Queensland, Australia Fairy Opal Pendant in Silver

*Product photo is of the actual item you will receive when ordered.
The Opalton Field, also called the Fermoy Field was one of the largest and most extensively worked opal deposits in Queensland. Fairy opal is the term given by opal miners in Queensland, to treated opalized sandstone.  Opalized sandstone is sandstone ( mother rock of the opal stone) impregnated with small grains of precious opal only found in Queensland Australia.

It appears that the opal formation has been limited and restricted to the sandstone in the area. It is not particularly common, and opal colors can vary from blue to all the colors of the rainbow ( the latter being rather rare). Part of treating opalized sandstone is to darken the sandstone which as a result makes the opal colors stand out looking very bright.  The other part of the treatment is to make the stone harder without any voids ( as natural sandstone is porous) which allow to highly polish it. Cut and polished Fairy opal can be fairly valuable based on the beauty and rarity of the finished product.  Fairy opal is considered to be a treated opal matrix.