What is opalite?

Another stone name creating a lot of confusion out there is opalite. I have seen countless sites claiming health and energy healing properties for opalite... When in fact..
Opalite is a trade name for man-made opalised glass and various opal simulants. Other names for this glass product include "Argenon", "Sea Opal", "Opal Moonstone" and other similar names.

When opalite glass is placed against a dark background, it appears to have a blue color. When placed against a light background, it is milky white with an orange or pink glow. Because it is glass, it may sometimes contain air bubbles, an after effect of the forming process.

The streak of opalite is typically white.

Opalite is a man-made variety of glass.  It's NOT a gemstone, not opal or moonstone or quartz, but is just a very pretty glass and its trade name is Opalite.

What is Hydrothermal Quartz?

I stumbled on a shop selling beautiful little pendants a few days ago with very pretty looking stones, called "hydrothermal quartz". So let's see what that means.

Quartz is one of the most common minerals in nature, and the price of natural quartz is quite low. Only the special colored varieties, such as violet amethyst and yellow citrine, command prices over a few dollars a carat.

Given the low price for natural quartz varieties, it may come as a surprise that there is a large industry producing synthetic quartz using a method known as hydrothermal transport and recrystallization.

Synthetic Hydrothermal Ametrine QuartzSynthetic Hydrothermal Ametrine Quartz
Though the cost of producing synthetic quartz is not much less than mining natural quartz, a large industry has developed to create synthetic quartz for modern technology. Massive quantities of quartz are used as a piezoelectric material in oscillators, gauges, microphones, clocks and watches.

The hydrothermal transport method uses a large autoclave; an electrically heated, pressure-sealed container 3 meters or more in height. The autoclave contains an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate or hydroxide. Small fragments of quartz that act as a source material are placed on the bottom. The upper portion of the container is a cage that supports numerous small seed crystals of quartz. When the temperature is raised to about 400 degrees centigrade, the quartz fragments dissolve and crystallize onto the seeds in the cooler upper portion of the container.

So basically, it is glass. It's not a gemstone at all.  No matter what it's called, whenever the word "hydroquartz" is found, it's GLASS.

Italy - the Story of Murano Glass

 by Sandra Kemppainen. Photos: wikipedia, Sandra Kemppainen

Murano is probably one of the most famous glass names in jewelry. Murano is located in Northern Italy and is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) across with a population of just over 5,000. It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking.

Murano’s reputation as a center for glassmaking was born when the Venetian Republic, fearing fire and the destruction of the city’s mostly wooden buildings, ordered glassmakers to move their foundries to Murano in 1291. Murano glass is still associated with Venetian glass.

Murano’s glassmakers were soon numbered among the island’s most prominent citizens. By the 14th century, glassmakers were allowed to wear swords, enjoyed immunity from prosecution by the Venetian state, and found their daughters married into Venice’s most affluent families. While benefiting from certain statutory privileges, glassmakers were forbidden to leave the Republic. Many craftsmen took this risk and set up glass furnaces in surrounding cities and as far afield as England and the Netherlands.

By the end of the 16th century, three thousand of Murano island’s seven thousand inhabitants were involved in some way in the glassmaking industry.

Murano’s glassmakers held a monopoly on high-quality glassmaking for centuries, developing or refining many technologies including crystalline glass, enameled glass (smalto), glass with threads of gold (aventurine), multicolored glass (millefiori), milk glass (lattimo), and imitation gemstones made of glass.

Today, the artisans of Murano still employ these centuries-old techniques, crafting everything from contemporary art glass and glass jewelry to Murano glass chandeliers and wine stoppers.

The oldest Murano glass factory that is still active today is that of Pauly & C. – Compagnia Venezia Murano, founded in 1866.

The process of making Murano glass is rather complex. Most Murano glass art is made using the lampworking technique. The glass is made from silica, which becomes liquid at high temperatures. As the glass passes from a liquid to a solid state, there is an interval wherein the glass is soft before it hardens completely, allowing the artisan to shape the material.

Nowadays you can find Millefiori beads and silver foil or gold foil Murano glass in beautiful unique jewelry pieces.

They have a mesmerizing shine and the high quality of the glass work is easily visible in the pieces.