this is not play of color
and this is not play of color
but this is play of color
g'day I'm Justin from Black Opal Direct, today we're talking
about what is play of color
so most gemstones in this world they have a body color
most gemstones have a trace element which is I think
it's called a chromophore
which gives that gemstone its actual colour
when a gemstone is faceted the
light from those facets refract around
the gem to show that color
but that's not play of color
there's only a very few gems in the world that we could
actually say they have play of color
and opal is one of those gems, so it's a very
rare phenomenon
the technical term for play of color is
the phenomenon of spectral colors created due to the
orderly array of silica spheres in opal structure
so this is how I explain it in simple terms;
it is a bunch of silica spheres stacked
very neatly together
and these silica spheres refract light
and depending on the size of those
spheres whether they're small or big
depends on what color that comes
out of that opal from those silica spheres
now the spheres have to be
stacked neatly in order to make color,
or color play, or play of color
if they are not stacked neatly and there are
different sized spheres all over the
opal then what happens is it becomes
common opal which is a potch
or an opal with no play of color
and there is a big difference
so the phenomenon of silica spheres being stacked really
neatly to make color is very rare
now here's some opals as well and I'm
just showing them to you to explain that
not all opals have play of color
and when opal has a color base to it
so it's like, let's say, what they call
a Mexican fire opal which is
just a red or orange tinted faceted stone
that has no play of color unless you get the gem
quality Mexican opal which has actual
play of color like Australian opal
these pieces here are blue and pink
but there's no play of color - they're a tint
it's what's in the stone that makes that color
so there's no silica spheres
reflecting light bouncing off different colors
in this type of opal
so it's more of a common opal
only when you get play of color in an opal
is it considered precious
sometimes in crystal opal, if you have a crystal opal that is
double sided you can get something that
is very reflective and some people
mistake it for color but what it is
is actually light traveling through the
polished top of the opal down to the
backside of the opal and reflecting the
light source back at you
so as you're moving it around
that light source is also moving around on the stone as well
now that is not play of color
that is reflection
now the difference between color play in opal
and color play in other types of gemstones is that opal
can have 3d color play
so it can have patterning on top of more patterning
so you get a real deep affect to opal like
a 3d in depth effect so you can look
right into the stone where some other
gemstones they have a play of color but
it's a very matte 2d play of color
so there is a big difference in phenomenon
between the two types
now this piece is an example of Australian amber opal
so it's got a little bit of a yellowy tinge
to it and it's considered amber nobbys or
amber seam opal, it's clear it has no
play of color whatsoever
and if you facet it you will get the
refraction and it will bounce around the
stone like a faceted opal but it's still
not considered play of color.
So thanks for watching, I hope it's made a little bit clearer
I'm trying not to be too technical
because when you start talking
big scientific words a lot of people get
lost in the words
if you like the information I'm giving
I'm working hard to get a lot more
information out there so it would help
so much if you would subscribe and like my videos
it inspires me to get more information
to you so you can learn a lot more
if you don't like advertising on YouTube
we do have a subscriber list
on my website that you can join
you get the videos earlier and they're on a
different platform with no advertising
whatsoever so don't have a look at that
if you feel the need there is no
pressure but I do appreciate you watching
thanks for watching this time
and then I'll see you next time