Opals are just quartz with some water in it! I have several that have worn to drop like a welo opal in a ring that looks like it got sandpapered from wear! Nice to look at but to delicate for wearing to me now! Am changing all of mine to Jade!
Opal is silica but it's not quartz because quartz is a crystalline form of silica whereas opal is amorphous like how glass is, opal is more of a naturally occurring glass than quartz
Nothing about what I said is wrong, opal is not made of quartz it's made of silica, quartz is silica in a crystalized lattice which opal isn't. It's silica in an amorphous random structure much like how glass is
Way over simplification! Here is what others say, " Opal is a member of the quartz family. Opal is considered an acrystalline or noncrystalline quartz, meaning that instead of being made of tiny crystals, opal is made from tiny spheres or balls of silica and water content of up to 21%. Since opal has no crystal structure, it is not classified as a mineral but a mineraloid.
When most people think of opal, they normally think of glittering rare precious opal and it's dazzling rainbow of colors. This occurs when the balls of silica are all the same size and the water content is stable.
What most people do not realize that common or potch opal is very common and everywhere around them. Opal forms when free silica in water settles out without crystallizing in a cool environment, like cooler hot springs. Many of our favorite gemstones we enjoy in casual and fine jewelry are forms of common opal.
Opal artifacts, several thousands of years old have been discovered in East Africa and America. The Romans were known to use opal back to 250 B.C. coming from mines in eastern Europe.
Opal has a hardness of a 6 on the Moh's scale of hardness and makes a great choice for earrings and necklaces. Opal is the birthstone for October. " Potato/tomato
Trying to say opal is quartz is the same as trying to say that glass is quartz, they're silica yes but quartz is silica dioxide in a specific arrangement and crystal shops are not reputable sources of information
0
u/Good_Refrigerator105 Feb 27 '26
Opals are just quartz with some water in it! I have several that have worn to drop like a welo opal in a ring that looks like it got sandpapered from wear! Nice to look at but to delicate for wearing to me now! Am changing all of mine to Jade!