The white opal is a stone of magic and light. Its angelic glow and curious iridescence make it a precious stone for collectors, crystal lovers, and expert jewelers. It is a stone of calm, serenity and balance that is worth acquiring.
Also known as “porcelain opal” and “white milk opal”, this stone has been valued since ancient times. Although they are more common than their black or gray varieties, they are not less appreciated in energy work. As a stone of calm and serenity, it favors positive emotions and good relationships with others.
They are usually opaque or translucent stones with a pale white appearance and the iridescent flashes characteristic of opal. The main difference between this variety and the black opal, in addition to the base color, is that in the white opal the play of colors tends to be lighter because the body of the stone is clear. In black opal, however, iridescence looks much more intense due to the dark background of the stone.
As far as production terms are concerned, white opal is by far the most abundant. Being one of the most popular rocks worldwide, the White Opal has always been a rock dear to all. Even its high production levels are proof that using this rock in accessories and amulets is something that people like very much.
Meaning
Opal is a delicate stone with fine but vibrant energies. In fact, there are those who consider that this is one of the most difficult stones to handle due to all the energy it is able to channel. There are many esoteric meanings that exist around the White Opal.
The white opal will enhance your cosmic consciousness and strengthen your mystical and psychic visions. In fact, it is one of the stones that they use the most between their teeth to be able to work efficiently. It helps the inspiration to come and stimulates creativity and originality. It will make creative ideas flow and give you energy every time you need that extra boost.
The energies of this stone will also encourage you to express your true self. For this reason, you will feel safe and comfortable with yourself and it will be noticed in your words, thoughts, and actions. White opal is a highly absorbent stone. It will collect all your thoughts and emotions and keep them at bay so they don’t overwhelm you.
It is considered a very protective stone. Your stone, correctly programmed, will be able to protect you from negative energies and the evil eye. It is said that the healing powers of white opal can help in the treatment of various infections and fevers. It can also purify the blood and kidneys.
It is believed that white opal grants travelers protection by radiating light and opening the way. Because of its ability to grant serenity, it protects against conflicts that may cause damage or destabilize its bearer. It protects in addition to bad luck and has the ability to invest energy for the benefit of those who wear it as an amulet.
This gem will remind you that only you are responsible for your emotional state. It will help you repair the damage that your emotions may have caused to your partner or to your relationship. The white opal will encourage you to give positivity. It will promote kindness, love, compassion, and generosity.
White opal is a clean light source. In the field of communication, thinking and interpersonal relationships, it favors positivity, openness, and balance. It is usually used as an ornamental stone in necklaces that contain several pieces. Being less expensive than other opals, it is used in large quantities. However, its energy properties are equally valuable, especially for connoisseurs of crystals and for rock and mineral collectors.
White opal favors emotional balance by stimulating enthusiasm, good humor, optimism, and imagination. That is, when carrying this stone you will realize that you can find yourself in a better mood and a more beautiful and optimistic way of seeing things.
This stone is able to clean the aura and grant clean light to the soul. So, when you find yourself on a very difficult and dark day, white opal can help you feel better.
This rock dissipates negativity, pessimism and the feeling of unease. That’s why it’s impossible to feel bad when you’re wearing an amulet that involves the white opal. Its uses are several and always discover more each day, so do not hesitate to use it when you want to cleanse your soul of negative thoughts.
Metaphysical Healing Properties
The other properties of the White Opal may be good enough but do not compare with the healing properties it can offer you. The healing and spiritual properties of opal range from the fact that it is an ideal stone to use as a crystal ball until it is one of the oldest methods of prediction and clairvoyance in the world.
Possessing extraordinary properties, opal can help you in these situations. Its use to treat Parkinson’s disease is well known. This comes from very old when it was believed that its properties made it able to relax the nervous system. And so far it has helped many people although science is not able to explain it completely.
The White Opal is very good at promoting emotional balance; Therefore, it is especially indicated to calm anxiety and insomnia. It is able to disperse many infections and some say it purifies the blood and kidneys.
It has the ability to regulate the production of insulin, significantly improving the disease of diabetes, so older adults who have this disease prefer to use it. Several years ago, it was believed that the White Opal relieved labor pains.
It is also a very suitable stone to cure eye diseases and soothe tachycardia. If you wear an opal stone as an amulet, you will notice a significant improvement in your optimism and serenity. This is due to the ability of the opal to activate your vital functions.
Where to Buy White Opal?
Usually Etsy or Amazon is a good idea. Etsy is the leading online global marketplace of handmade, vintage, and creative goods. Amazon is one of the largest global online marketplaces. Both of them are reliable and easy to find your favorite items there.
White Opal in Jewelry Uses
The White Opal is a very favorite jewel among all those who want to look elegant. You can get to enjoy many pieces in the form of accessories and even in the form of amulets. The way you decide to take them will be on your side. You don’t even have to choose a single type of accessory that you want to use.
The bracelets are very pretty. There are those who believe that white opal is a beautiful pearl and tend to confuse it with this other stone from the sea. Worse you should be attentive and realize those small and exclusive winks that white opal has.
The white opal necklaces also tend to be very beautiful they can use opal pieces that are much larger. There is no limit and everything will depend on who wants to use it. The anklets are also an accessory that tends to attract a lot of attention among people since they are very delicate and minimalist. Young people are the ones who use it the most.
The earrings are another story. Although not very common, white opal earrings can be an exclusive design that not many goldsmiths dare to make. Those who are bold enough to experiment with white opal tendrils make very bold models that we all love and want to take everywhere and at any event.
Where Does White Opal Come From?
In Australia, most of the opal comes from the southernmost part. Although it is New South Wales where the precious Black Opal is produced, it only represents a small percentage of the total Opal extracted.
Recent studies suggest that the Australian white opal was formed during “an extraordinary episode of acidic weathering, due to the desiccation of the landscape of central Australia.” Between 100 and 97 million years ago, a vast sea covering 60% of Australia – from Coober Pedy in southern Australia to the Gulf of Carpentaria in northern Australia – began to recede.
This drying of central Australia increased acidity levels at a shallow depth, releasing silica due to sand erosion. Subsequently, the exposure to the weather caused these acidity levels to be reduced, favoring the creation of a silicone gel that was filling the cracks, fissures, and holes in the rocks, and which, in the end, ended up becoming the precious opal.
The majority of white opal comes from South Australia. The main deposits are Coober Pedy, Mintabie and Andamooka.
Coober Pedy
The Coober Pedy deposits have been at the center of the international attention of opal distributors since it was discovered in 1915. Today it still accounts for 80% of Australia’s opal production.
Mintabie
Mintabie has been for years a very important site for the extraction of white opal. However, currently, very few mines are already in operation. Mintabie also produced some good quality, Black Opal, although it is rare to find that variety in this area.
Andamooka
In the Andamooka deposits, the extracted opal is usually matrix opal. However, it also produces a very fine white opal that has a spectacular color.
How Much Is White Opal Worth?
It could be said that the common white opal variety is the cheapest of all that make up this family. The reason is the abundance of this type of opal, and as we know, rarity always plays a very important role in assessing a precious stone. There is, therefore, a large amount of white opal common in the market at very affordable prices for all budgets.
If we talk about precious white opal, prices already started to rise … And it is that as in all opals, the existence, or not, of a beautiful iridescent effect is a determining factor when assessing a stone. However, in no case, these specimens reach the value of black opals.
The reason, in addition to the fact that the black opal is less abundant, is that the intensity of the play of colors in the white opal is not as spectacular and intense as in the black opal. Although it is true that there are stones with a remarkable play of colors, the truth is that most have a fairly moderate color and iridescence.
How to Identify White Opal?
In order to correctly identify a white opal, the first thing you should do is look closely at the following characteristics of the stone. The play of colors, intensity and pattern are important value factors so you can know if you are in the presence of a true white opal.
Let’s start with the intense colors. This gem presents a spectacular play of colors called opalescence. It can show all the colors of the rainbow and it is what makes its white color so special.
Another factor to explain is diverse transparency. Experts recognize that there are different levels of transparency for different types of opals. There are opaque and there are translucent, but all have a very characteristic silky shine.
The concord fracture is a characteristic that talks about not having an orderly internal structure (such as that of minerals), the opal breaks in a curve, forming sinuous edges. Finally, we must mention its lightweight. Opal has a relatively low density, so even the largest sizes can be comfortable to wear.
Steps to identify opals:
First: Look at the base tone of your opal stone. The body of the gem that flashes many colors is transparent or white, most likely it is white opal. The base color is bright yellow, orange, red or a combination of all these tones without flashes of another color, probably a genuine fire opal. If the tone of the stone’s body is dark, black, blue or green, it could be a genuine solid opal, a double or a triplet.
Second: Look at the side of the mineral to identify artificial layers. The doubles have a black or colorless base with a thin facet of opal, while the triplets have a black base, a final layer of opal and a plastic or quartz layer. If you find a base in the stone, then it is not a solid opal.
Third: Look carefully at the top of the opal to see if it has a glassy surface. The clear layer of a triplet can form a highly reflective surface.
Fourth: Eye: if there is a snakeskin design that shows vibrant colors in wide areas. Such a design, which is generally far from perfect, is an indicator that the stone is an artificial opal.
Fifth: Finally check the top of the stone. If it has a cloudy appearance, it is probably a doublet or triplet. Over time, the glue that joins the base and the opal begins to deteriorate and becomes foggy.
How to Use White Opal?
Wearing jewelry with white opal is a great idea. Place your necklace or pendant, with the white opal stone near your heart. As a result, this simple act will make the energy released by the stone make you feel lighter and freer, and you can let your repressed emotions flow.
In this way, you can take your white opal everywhere and feel like you are always protected, with more mental clarity and energy. Wearing a jewel with this type of gem set, be it a necklace, ring, bracelet or even earrings, is equivalent to having a ticket awarded with good luck.
How to Cleanse White Opal?
White opal is sensitive to changes in its environment, especially in terms of hydration, so be careful not to clean it with soaking in water or with exposure to salt. To clean their energies, it is enough to pass it briefly by a jet of water asking this one to take all the negative content in the rock.
To activate it, the clean and dry stone is taken in the left hand and placed near the heart while establishing a connection with it. It is recommended to try to carry it as long as possible.
To clean your white opal, do it only with a soft brush and warm soapy water. When it is well cleaned, remove all the detergent with plenty of water. Do not forget that opals, in general, are very fragile stones. You must protect them, therefore, from falls and rubbing or bumps that may damage them. You should take off your jewelry with opal before doing housework or physical exercise.
Avoid exposing it to hostile environments as it is an extremely delicate gem. Chemicals, I am and heat, in general, are not friends of your stone.
Compared to Other Similar Gemstones
Something that we must understand is that, although the opal is a very beautiful gem, it can be very easy to confuse with other precious stones. In fact, there are those who confuse white opal even with diamonds and it is somewhat confusing since its brightness is not even close to resembling.
Comparing the white opal with similar precious stones is something that many do in order to be able to appreciate the white opal in a great way.
White Opal vs. Black Opal
The white opal and the black opal are rocks that get along very well and combine. The main difference you find is its color. The black opal is surrounded by this dark hue while the white opal is full of light and has this rainbow reflection that people full of positivism like so much.
Also, black opal is used on occasions that are soberer, events like galas and white opal are preferred by those who do outdoor events where everything is a bit more relaxed. You can combine both stones and you will realize that together they will give you shine of the highest level.
White Opal vs. White Sapphire
The white sapphire is close to resembling a diamond and that is why it is a favorite jewel for those lovers of the ostentatious. Even so, when comparing it with the white opal you can realize that it is not always chosen since there are those who prefer that fantastic touch that only the white opal can give them.
When you look at a white sapphire you will see the light reflected on all faces, which does not happen with the white opal since the light is reflected in the form of a rainbow band. Colorless sapphires are used as a diamond substitute while white opal is far from being used in this way.
Final Words
For many centuries the opal has been a stone much appreciated for its healing powers. It is able to cure depression and will help you find the love of your life, that real and true one.
The stone of a thousand colors is considered a karmic stone because of its boomerang effect; Everything you give always ends up coming back to you.
Ideal for use in charms, it will work very well as a protective stone. Its benefits are so positive that I advise you to carry a copy of this precious stone; You will feel happier, supportive and loyal to those around you.
Opal has long been considered one of the most beautiful gemstones in the world, as it shows all the colors of the visible spectrum and each gem is unique. It is very convenient for those people who feel some expressive difficulty and at the same time they are forced to speak, write, and study, opals are a good source of energy that allows better intellectual maneuverability. It also acts as a tranquilizer of the nervous system.
White opal is a very beautiful piece that you can use on any occasion. It doesn’t matter if you’re going to a wedding, an outdoor event that is casual or if you just want to use it as part of your day-to-day life. White Opal will always be a better option!
