After reading the Mother-of-pearl vs. Opal article, you will know what is the difference between the Mother-of-pearl and Opal.
Mother-of-pearl vs. Opal, What is Mother-of-Pearl?
Nacre, or Mother-of-Pearl, is a mixture of organic and inorganic materials produced by mollusks as the inner layer of the animal’s shell;
It is also the material that makes up the surface of the pearl, which is very strong but flexible and comes in a wide range of vibrant colors.
Mother-of-pearl material is generally found in the outer layer of pearls and in the inner layer of the shell of the pearl oyster or freshwater pearl mollusk; the mother-of-pearl. Mother-of-pearl is the direct source of pearl production.
Three common mother-of-pearl forms are characterized.
Trifid mussel
The triangular sail mussel has a slightly unequal quadrangular shape. The growth whorls on the shell surface are arranged in concentric rings. The dorsal edge of the shell protrudes upwards, forming a large triangular sail-like hind wing.
The inner surface of the shell has obvious coat marks; the anterior closed-shell muscle mark is oval, and the posterior closed-shell muscle mark is slightly triangular.
Left and right shells with two primary teeth, left shell with two long barred lateral teeth, right shell with one long barred lateral tooth; glossy. Texture hard. Slightly fishy, mildly flavored.
Pleated crown mussels
The pleated crown mussel is unequal and triangular in shape. The posterior dorsal margin extends upwards into a large crown. The inner surface of the shell has slightly obvious coat marks;
The anterior closed-shell muscle marks are large and cuneate, the posterior closed-shell muscle marks are irregularly oval, and there are longitudinal ribs and grooves corresponding to the shell surface below the posterior lateral teeth.
The left and right shells have a short, slightly thick posterior lateral tooth a weak anterior lateral tooth, and no primary tooth.
Mastiglione
The Mastiglione is a rhomboid-shaped shell.
The pearl oyster is obliquely quadrangular, with a large posterior auricle, a small anterior auricle, a straight dorsal margin, a rounded ventral margin, and a very fine, lamellar growth line.
The closed-shell muscle scar is large, and oblong, with a raised, elongated primary tooth. Smooth. Brittle, powdery, or small when broken, translucent. Faint odor and taste.
Is Mother-of-Pearl an opal?
Mother-of-pearl opal is a type of opal that contains inclusions of mother-of-pearl. Mother-of-pearl is an iridescent material that is found in the shells of certain mollusks. Mother-of-pearl opals are typically white or pale in color, and they have a unique luster.
Mother-of-pearl vs. Opal, What is an opal?
Opal is a natural, hardened silica colloid containing 5-10% water. Unlike most gemstones, opals are amorphous. There are some unstable amorphous structures in opals that will change color or even crack due to lack of moisture, but there are also some very stable structures that remain unchanged in normal environments.
Opal in mineralogy belongs to the opal class, including the two kinds of gemstones that change color and do not change color, is a kind of amorphous silicon dioxide containing water. It has a glassy, pearly, or opaline luster, with a variable color effect.
It is a brittle, easy-to-dry crack, shell-like fracture. Under long-wave ultraviolet irradiation, different types of opals emit fluorescence of different colors.
What are opal characteristics?
There are two variants: the color-changing opal and the non-colour-changing opal. Uncolored opals are generally marketed as potch, while variegated opals are known as opal.
Opal as a gemstone, is a hydrate of silicon dioxide, with the composition of SiO2-nH2O, and an amorphous structure, so it has no certain shape, the fracture is shell-shaped, mainly formed by colloidal precipitation of silicon dioxide.
If the precipitation in the biological remains, the formation of “organic gemstones”, precipitation in the remains of the sea snail, the formation of “spiro plasma”, spiro plasma is only rarely found in Hainan, locally known as piroplasm or sea jade, due to the scarcity of extremely valuable.
Opal is generally egg white, if there are other atoms mixed in, can form a variety of colors, such as iron, calcium, magnesium, copper, etc., usually blue, green, yellow, red, dark green, ceramic, white, and so on.
Variegated opal, represented by Australia, is brilliant and colorful, combining the colors of various gemstones. Westerners seek it as one of the world’s top six gemstones due to its strong variegated effect.
Opals generally have a glassy or waxy luster, but due to various changes in geological movements, opals from some origins can have a very high degree of enameling effect, even comparable to ceramics.
Mother-of-pearl vs. Opal, What is the difference between mother-of-pearl and opal?
1. The composition is not the same, the main component of mother-of-pearl contains more than 90% calcium carbonate and other organic matter. Protein is mainly composed of SiO2-nH2O and is an amorphous structure.
2. The hardness of the two is not the same, the mother of the pearl is very hard, opal is brittle, and can be detected by a professional testing machine. Fracture is also an important reference data, the shape of the fracture is different, the Mother-of-Pearl is “split”, opal is “shell-shaped.
3. The difference in luster between the two, a preliminary knowledge of the luster of mother-of-pearl and precious opals is of obvious importance for the identification of these stones. Luster is a measure of the light that is reflected when it hits a cut stone.
There are two main types of luster: filigree and diamond. Since even two crystals of the same stone have different lusters, luster is limited to the basic identification criteria.
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