Opal (''Hyalite'') (rare smoky color!) (fluorescent)

Item Description

A fantastic Opal gem from a solitary discovery in the 1990s in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. This material was referred to as "Hyalite Opal" for many years, and the term might still be used in the gem world, but it is classified now in mineralogical terms as Opal-AN. I remember when these stones came out, and they are still some of the more interesting and unusual examples of any Opal I can remember. Not only are they big for the material (this one weight over 8.5 carats), but they have a distinctive smoky hue that is rarely seen in any kind of Opal, regardless of the locality. The superb clarity is also quite impressive as typically bigger stones will have a bit of silkiness or "jelly"-like quality to them. Under both SW and LW UV light, this stone fluoresces a soft greenish hue, which is a characteristic of a lot of "Hyalite" gems and specimens, though we typically see more of a bright green shade. My guess is that whatever chromophore is causing the smoky color in the gem is also creating the yellow fluorescence. This is the only stone we have to offer of this material, and I doubt we'll see another soon. It was actually discovered in our back room stock, and was leftover from a dealer buyout we did many years ago. Don't miss out, it's a really interesting and unusual stone that you're not like find anywhere else on the market. Originally the stone was valued at $857.00 over 20 years ago, so it's certainly worth more today.