Introduction

What is Natural Opal?

Natural opal is a type of silica that forms in the earth’s crust. It occurs as a result of heat and pressure, which causes the mineral to become amorphous (without any long-range order) and translucent. The chemical composition of natural opal is SiO2(silicon dioxide), but it can also contain other elements such as water, sodium or potassium–and sometimes even iron!
The Mohs scale measures hardness on a scale from 1 to 10; diamonds are rated at 10 while talc is rated at 1. Natural opals fall somewhere between 6-7 on this scale; they’re fairly hard but still very fragile compared with other gems like diamonds or sapphires…which means you’ll want to be careful when wearing them!

Types of Natural Opal

There are three main types of natural opal:

black opal:

White opal and fire opal. Black opals have the most color play and fire, while white opals have less color play but are still very beautiful.
Black Opal: This type of natural stone has a dark background with bright flashes of color that can be seen when the stone is moved or tilted in different directions. The brightness depends on how much light it receives so it’s best to keep them out in the sun as often as possible if you want them to glow brightly!

White Opal:

This type of natural stone has more subtle shades of blue than black or fire but still has some interesting properties when it comes to reflecting light back at us from different angles (which makes them look like they’re changing colour).

Fire Opal:

Fire Opals are similar in appearance to Black Opals except they tend towards reds rather than blues/greens; however unlike other types there isn’t any colour shift when moving around which means these stones don’t require much maintenance aside from keeping them clean so dust doesn’t collect on top.”

Effects of Natural Opal

-Hope
-Protection
-Emotional balance
-Creativity

Benefits of Natural Opal

Opal is known for its ability to reduce stress, anxiety and depression. It can also enhance self-confidence, clarity of thinking and creativity.

Uses of Natural Opal

Natural opal has many uses. It can be used in jewelry, feng shui, crystal healing and home decor.

Care and Cleaning of Natural Opal

Avoid harsh chemicals. Abrasive cleaners and solvents are not recommended for opal as they can damage the surface of your stone.
Clean with lukewarm water and mild soap. If you do not have access to distilled water, use bottled spring or distilled water instead of tap water when cleaning your opal jewelry.
Dry with a soft cloth to prevent spotting or staining from moisture trapped between the stone and metal setting (if applicable).

Mineral oil or baby oil may be used periodically on the backside of an unset opal to prevent cracking due to dehydration if you live in a dry climate such as Arizona where there is little humidity in winter months when temperatures drop below freezing point at night time but rise above it during day time hours when sun shines brightly overhead without much cloud cover overhead so it’s impossible for rain clouds overhead–which would provide some relief from dryness if they were present–to give off any moisture drops which might otherwise fall down onto earth’s surface below ground level where we live here in order avoid getting too hot under direct sunlight exposure during daytime hours only leaving us exposed without any protection against heat radiation coming directly down onto our heads causing potential damage over time through prolonged exposure until eventually causing brain cell death resulting ultimately lead death.