First we need to thank the International School of Gemology for the information about this gemstone. It is unusual to find new gemstones on the market but this new find, or not so new, has only been around for over 500 years. Sounds kind of confusing !
.
Leopard Opal has only been widely seen on the modern market for a couple years, but it first appeared at the Tucson Gem Show in 1996 displayed by R T Boyd Ltd., but it is reported to have been mined by the Aztecs in Mexico over 500 years ago. The recent re-discovery of this mystical gemstone is causing a lot of excitement in the market. Leopard Opal is an opalized vesicular basalt or Matrix Opal where the vesicles in the basalt have been filled with precious opal showing a strong colour pattern. Leopard Opal is a term that was coined during its reintroduced to the world gemstone markets. Prior to the mid 1960s Leopard Opal was sold as Basalt Opal with modest acceptance by the North American gem and mineral community. The matrix is a basaltic black rock from Zimapán, Hidalgo State, Mexico. This opal was formed as abundant amounts of silica was chemically broken down by layers of volcanic ash in this area of Mexico. The location was known to have been mined by the Aztec Indians in pre-Columbian times based on jewelry items found in ancient tombs. This location was recently re-discovered and now the renamed Leopard Opal is available to the market today. The hardness of the black basaltic rock makes Leopard Opal a very durable gemstone, while the formation of opal in the small pockets that are throughout the stone make for one of the most beautiful plays of color of any opal around. .
Durable, beautiful, affordable....all of the things we are looking for in the way of colored gemstones these days. In Mexico it is erroneously referred to as 'Opalo Negro' or 'Black Opal' but is not at all like Australian Black Opal, so do not confuse the two.
Durable, beautiful, affordable....all of the things we are looking for in the way of colored gemstones these days. In Mexico it is erroneously referred to as 'Opalo Negro' or 'Black Opal' but is not at all like Australian Black Opal, so do not confuse the two.
.
Thanks again to Robert James at the ISG for the majority of this information and the alert to it's existance.
..
