I have been lurking on Orchid for some time now and have learned a
great many things. Thanks to all! I have been particularly interesed
in the opals thread. Did you know that there is a very small mine of
Canadian Opals in the central interior of British Columbia Canada? Go
to www.opalscanada.com . They have only been in operation for about
the past ten years and unfortunately don’t do much in the way of
major wholesaling, preferring to create their own jewellery and sell
it in their store, however, they do sell specimens and the site is
worth a look.
They have three major descriptions of their opals: Northern Lights:
precious opal with intense multi-coloured aurora Kalamalka Crystal:
transparent precious opal with a bold and beautiful blue-green play
of colour Okanagan WildfiRe: precious opal with brilliant flashes of
red colour. They will also take you for a dig to find your own opals
in the Okanagan outback.
An article has been published on the discovery and commercial
development of Okanagan Opal in Canadian Rockhound go to
http://www.canadianrockhound.com/winter99/cr993103_opals.html I don’t
work for them ~ I’m just a fan. Susan Brandoli, Rare Earth Designs in
Beautiful British Columbia, Canada