For some reason there is more mis-in the public domain about opal than any other gemstone. Beginning with the idea of the gem being a harbinger of bad luck. Some say that the "bad luck" rap is the result of lapidaries who simply did not want to work with the gem because of its tendency toward brittleness it was "bad luck" to cut.
Hi, The way I heard it, there was a deliberate campaign of
misby the diamond miners of S.Africa because they were
worried about the growing popularity of Australian opals at the end
of the 19th century…an early urban myth if you like…
Steve Holden
new website
www.platayflores.com