Pink Opal Identification Guide
How to identify pink opal by its soft opaque pink body color, waxy luster, low density, and lack of play-of-color.
Read the full Pink Opal encyclopedia entry →
What Pink Opal Looks Like
Pink opal is a common (non-precious) opal with a soft pink body color, usually without play-of-color. The Peruvian variety is the best known.
- Color: Pastel to medium pink, sometimes with white, grey, or brown mottling or webbing.
- Luster: Waxy, resinous, to porcelain-like.
- Transparency: Opaque to slightly translucent.
- Habit: Massive, nodular, botryoidal; cut as cabochons.
Step-by-Step Field ID Checklist
- Note the body color. Even, soft pink without rainbow flashes is typical of common pink opal.
- Check luster. Waxy to porcelain-like, not glassy.
- Look for matrix webbing. Peruvian pink opal often has fine grey-brown dendritic or mottled patterning.
- Heft it. Opal is light.
- Hardness test. Softer than quartz; scratches glass only with effort.
Key Diagnostic Tests
- Mohs hardness: ~5.5–6.5.
- Streak: White.
- Fracture: Conchoidal; no cleavage.
- Density: ~2.0–2.2 g/cm³ — light.
- Acid: Inert (silica). Note some pink opal owes color to organic pigment/palygorskite.
Common Look-Alikes and How to Tell Them Apart
- Pink chalcedony/agate: Harder (~7), denser, more translucent, may band; pink opal is softer and lighter.
- Rhodochrosite: Banded pink, softer (3.5–4), fizzes in acid; opal does not fizz.
- Rose quartz: Harder (7), crystalline, more translucent.
- Morganite (pink beryl): Transparent, much harder (7.5–8), crystalline.
- Dyed howlite/magnesite: Softer (3.5), porous, often with dye in veins; differs in density and hardness.
- Pink dyed opalite/glass: Glassy, may show bubbles.
Where Pink Opal Is Found
The classic source is Peru (Andes), with additional material from Australia, Mexico, and the USA. Peruvian pink opal is prized for its soft, even "cotton-candy" pink and natural matrix webbing.
Frequently asked questions
Does pink opal have play-of-color?
Usually no. Pink opal is a common opal with a soft body color and typically lacks the rainbow play-of-color seen in precious opal.
How can you tell if pink opal is real?
Check for a waxy-to-porcelain luster, even soft pink color, low density (~2.1), hardness of 5.5–6.5, and no fizz in acid. Dyed howlite is softer (3.5) and shows dye in veins.
What does pink opal look like?
It looks like a soft, opaque cotton-candy pink stone, often with fine grey-brown webbing or mottling and a smooth waxy polish.
Where does pink opal come from?
The most famous source is Peru, with additional material from Australia, Mexico, and the USA.
Pink Opal identified by the community
Recent Pink Opal specimens identified with Rock Identifier.
