Phoenix, AZ (PressExposure) May 05, 2010 -- 90% of the world's opals come from Australia and because it is such an ancient and dry continent, the location has been kind to us in producing probably the best opal stones on the planet.
Australians treated opal pretty much the same way as we treat most things we dig out of the ground down here. Ship it overseas. And hope that the cash we get for the raw materials will support out economy. One day we will wake up to the fact that half the continent will have been dug up and transported to Europe, the USA and many other parts of the world, and we will be living in the holes left behind.
Opalmine Jewelry & Opal Shop founded by Peter Brusaschi that originally came from a hobby to a business is not taking ground of whole Australia when it comes to Opal collections.
In our website we discussed the creation and naming of Opal, with our own encyclopedia we attempt to describe opal in layman's terms, and although admittedly imperfect, it is hoped it will make the online community more aware of this wonderful gem. Along with our own 'wiki' we offer you an opal chat forum, where you can both ask questions about the stone and its related industry, as well as offer your own comments on the subject. Like the online Wikipedia, we are open to your suggestions, and where it can be seen that our explanation doesn't line up with current views, we will change it to be more accurate.
What you are about to experience is a basic presentation of opal facts. We have a much larger consideration of the subject published in a CD called 'The Ordinary Blokes Guide To Opal" This is also available online as an e-book. But for the time being, we hope you enjoy the following presentation. However for most visitors to this site, it will suffice to get to know about the stone as a casual matter of interest or to make a buying decision. It will allow you to know what you are buying and how to look after it. For hobbyists and dedicated opal buffs, a more extensive analysis is available.