LEOPARD OPAL

MEXICAN OPAL ROUGH

RED BLUE GREEN WHITE Colour

SLICED READY TO SHAPE-POLISH

This is a natural untreated opal from Mexico. Also known as opal from the lost mines of the Aztecs. Ideal for cabbing or carving. We have included both sides of the stone plus a hand shot. You have the option to cut the stone natural or some cutters like to fill the small cavities with resin or super glue.

The GIA have published this about this type of opal- “Leopard opal” consists of vesicular basalt impregnated with play-of-colour opal, and is known only from Zima pan, Hidalgo State, Mexico. The formation of this ornamental stone was made possible by an abundance of silica derived from the chemical breakdown of overlying volcanic ash layers, the permeability of the underlying basalt, and the presence of pores in the basalt of an aesthetically pleasing size. The even distribution and small size of the opal-filled vesicles makes the rock attractive when cut or carved and polished. Veinlets and irregular masses of play-of-colour opal showing various bodycolor's (red, white, and colourless to pale blue) have also been deposited along joints and fractures within the basalt flow. This opal deposit, which may have been worked in pre-Columbian times, has been explored only by a number of small test pits in recent years, and significant potential remains for its future development.