The world of opals
The first comprehensive book on the subject in over thirty years, The World of Opals is a complete guide to the science and history of these remarkable gems. It begins with a thorough examination of the physical properties and attributes of common and precious opals, with up-to-date information on opal formation, extraction, storage, and cutting. Next, it chronicles man's involvement with the stone from 4000 B.C. to the present, following the opal through countless reversals of fortune and mythology as talisman, prognostic aid, patron stone of thieves, and bearer of bad luck
Print Book, English, ©1997
John Wiley & Sons, New York, ©1997