Rainbow Gems

My love for color and light, which finds expression in rainbows, also means that I enjoy other manifestations that are similar. I love prisms and collect both antique chandelier crystals and new cut glass shapes to hang in windows so I can see the tiny rainbows dancing on walls and floors inside the house. I also have a deep appreciation for stained glass windows - which means that I find great pleasure in spending time in churches and cathedrals, much to the despair of family and friends who might accompany me there. (Those who know me do so at their own risk, or attempt to avoid it whenever possible!)

My favorite gems also shimmer with rainbow colors - I love opals. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds may flash, but for some reason, they do not fascinate me. The unique patterning of each opal, the colors that change under different lights, the depth of their appearance all make them the stones that I desire most.

My love of opal jewelry goes way back to when I was eighteen. I had just gotten my first tax return, from money hard-earned working my way through college. I needed most of that for financing tuition, etc., but I wanted to buy myself something special from a bit of it. I had access to a wholesale jewelry store and found the ring of my dreams there - a fairly small opal in the middle, surrounded by eight smaller ones, a flower-like cluster, set in gold. I think it cost something like $25, if memory serves me right, and I still have that ring - as a matter of fact, I'm wearing it right now! I should have it assessed to see what it's worth nowadays. I have never tired of seeing each little stone glowing with its tiny specks of color.

Since then, I have been given some opal jewelry (usually on request, as I have a very particular taste) and bought myself both finished jewelry and stones to have set to my own designs. The stones are larger now, since I can afford to pay more than I could back in college, and I wear more white gold and silver than yellow gold. I have a brooch, several pendants, earrings, and rings. The latter are the most fun to own and wear, as I can see them myself - no mirror necessary! My favorite silver ring has a long oval stone that looks dull and gray when no light shines on it, but shows wonderful colors especially under neon light. Other opals look best under sunlight - each is different and unique.

Now that I'm planning a big vacation trip that includes Australia as a destination, I hope to see opal mines there. Coober Pedy is the location that claims to be the most important source of opals in the world, and there are lots of shops selling stones and jewelry there, so of course that's where I want to go! What better souvenir could a traveller bring back than a lasting treasure such as an opal.

I've always seen opals as a picture for an interesting personality too - simple and plain on the surface, almost colorless, seemingly. But when you look into the depths, there are many colors, light flashes, and unique patterns - never boring, always changing, and deeply fascinating in the long run.

Diamonds are not this girl's best friends!