All Different Types of Opal | Unboxed + Hands On

In this gemstone unboxing episode, our team of gemstone experts show you opal and its different types, colors and shapes as October's birthstone. Opal is formed by silica spheres, and how they are arranged is responsible for the type of color they have. Opal can also display play of color, a phenomenon in which light is split into its constituent colors of the rainbow; so, if you move light across opal, you'll see green flashes, blue flashes, and some red or purple flashes of color appear across it. When it comes to the value of opal, it largely stems from its visual pattern and its play of color. Opal's pattern is more treasured when it's uniform in design and has higher vividness of the color. 

Types of opal that are shown in this video include common opal which comes in a variety of colors that include yellow, purple, orange fire opal, and other hues. Black opal, which is regarded as the king of opal due to its rarity and price, is defined by having a dark background/ colors and doesn’t have to be black. Black opal can also range in appearance from translucent to opaque. Hydrophane opal is displayed after and earns its name from not having enough water. Because of this, hydrophane opal has an unstable form, and Ethiopian opal is known best for this.

White opal lacks a crystalline structure like other opals but can be carved into beautiful shapes and sculptures for jewelry. Jelly opal is colorless in appearance and has a glasslike look; however, its play of color is tremendous when shined under a light. Lastly, matrix opal is featured and consists of opal still being housed within a mineral, and matrix opal can vary in color, shape, size and type of mineral. Examples of matrix opals include boulder opal, ironstone opal, and yowah nut from Australia.