When the group of workers first spotted a blood-red stone, the expert repeatedly claimed they had discovered a rare treasure. Why is that?
The Lucky Stone of the Workers
Alfredo – a Mexican worker, along with his friends, often visited an abandoned mine near their home in hopes of finding precious stones. One day, while the group was enthusiastically working, something unexpected happened to Alfredo. He suddenly found a strange stone mixed in with the gravel.
The workers found a strange stone while digging in the abandoned mine. (Photo: Kknews).
Surprisingly, this stone had an unusual color. Externally, some parts of the stone were red. Alfredo’s group felt curious as they had never seen a stone like it before. One person suggested they try to break it open to examine the inside. After some discussion, they split the stone in half. Indeed, the interior of the stone was blood-red.
Although these workers did not know what the stone was, they decided to take it home. To determine whether the stone was precious, Alfredo took it to a testing center for examination. After careful measurement and analysis, the experts at the center revealed the mystery to the worker.
After the workers split the stone, the interior was blood-red. (Photo: Kknews).
To their surprise, the stone that Alfredo’s group had unearthed was fire opal. They also noted that fire opal is considered a gem of gems. The stone they found was quite large and would surely fetch a good price. The experts openly expressed that they were quite envious of Alfredo and his friends for this “treasure.”
Why Are Experts Envious of the Workers?
The reason experts said this is that Alfredo’s group possesses a fire opal of nearly the largest size found in nature.
Opal, also known as cat’s eye or cat’s eye stone, is an amorphous hydrated solid primarily composed of silica. Opal has an indefinite composition ratio, containing 1-5% water, and can sometimes reach up to 34%. Precious opals can contain up to 6-10% water. When heated, the water in opal can easily escape, leading to cracking, color loss, and decreased purity.
Fire opal is considered one of the special types of opal. (Photo: Pixabay)
Opal is one of the most beautiful gemstones on Earth. It can reflect light, creating a rainbow-like phenomenon on the surface of the stone, known as the opalescent effect. The characteristic properties of these stones may diminish when dehydrated or exposed to grease.
Based on color, opalescent effect, and clarity, researchers have classified opal into 400 types, but the most common include: white opal, black opal, water opal, crystal opal, fire opal… Among these, fire opal is regarded by experts as being in a special position among opal types due to its color.
Fire opal comes in various shades from orange, red to yellow. (Photo: Pixabay)
Fire opal typically exhibits colors of orange, red, and yellow, with flames of light appearing within. In these stones, one can observe its fiery tones. The more vibrant the orange and red colors, the more valuable the stone. Stones range from red to orange in various tones, from level 7 to level 3. Levels 7 and 6 are red, while levels 5, 4, and 3 are orange. Mexico is considered the birthplace of fire opal. Fire opal is also highly valued by the Greeks, Romans, and Indians.
Fire opal has beautiful colors but tends to fade over time. Furthermore, it is fragile and, unlike other gemstones, requires careful handling. High-quality fire opal is found only in Mexico, Brazil, Kazakhstan, the United States, and Honduras. Fire opal from Mexico is the most sought after and expensive, known for its vibrant orange and deep red tones, which cannot be replicated.
“Fire Queen” is the most expensive fire opal in the world, valued at over 78 billion VND. (Photo: Pixabay)
The fire opal known as “Fire Queen”, mined in 1918, is considered the most expensive in the world. Experts estimate its value at approximately 3.4 million USD (over 78 billion VND).
From this information, it can be seen that the fire opal discovered by the group of workers could potentially fetch a high price.
