re: #36 Walter L. Newton

Confusion of terms. Fire opal is the solid colored orange/reddish translucent opal that comes from Mexico. It has no flash or play of color, is is simply a amber-looking stone.

Fire is the generic term for the play of multiple colors in a piece of opal, whether the opal be black, white, crystal or matrix.

Broad flash is when the colors look like it was painted on in swatches. Pin fire is when the multiple colors are like little pinpoints of lights, speckled, tight pricks of color.

Boulder opal is when you have mineraloid opal material that has seeped into crack and fissures of boulder material like ironstone or rhyolite.

There is no such thing as fire opal from Au. Just a quick primer on opal.

I cut and polish opal. I was just looking over a parcel of opal that I haven’t gotten to, since I had to sell my cutting and polishing machines a few years ago cause I needed money.

I love opal.

I love Opal..I collect gems..
So you are telling me my late friend Danny B. Who took a trip to Australia and returned with Fire Opals was just full of shit? Or he got ripped off…
I saw the fire opals from down under with my eyes..
Weird