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What Is a Harlequin Opal? GIA Explains October 21, 2022 (0 comments)
New York, NY--Opal is unique, diverse, and beautiful. Its amorphous nature means it has no defined crystalline structure, which makes its shapes and colors quite unpredictable.
[Photo: Orasa Weldon/GIA, Dr. Eduard J. Gübelin Collection]
A Facebook post by GIA Education notes that opal's pattern is one of its value factors, and one of such sought-after patterns is found in the harlequin.
An opal is a harlequin when it has large, angular, closely set patches of play-of-color.
The post notes that the patterns must cover the opal's entire surface for opal to be harlequin.
"As a general rule, opals with larger patches of play-of-color are more desirable than those with smaller patches," notes the post. "But an opal's bodycolor and the color of its play-of-color are also important value factors."
Check out the original Facebook post.