Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones — with properties, formation, colors, hardness, and how to tell them apart.

Mexican Fire Opal

A transparent to translucent opal prized for its glowing orange-to-red body color, mined chiefly in the volcanic highlands of Mexico.

A translucent to transparent opal in warm yellow, orange, and red tones, prized for body color rather than play-of-color.

Mexican purple common opal, "morado" meaning purple in Spanish, valued for its violet color and reputed UV color-shift.

An opal with a deep red body color, often a variety of Mexican fire opal, prized for its warm, glowing intensity.

A translucent red opal, closely related to Mexican fire opal, glowing with a warm cherry-red body color often free of play-of-color.

A glowing orange-to-red opal whose warm body color resembles flame; some stones add flashes of play-of-color.

A pastel purple variety of common opal, valued for its gentle lilac body color rather than any play-of-color.

A vivid orange opal, classically Mexican fire opal, prized for its bright, fiery body color that glows when backlit.

A transparent, colorless opal that looks like water or jelly, sometimes flashing subtle play-of-color from within.

A purple-hued common opal, much of it the Mexican "morado" type, valued for even violet color rather than play-of-color.

An opal with warm sunset hues of orange, amber, and red, prized for its glowing fiery body color reminiscent of dusk skies.

Precious opal with a warm chocolate-brown body tone that makes its rainbow play-of-color glow, mainly from Ethiopia and Mexico.

A rare opal whose play-of-color appears only when light passes through it, glowing best when backlit or held to the light.