Chasing rainbows: why opals are one of the most overlooked gems

Chasing rainbows: why opals are one of the most overlooked gems

By Cecilia Matanatabu
Wednesday 29/12/2021
[Image: Millie Savage/instagram]

Australia is home to roughly 90 per cent of the world’s opal deposits.

Their intricate appearance sets them apart from other gems, opals have fallen out of favour in fashion over the years.

While they experienced popularity in the Art Nouveau and Deco periods, opals’ popularity dwindled in the decades that followed and they were relegated to antique dealers or cast to the back of the jewellery box.

In 2021 and 2022, however, they’re staging a visually arresting comeback.

A homegrown, technicoloured treasure with a visual appearance evocative of the ocean, or even the depths of outer space with their supernova-like streaks, opals contrast to their environment of origin: the inland deposits across our country’s sparse desert landscape.

Millie Savage says of her eponymous Australian jewellery brand, creates jewellery that accentuates the mysterious, fantastical qualities of the opals she uses, with mesmerising results.

She adds that she's always been in love with the fact that you will never find two of the same [opal]

Savage says there’s nothing more exciting than ordering a bunch of Aussie opals and waiting for some direct sunlight to see the colors in all their rainbow glory.

[Source: vogue.com]

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