PRECIOUS STONES 113
deposited it in a gelatinous condition, which afterwards solidified as opal.
Hungarian
opal does not average as good as others, but occasional specimens are
found superior to any. The body is usually opaque and milky, but if the
lights are fine this condition intensifies them and renders them more
striking by contrast.
The
principal supply comes from Australia. It is found in Queensland in
brown ironstone nodules, and in New South Wales in a matrix of kaolin.
In another locality it is found in a matrix similar to the Hungarian.
Black opals are occasionally found in Australia, but they are rarely seen in this country.
Mexican
and Honduras " fire" opals have little sale in the United States. They
are more transparent than the precious opal, of brownish-red color, in
which various indistinct colored lights float. The colors are less
fiery, and they fade.
They are found at Esperanza, in the state of Queretaro, Mexico, in the department of Gracias in Honduras, and in Guatemala.
Agates and fossilized wood and bone are found opalized, and are called " agate opal," " wood opal," etc. The Jewellers' Circular, of
New York, in a late issue reports the importation of a piece of
opalized bone weighing eleven hundred and fifty carats, of rich color
and fire.
