Emerson writes of the “opal-coloured days,” and Poe with true poetic fancy sees even the air opal tinted:
“A wreath that twined each starry form around
And all the opal’d air in colour bound.”
Shakespeare in “Twelfth Night” links the mind of the Duke with the opal (written “opall” in early editions). Boetius, Cardanus and a host of writers pay their tributes to the “orphan” of the Greeks, and Petrus Arlensis writes: “The various colours in the opal tend greatly to the delectation of the sight; nay, more, they have the greatest efficacy in cheering the heart, and the inward parts especially rejoice the eyes of the beholders. One in particular came into my hands in which such beauty, loveliness and grace shone forth that it could truly boast that it forcibly drew all other gems to itself, while it surprised, astonished and held captive without escape or intermission the hearts of all who beheld it. It was of the size of a filbert and clasped in the claws of a golden eagle wrought with wonderful art; and had such vivid and various colours that all the beauties of the heavens might be viewed within it. Grace went out from it, majesty shot forth from its almost divine splendour. It sent forth such bright and piercing rays that it struck terror into all beholders. In a word it bestowed upon the wearer the qualities granted by Nature to itself, for by an invisible dart it penetrated the souls and dazzled the eyes of all who saw it: appalled all hearts, however bold and courageous: in fine, it filled with trembling the bodies of the bystanders and forced them by a fatal impulse to love, honour and worship it. I have seen, I have felt, I call God to witness: of a truth such a stone is to be valued at an inestimable amount.”
Opals of Wonderful Colour
Kelsey I. Newman Collection
Turning back again, we read Pliny’s poetical opinion that “the opal is made up of the glories of the most precious gems which make description so difficult. For amongst them is the gentler fire of the ruby, the rich purple of the amethyst, the sea-green of the emerald, glittering together in union indescribable. Others by the intensity of their hues equal all the painter’s colours, others the flame of burning brimstone or of fire quickened by oil.” In admiration the Romans called the gem Cupid-Paederos, child beautiful as love, and it was also known as Orphanus, the orphan, because of its isolated glory. Leonardus wrote that it partook of all the virtues of those stones whose colours it showed, and Porta said that it not only drove away despondency but malignant affections also. So highly valued was the stone in the ancient world that the Roman Senator Nonius, who wore an opal ring worth 20,000 sesterces, preferred to be exiled by Marcus Antonius, who wished to purchase it to present to the Egyptian Queen Kleopatra, to giving it up. This famous ring was some few years back discovered in the tomb of the firm-willed senator of old Rome.
Opal was called OPTHALMIOS or Eye Stone in the Middle Ages, and in the time of Queen Elizabeth it was written ophal and opall. Our “Rare” Ben Jonson writes of an opal “wrapped in a bay leaf in my left fist to charm their eyes with.” The opal—ophthalmis lapis—was famous as an eyestone, taking precedence over the emerald and all gems credited with such virtue. It was advised by mediaeval writers that it be wrapped in a bay leaf to sharpen the sight of the owner and to blunt that of others with whom he came in contact: hence also its reputed virtue of bestowing the gift of invisibility which earned it the name “Patronus furum,” the patron of thieves.
The Bay tree is identified in astro-philosophy as a tree of the Sun and the zodiacal Leo (House of the Sun), and is an ancient recognized charm against evil forces, thunder, lightning and the afflictions of Saturn which is the heavenly symbol of darkness, as the Sun is the heavenly symbol of light. Albertus Magnus, regarding the opal as a symbol of the loveliness of light, says that “at one time, but not in our age, it sparkled in the dark.” The zodiacal Leo or Lion is the ancient recognized sign of royalty and old writers say that kingly government was established on the earth in the Leonine age. Alluding to the great translucent opal in the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, Albertus said that it safeguarded the honour of the kings. The stone was always considered to protect the wearer from cholera, kidney troubles, and similar diseases, to soothe the heart, the eyes and the nerves, and to protect from the lightning stroke. The belief in its power to ward off lightning was universal in the ancient world when amongst the people it was believed to have fallen from the heavens during thunder storms—hence its old name, KERAUNIOS, Thunder Stone, amongst the Greeks, and CERAUNIUM amongst the Romans. The opal was essentially the stone of beauty, which coveted gift it bestowed upon the wearer who, however, must have entered earth life with the Sun in Leo (approximately between July 24th and August 24th), Libra (September 24th to October 24th) or Aquarius (January 21st to February 19th). It favoured children, the theatre, amusements, friendships, and the feelings. Held between the eyes it gave proper direction to the thoughts. Held in the left hand and gazed upon it favoured the desires. It is the stone of hope and achievement and has been truly described as the “gem of the gods.” Above all, it is a stone of love, but if the lover be false its influence is reversed, and the opal proves a sorry gem for faithless lovers. Mr. Emanuel comments on the two fine opals which were amongst the imperial jewels of France, one of which was set in the clasp of the royal cloak. The opal, astrologically considered, is one of the fortunate gems for France. A beautiful uncut opal discovered at Czernovitza in Hungary has been valued at over £50,000 sterling; this specimen, in length 5 inches by 2½ and weighing 3,000 carats, was placed in the Museum of Natural History at Vienna. The mines at Czernovitza are known to have been worked over 500 years ago, and at a more remote period they no doubt supplied the ancient world. There is little doubt, however, that the wonderful opals from Australia’s fields have eclipsed anything yet found. The White Cliffs, the Lightning Ridge, and the newer field out North West are responsible for some of the most beautiful gems that have ever been unearthed. A kangaroo hunter accidentally discovered the White Cliffs field in New South Wales over 40 years ago whilst following the trail of a kangaroo. Rich “blacks” were discovered later in the iron sandstone of Lightning Ridge (New South Wales) and the new fields North West of Tarcoola are yielding white and light varieties. Opal country is dry and dreary and the diggers deserve all they find. Sir David Brewster’s theory of the colour blends which flash from an opal is that “the stone is internally traversed with undulating fissures of microscopic minuteness upon which refraction and decomposition of light takes place. The variations in the nature of these minute cavities cause the appearance of the opal to vary considerably, and the different effects of colour thus produced are technically known as the pattern of the gem.” Hauy held that colour in the opal is caused by thin films of air which fill the interior cavities. Dr. G. F. Herbert Smith writes “that the colouration is not due to ordinary absorption but to the action of cracks in the stone. This is shown by the fact that the transmitted light is complementary to the reflected light; the blue opal, for instance, is a yellow when held up so that light has passed through it.... Opal differs,” he says, “from the rest of the principal gem stones in being not a crystalline body but a solidified jelly, and it depends for its attractiveness upon the characteristic play of colour known, in consequence, as opalescence which arises from a peculiarity in the structure. Opal is mainly silica (SiO2) in composition, but it contains in addition an amount of water, thereby differing slightly in refractivity from the original substance. The structure not being quite homogeneous, each crack has the same action upon light as a soap-film and gives rise to precisely similar phenomena: the thinner and more uniform the cracks, the greater the splendour of the chromatic display, the particular tint depending upon the direction in which the stone is viewed. The cracks in certain opals are not filled up, and therefore contain air.” The opal is a very sensitive gem and should not be put near strong acids nor greasy substances. The heat of the body improves its lustre for the opal is essentially a stone to be worn, but it is unsafe to put these gems near liquids or to submit them to fire.
“Truth is as impossible to be soiled by any outward touch as the sunbeam.”