Opal Gemstone Beads

Frequently asked questions

• What's the difference between common opal and precious opal?

  Precious opal shows play of color — the rainbow flash that moves as the stone is rotated, caused by microscopic silica spheres diffracting light. Common opal does not show play of color; it is opaque to translucent and prized for its body color (pink, blue, green, yellow, etc.) rather than its flash. Most opal in the bead trade is common opal — Peruvian pink, blue, green, and yellow opal are all common opal. Play-of-color opal beads (Ethiopian Welo, occasional Australian) are specialty and stocked intermittently.
• Is opal soft? Can it scratch easily?

  Opal is Mohs 5.5–6.5 — softer than agate, jasper, and quartz (all 6.5–7). Opal beads can scratch against harder beads on the same strand or against metal findings during wear. For mixed-stone designs, pair opal with stones of similar hardness or use softer spacers to protect the opal surface. Opal works well in earrings, pendants, necklaces, and low-impact bracelets; ring use is possible but reserves the stone for less-active wear.
• Why does opal crack? What is crazing?

  Crazing is a fine network of internal cracks that develops in opal when the stone dehydrates too rapidly. Opal contains 3–21% water by weight locked into its silica gel structure; if that water is lost quickly — through direct sun exposure, heat sources, dry indoor environments, or ultrasonic cleaners — the structure can fracture internally. Crazing is permanent. Standard care: store opal away from direct heat, clean with a damp soft cloth not solvents, avoid ultrasonic and steam cleaning, and avoid prolonged direct sunlight.
• Is Ethiopian opal different from other opal?

  Ethiopian opal (often called Welo opal after the Wollo Province where it's mined) is hydrophane — it absorbs water and temporarily loses transparency when wet, returning to normal as it dries. This is a property of the porous silica structure unique to certain opal deposits. Practically: don't submerge Welo opal during wear (showers, swimming), avoid ultrasonic and steam cleaning, and let it dry naturally if it does get wet. The visual change is temporary if brief, but repeated wet/dry cycles stress the stone.
• Is yellow opal natural or dyed?

  Both exist in the bead market. Natural yellow opal — often Indonesian or Mexican common opal — is a muted mustard to honey tone. Bright neon yellow or saturated lemon-yellow is a dye signal; natural opal's palette is soft. Treatment, when present — ask before buying if a strand doesn't specify. Across Dakota's catalog, color tags identify yellow opal but treatment posture per strand should be confirmed on the individual listing.