the nickname "Blood Vessel Opal". If you look closely you can see the tiny fibrous inclusions that have an almost organic appearance. Unique and interesting! We've never seen anything like it, and we're proud to be the first ones to bring it to the public. One of the great aspects of the material is that unlike a lot of Mexican Opal, and Opal in general for that matter, this particular Opal is incredibly durable and strong, and doesn't fall apart, crumble or chip apart when cut and / or polished. This is signifcant because these gems will make great centerpieces for jewelry! Lastly, like most Hyalite specimens, this piece shows a brilliant green fluorescence under SW UV light. It's not often that we see such richly colored Hyalite, and considering it's from a new and very limited discovery, it's a great opportunity to purchase something that nobody else has right now. I apologize for not having a more specific locality, but our friend doesn't want to divulge the information yet as he is trying to keep it under wraps until he feels that he was able to collect everything. Don't miss out onf this beautiful and rare gem of this well-known Opal variety. For years this material was referred to as "Hyalite" Opal, but is now listed as a variety of Opal called Opal-AN. This material is specifically an amorphous (often colorless) form of Opal that is found in spherical aggregates, that are often intergrown or stacked with a "bead"-like appearance. The listing on mindat.org states that "The "A" in the name stands for amorphous; the subscript "N" is to imply its structure is network-like similar to silica glass; however, it still contains about 3-8% water".