Although opals come from all parts of the earth, black opal comes from only one place on earth - Lightning Ridge, Australia. Kabana, gathers together only the finest quality opal to sell to you! Opals are one of the most beautiful and sought after multicolored gemstones in the world, because of all the known precious stones only an opal can show the complete range of spectral hues in glorious balance.

The special characteristic of these gems is their opalescence (glow), a rainbow like iridescence which (especially in rounded forms called cabochons) changes with the angle of observation. Using a scanning electron microscope with a magnification of 20,000x reveals the cause: microscopic spheres of the mineral crstobalite layered in siliceous jelly cause the reflections, or interference patterns.

Opal is the birthstone for people born in October.

Most mineralogists will tell you that the word opal is derived from the Sanskrit opals, meaning 'a precious stone'. Opal was introduced into Greece during the first century B.C. The Greeks called it opallios, a word coined from two other words, the first of which gives us words such as opaque and optical, while the other gives us words like alias and alter. Thus, opal really means 'to see a change of color.'

Major types of opal:

White Opal - A precious opal of white and otherwise light basic color (potch), with color play.

Black Opal - Precious opal with dark gray, dark blue, dark green, and gray-black basic color, or potch. Deep black is an exception. Black opals are much rarer than white opals.

Opal Matrix - Banded growth or leafed inclusion or precious opal with and/or in the matrix rock.

Boulder Opal - Precious opal with a dark base surface, color play, and a high density. Occurs as pebble rock, where opal fills the hollows.

Harlequin Opal - Transparent to transluscent precious opal with effective segmentation of color patterns.Counted as among the most desirable opals types.

Crystal Opal - A few red reflexes on colorless, vitreous surface.

Girasol - Almost colorless, transparent precious opal with a blueish lustre.