Figuring out uncooked opal is an important step in assessing its high quality and worth. Opal is a hydrated silica mineral that reveals a novel play-of-color, or iridescence, when considered from totally different angles. This phenomenon is attributable to the diffraction of sunshine throughout the opal’s inside construction. Uncooked opal is often discovered within the type of nodules or plenty, and it could range in shade from white to black. Probably the most beneficial opals are those who exhibit a vibrant and intense play-of-color.
There are a number of key traits that may make it easier to to determine uncooked opal. First, opal is a comparatively comfortable mineral, with a hardness of 5.5 to six.5 on the Mohs scale. Because of this it may be simply scratched with a knife or different sharp object. Second, opal is a translucent to opaque mineral, which means that it permits some mild to cross by it, however it’s not fully clear. Third, opal has a conchoidal fracture, which means that it breaks with a curved, shell-like floor.
