One of the most beautiful things in the world in a delicate opal set in a precious metal. Thanks to the inner play of colors and mesmerizing flashes, it's hard to tear your eyes away from its good looks. Historically believed to be a good luck charm that fell from the sky in flashes of lightning, many people avoid opals because they consider them bad luck. What is this black opal that has inspired so many myths, and what is the truth behind its alleged bad luck?
Opal is one of the most covered gemstones in the world and the stone of October. Literally meaning "changing color precious stone", the name "black opal" comes from the Latin word "opalus", itself derived from the Greek "opallios", meaning "changing color"; and the ancient Sanskrit "upala" meaning "gem". This is the perfect description, as opals are most prized for their unique fiery play of colors, called opalescence. It is the fifth most sought after gemstone after the "Big Four" diamond, ruby, emerald and sapphire.
The ancient Greeks considered opals to be lucky, bringing beauty, success and happiness to their wearer; The Romans thought they symbolized hope and purity; and the Arabs thought of them as providing protection against lightning strikes and shielding the wearer from the undesirable elements of everyday life. With all these good opinions, how did this famous gem become condemned as a bearer of bad luck?
It all started in 1890, when a new supply of opal was discovered that was so beautiful, with a background and play of colors contained within the gem that had never been seen before. Previous opal supplies to Opal Necklace came to some extent from India and the Middle East, but mostly from Hungary. The new opal deposit was so fine with fusions of color plays so striking that it simply outshone other opal deposits.
As they began to penetrate the European market, the new opals began to threaten established supply lines. In defense of their market, Hungarian opal suppliers claimed that the new opals were not genuine. They claimed that the beautiful new opals were fakes.
This caused a huge outrage among opal lovers who did not know what to believe. The situation got worse when Sir Walter Scott in one of his novels invented the myth that opals were bad luck for anyone not born in October. This would probably have been the nail in the coffin of the European opal market if Queen Victoria hadn't stepped in.
No comments:
Post a Comment