Precious Opal (with multi-color flash)

Item Description

There are multiple localities in Mexico for gem grade Opal (Fire Opal, Precious Opal, Jelly Opal etc.). Many of these piece feature rich warm hues, and a small percentage of them have beautiful multi-color flash. This thumbnail specimen is a great example of said material with a beautiful "jelly"-like Fanta orange colored exterior, and a softer cream colored "core". When the piece is rotated in the light, you can see brilliant reflections of color, with bright green, purple, gold and red hues. A lovely piece of this classic material.
From the collection of William ("Bill") (1927-2006) and Anne (1928-2021) Cook of Cleveland, Ohio (#11,452). This husband and wife duo were actively involved in the mineral world for many decades. Bill was a PhD geologist, and Anne was a mathematician, and they both were very serious mineral collectors. Bill served for many years as adjunct curator of mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the Micromounters' Hall of Fame on October 12, 2019. Both Bill and Anne, at various times, served as president both of the Mineralogical Society of Cleveland and of the Micromineral Society of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and Anne was inducted into the mi The rare barium lithium beryllium phosphate Wilancookite was named in their honor in 2015.