HYALITE OPAL
WATER OPAL /MULLER’S GLASS

Hyalite Opal is a form of globular or botryoidal common opal. It doesn’t display Play-Of-Color and is amorphous in structure. Most Hyalite Opals look like clear or slightly milky glass. But this Opal has inclusions of Uranyl, a residue of Uranium. Only very slightly radioactive, it is safe to wear on the human body. These inclusions cause some Hyalite Opals to glow bright green under normal sunshine &/or UV light. They are found in Mexico and Hungary. Opal is made up of Silicon Dioxide, just like quartz crystal. But unlike quartz it contains up to 38% water, but most commonly 3%-16%. Until recently it was believed that all Opal was completely amorphous, however now we know that isn’t the case. Some Opal’s contain tightly packed spherical SIO₂ molecules in a hexagonal structure lattice. Not always perfect, but they do have a pattern. There are 2 types of opal; precious and common. Precious Opal displays an optical property that gemologists call, “Play of Color” or Opalescence, and Common Opal does not. Common Opal is usually milky white, grey, yellow/brown or black. Precious Opals display every color that we can see. They do so by diffracting light through their lattice structures. Formed under water by diatom shells that accumulate on sea/river/lake beds. Diatoms are algae that synthesize silicon dioxide in water to use in their cell walls. They produce most of the oxygen on the planet, not trees. Diatoms tend to have massive “blooms” and then die off and sink to the bottom of the water column, where they accumulate in silt. Here is where, over thousands & millions of years, they can fall into seams between rocks, pockets in sediment and slowly take over the skeletal systems of decayed plant matter to form opals. Black Opal is the rarest variety, & white, grey and green are the most common. The biggest Opal producers are Australia, Ethiopia & Nevada. There are very rare opals in Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Idaho & Slovakia. Opal is the birthstone for October.

– Associated with the 3rd eye and heart chakra, the zodiac sign of Libra & vibrates to the number 7.

– Encourages individuality and inner radiance of the wearer to shine through. Clears and strengthens the aura.
– Dispels for distorted body image or self-consciousness.
– Attracts whatever is needed, whether physical or not.
– Stimulates connection to the spiritual world.
– Can assist those making the transition out of the body.
– Extremely powerful tool for astral travel and lucid dreaming.

Chemical Formula: SiO₂˖nH₂O
Shape: amorphous
Habit: globular & irregular crusts
Color: colorless, white or cream
Streak: white
Luster: vitreous
Diaphaneity: transparent to translucent
Hardness: 5-6 Mohs
Cleavage: none
Fracture: conchoidal
Specific Gravity: 2.09 g/cm³
Refractive Index: 1.34-1.47
Fluorescence: Fluoresces bright green under UV light