Pink Opal Rough Cut Slab (L)

Pink opal ranges in colour from pink and white to lavender and cream. It occurs in streaked masses and does not exhibit "fire". It has been known as the "peppermint candy stone".

Opal crystallizes in the form of masses, and, occasionally, stalactites. The colour range and related names are varied. When precious opal is viewed through this microscope, it is seen as a uniform stacking and sizing of a great number of tiny spheres. These three dimensionally stacked spheres and the cavities between them, together, act as a diffraction grating which creates the beautiful spectral colours. It's the size within any grouping that determines the colour. Conversely, opal without colour contains spheres which are not of orderly size or stacking.