Stone 101
Not even a crystal. Opal is hardened silica gel, and the rainbow comes from tiny spheres.
Opal ranges from milky blue to cherry orange to rainbow flash. Here you'll find opal rings and bracelets, dendritic opal, cherry opal, and some opalite and opal aura pieces, labelled as such.
Shop Opal by shape
The basics
Opal is silica with water locked inside. It never forms a crystal grid, so geologists call it a mineraloid instead of a mineral.
In precious opal, tiny silica spheres sit in neat rows and split light into colours. Common opal, like blue, cherry and dendritic opal, glows softly instead.
Rituals, not rules
These are traditions people enjoy, not promises. Pick the one you keep coming back to.
Care
Straight talk
Opalite is man-made glass, and it's gorgeous, but it isn't opal. Opal aura is quartz with a thin metal coating. Lab-grown opal and thin slices glued to backing also exist. TRS labels every synthetic or coated piece in the title, like "(Synthetic)" or "Aura".
Good questions
Opal is traditionally linked with creativity, hope and self-expression. Most people just love the colour play.
No. Opalite is man-made glass with a milky blue glow. Opal is natural silica from the ground. Both are pretty, they're just different things.
A quick rinse is fine for most opal. Dry it right after and don't soak it. Some Ethiopian opal soaks up water and goes cloudy for a while, so be extra gentle with it.
Opal holds water. Heat, very dry air or a sudden temperature change can make it lose water fast and form fine cracks. Store it at room temperature, away from heaters.
