Opalite and Opal: is there a difference?
RE: Opalite and Opal: is there a difference?
Tiffany Stone (Opalite) Facts, Information and Description A purple, lavender, white stone sometimes with patches of mauve, yellowish-brown and black is found in beryllium ore (Bertrandite) . This stone is known as opalite, ice cream opal, opalized fluorite and opal fluorite. The name Tiffany Stone presumably comes from the jewelry company of the same name that used it in some of their designs. Mined in the state of Utah, USA, this is a form of opalized stone that forms in mineralized nodules. It is composed predominantly of dolomite, opalized fluorite but often found with minerals such as quartz and chalcedony. A beautiful stone in varying shades of dark purple, lavender and creamy white with swirls of dark and light yellowish brown and pink areas takes a high polish when cut en cabochon. Opal is a mineraloid gel which is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, and basalt. The word opal comes from the Latin opalus, by Greek opallios, and is from the same root as Sanskrit upálá[s] for stone, originally a millstone with upárá[s] for slab.[4] The water content is usually between three and ten percent, but can be as high as twenty percent. Opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, shore, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and black. Of these hues, the reds against black are the most rare, whereas white and greens are the most common. These color variations are a function of growth size into the red and infrared wavelengths. Common opal is truly amorphous, but precious opal does have a structural element. (see Upal). Opals are also Australia's national gemstone. Opal is one of the mineraloids that can form or replace fossils. The resulting fossils appeal to collectors, although remain less significant for many scientists.
