3" Extremely Fluorescent Hyalite Opal over Smoky Quartz - Nambia

This is an absolutely stunning 3" wide hyalite opal specimen, collected from Erongo Region of Namibia. The opal formed over smoky quartz crystals. Under both longwave and shortwave UV light, the hyalite opal exhibits a vibrant green fluorescence. The reaction to shortwave UV is a result of trace uranyl ions.

Comes with an acrylic display stand.

Hyalite is a transparent to translucent variety of opal that typically bears a globular structure. An amorphous form of silica (SiO2), hyalite opal forms as a volcanic sublimate in volcanic or pegmatic rock and is thereby considered a mineraloid. It can be referred to as water opal, jalite, or even Muller's glass, named after the man who discovered it, Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein. It has a hardness of 5.5–6 on the Mohs scale and exhibits conchoidal fracturing.

Smoky quartz is a grey-brown to black variety of quartz. This common name is derived from the appearance of smoke within the quartz crystal. Depending on the location and the chemicals present during formation, smoky quartz can appear opaque black, but it is typically translucent to some extent. It is believed that the quartz gains this color from a combination of natural irradiation and aluminum impurities.
SOLD
DETAILS
SPECIES
Opal var. Hyalite & Quartz var. Smoky
LOCATION
Erongo Region, Namibia
SIZE
3 x 2.25"
CATEGORY
ITEM
#283815