What is the Play of Colour?

And what makes it so magical?

We often describe Opals as being magical because of its play of colour, but what exactly do we mean when we say that? Does it do tricks? Does it turn into a rabbit if you say ‘abracadabra? Well, not quite… but they certainly appear to be magical!

The thing that makes Opals more unique and ‘magical’ in comparison to other gemstones is something called the ‘play of colour’. This is an optical phenomenon which happens when the Opal interacts with light. The light enters the gaps between the silica spheres of the Opal and the light reflects off the silica. Because of this, the colours appear more vibrant and the ‘hidden’ colours are revealed! 

The colours are and have always been there, but sometimes they can appear harder to see in the dark.

So in simple terms, it is the different ways that the colours can appear. The Opal is the magic trick tool and the light is the word ‘abracadabra’.

Pretty amazing, right?

Watch an example of the ‘play of colour’ on our Instagram reel here and impress everyone around you with one of our products (which have the play of colour!) here !

 

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