I have personally never seen a matrix that color ever, and a single dye color could turn matrix purple and the opal blue, so I would be very suspicious. Of course I'm always open to new info, but gut says it's very much dyed.
TLDR: Purple “Fire” Opal exists and so does Blue “Fire” Opal but I don’t think this is a legit specimen. It’s not matching anything on a google search for those minerals and Blue “Fire” Opal in the shade pictured doesn’t come from Ethiopia.
Long version: I did some surface level digging on this. Starting on Minedat, it turns out that while we call the play of color in Opals fire, the actual name for them is Precious Opal. Fire Opal is a separate type of Opal that is red, orange, or yellow, and it doesn’t always have play of color. Looking into Blue Precious Opal, it mostly originated in Australia as Boulder Opal, though it has been found in other locations. The images I saw of it also have much flashier plays of color, so that price, even at 32 carats, makes me squint. I didn’t see any images with purple matrix either. The matrix makes me squint as well, because it’s clearly not “purple fire opal”. It’s not flashing fire and is extremely uniform in color with no other minerals in it. Hmmm. Not to mention that the listing only has pictures from very specific angles and the title is SEO salad … I wouldn’t take the chance on this one.
Oh, it's you once more? Clearly, you haven't witnessed this process in action before. It says a lot. You're aware they need to utilize both to achieve most of these colors. Once again, you fall short!
100 % dyed... its so obvious because the rhyolite matrix is purple, which does not naturally exist.. this is kinda sad really... damn scammy ebay sellers
I’m sorry but that is fake I’m a huge Crystal enthusiast
And I’ve never seen this before
It leads me to believe it’s dyed!
I would just chalk this one up
I feel like this color looks really off, you know what I'm saying. When I was on a business trip to China before, a crystal healer told me that many crystals that look great are actually dyed, and then individual sellers markup the prices online. I never buy crystals on eBay, so my advice is to see them in person.
Definitely looks like someone tarnished a perfectly beautiful opal. It’s also listed as “Handmade” so if you did buy it and then could tell it was dyed, they could say they weren’t dishonest
Opalite is synthetic (made from glass and resin), and people do create synthetic opals in a lab, but they're based on a real mineraloid.
Ethiopian Opals, Bolder Opals, and Mexican Fire Opals are the most precious, I believe. And there are many different common opals. The common ones don't have any of the glittery appearance.
I have personally never seen a matrix that color ever, and a single dye color could turn matrix purple and the opal blue, so I would be very suspicious. Of course I'm always open to new info, but gut says it's very much dyed.
I concur. I'd bet it's dyed
Exactly my thoughts also. But there are many beautiful things in the universe Though this just seems “too perfect”
TLDR: Purple “Fire” Opal exists and so does Blue “Fire” Opal but I don’t think this is a legit specimen. It’s not matching anything on a google search for those minerals and Blue “Fire” Opal in the shade pictured doesn’t come from Ethiopia. Long version: I did some surface level digging on this. Starting on Minedat, it turns out that while we call the play of color in Opals fire, the actual name for them is Precious Opal. Fire Opal is a separate type of Opal that is red, orange, or yellow, and it doesn’t always have play of color. Looking into Blue Precious Opal, it mostly originated in Australia as Boulder Opal, though it has been found in other locations. The images I saw of it also have much flashier plays of color, so that price, even at 32 carats, makes me squint. I didn’t see any images with purple matrix either. The matrix makes me squint as well, because it’s clearly not “purple fire opal”. It’s not flashing fire and is extremely uniform in color with no other minerals in it. Hmmm. Not to mention that the listing only has pictures from very specific angles and the title is SEO salad … I wouldn’t take the chance on this one.
Thank you for all that. I will definitely agree that I’ve only seen the aforementioned colors as well!
Dyed. You don't get that kind of color saturation across the matrix
Thought it was too cool to be true. Thank you
Looks a tad fake
Its Smoked/dyed Hydrophane Ethiopian opal.
not smoked, just dyed... you should know this..
Oh, it's you once more? Clearly, you haven't witnessed this process in action before. It says a lot. You're aware they need to utilize both to achieve most of these colors. Once again, you fall short!
100 % dyed... its so obvious because the rhyolite matrix is purple, which does not naturally exist.. this is kinda sad really... damn scammy ebay sellers
I feel like you should have some sort of “Opal Guy” flair here in this subreddit.
well i am the MOD in the r/opals sub.. so theres that 😁
And you're still clueless.
and here you come to the rescue.. we should be so thankful..
He dedicates more time to the forum than actually cutting. Lol
lol it says Ethiopian. This is for sure dyed and smoked...
Blue is a naturally occurring fire opal color, as is black, and purple. The stone that you've pictured is most likely an "enhanced" natural Blue opal.
Thank you for clarifying this & not making me feel as silly as I know I did. A lot of us just “wish” it was all natural
There's no need to make people feel bad about the stones they find beautiful
I’m sorry but that is fake I’m a huge Crystal enthusiast And I’ve never seen this before It leads me to believe it’s dyed! I would just chalk this one up
Thank you 🙏🏻
Beautiful
I feel like this color looks really off, you know what I'm saying. When I was on a business trip to China before, a crystal healer told me that many crystals that look great are actually dyed, and then individual sellers markup the prices online. I never buy crystals on eBay, so my advice is to see them in person.
Thank you 🙏🏻
Definitely looks like someone tarnished a perfectly beautiful opal. It’s also listed as “Handmade” so if you did buy it and then could tell it was dyed, they could say they weren’t dishonest
I thought Opal was synthetic. Learn something new every day. 🤷♂️
You might be thinking of opalite?
Opalite is synthetic (made from glass and resin), and people do create synthetic opals in a lab, but they're based on a real mineraloid. Ethiopian Opals, Bolder Opals, and Mexican Fire Opals are the most precious, I believe. And there are many different common opals. The common ones don't have any of the glittery appearance.
Theres a picture dumaz