The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-03-23

an output valued at one hundred and
twenty1four thousand pounds, but this
Is a loose estimate, as the miners eth
er dispose of their winnings to buyers
who visit the fields or bring their opal
to the towns and there dispose of it, SO
that the transactions escape official no.
tice. The long continued drouth has
particularly affected this industry of
late years. 49,. -,
The stnlaings average thirty-tWo feet
in depth, through soft desert sandstone,
opal being met with in band of pipe
clay in thickness from six inches to
two feet. The gem Is found in small
ironstone ilodules or boulders, thickly
Embedded in the pipe clay. In New
South Wales the conditions OF mining
are very similar, the most important
district being known as the White Cliff
opol fields. Fully ninety-five per cent.
of the opal obtained on this fell is of
no value, being common or semi,opal,
and much, although Of the noble varie-
ty, contains little or no color, being very
cloudy, or two Watery, carrying the col
or only in minute bars or streaks, or
being stained a reddish yellow by iron.
the, latter being known locally as san
dy whisker."
/ There is another peculiar form COM
mon at, White Cliff known as niger
. head" These niger heads are usually
oval or spherical masses of more or less
! opal impregnated, fine grained silica.
They are of all sizes from one pound to
one hundredWeight, and almost always
contain a center of opalized wood, Of
ten also containing opal OF good color
in cracks, caused by contraction. Pos
sibly the most welcome Information
with regard to opals will be that which
enables one to distinguish between good
and bad. In valuing opal several points
have to be taken into account Need
4 less to say color, in technical sense, IL
4 the first, red fire, or red In combination
with yellow, blue and green being the
best Blue BY itself is quite valueless,
and green opal is not Of great value I'M
less. the color is very vivid and pattern
good. u ~. ,$%t5z. - @ 4.
4 That the color should be true Is Of
vital Importance. However good 1t may
be, fit runs in streaks or patches at
ternating with colorless or inferior
equality, that is untrue, and it is OF
comparatively small value Pattern IS
a considerable factor IN deciding the
value, the various kinds being distin-
guisFed as pin fire, when the grain, so
to speak, is very small; harlequin, when
/ the color is In minute squares, the more
! regular the better, and fash fire or flash
opal when the color shows as single
| flash, or in a very large pattern.
| or course, there are many intermedo.
! ate classes. The harlequin pattern is
/ the most uncommon, and also the most
| beautiful. When the squares OF color
are regular and show as distinct check.
ers of red, yellow, blue and green, this
kind of opal is truly magnificent. The
flash opal is often very beautiful in
color, especially when of the true ruby
or pigeons blood color. AS r,,le, how
/ ever, 1t shows green or red nash, ae-
| cording to the angle at which 1t is held
The direction off the pattern must also
! be taken into account. Often a stone
that shows a very good edge pattern
| will not look nearly so well on the face
while a stone which shows somewhat
streaky In the shorter direction on the
edge will sometimes give a fine harle-
quin pattern ON the face For this rea-
son the shape of the stone comes into
the reckoning. A thick stone With a
good edge pattern may often be cut Up
so as touse that pattern as a faceito, all
the portions TAKEN from it,, whereas a
thin stone, though Of equally good edge
pattern, which could only be cut with a
natural face, would probably not: be
| worth nearly as much, weight for
weight, 1t is difficult to obtain sepa-
! rate pieces of absolute similarity In, col
or and pattern, therefore for suites of
| jeWelry a large true stone, from which
| the whole could be cut, is worth great
deal more than many smaller stones ap-
priximately alike. Again, the ground or
body of the opal has to be considered
| This is not a constant squantity, sas the
various patterns require slightly differ
ent ground. 1t should be neither too
| transparent nor too opaque; almost
clear, with faint milky tinge, translu-
cent, being about the best ground in
SSuGIdl. 5OIlle hiuuS Ol opal are ulOTe
brittle than others. The harder and
tougher the stone, the better it is, os
when cut it is less likely to be injured
| and it retains the polish better. Re-
| markable specimens are known to exist
| in different collections. There is one
in the imperial cabinet of Vienna, found
at CzernoWwitz, near the River Pruth,
| i'll Ito, which weighs seventeen ounces
and, Notwithstanding its cracks and
| flaws, ten thousand dollars has been Of
fered for it, but the government re.
! fused to sell 1t even at that price,
| Some of the finest Hungarian opals are
seen among the crown jewels of Aus
| tria, though France includes in her
| state collection two very valuable gems
of this kind. Perhaps the finest of mod
ern times was that of the Empress Jo-
sephine, called the Burning of Troy"
from the nurnberless red flames blazing
on its surface. An American writer
says that one of. the most beautiful
pieces of ljewelry ever seen in America
was a necklace made Of opals obtained
IL