There doesn’t seem to be to be any consistency with the appeal of opal jewelry. It goes in and out of fashion with retailers and consumers. But judging from the recent Couture Show in Las Vegas, opal is back on trend and designers are creating pieces that take full advantage of its many qualities.

The only real question is why would it ever go out of fashion with designers and the general public? There is perhaps no other gemstone with the variety of colors and as diverse natural designs as opals. In addition, opal has a level of history and mysticism that only the most precious gems seem to have.

Opal, unlike most gemstones, lacks crystal therefore it doesn’t sparkle and glitter. What it does is display every color of the rainbow in a limitless palette of combinations. Fire and lightning and all the soft shine of far seas are just a couple of the natural designs that the gem can display. In some cases it even has a phosphorescent quality. This color play is said to reflect the changing emotions and moods of people. Opals are even believed to have healing powers and are related to Zodiac signs.

Opals can be used with equal success in large elaborate pieces as well as small delicate jewelry. When added with different color metals the personality of the opal changes.

Most of the world’s opal comes from Australia, but there are many other sources, including South America, Africa and the US. Mexico is noted for its Fire Opal.

At The Couture Show there was perhaps no better example of the possibilities of opal than was seen with the Seahorses necklace by Parisian jewelry designer, Lydia Courteille. The elaborate jewelry piece displays an active, underwater scene with gem encrusted seahorses and a crab, and gems shaped as a coral. There is a lot of precious material that went into this necklace, including white and black diamonds, fancy colored sapphires and amethysts. However, taking center stage in this sculptural piece are two oval shaped blue Australian opals, each making up the body of the seahorses.

Lydia Courteille Seahorses Necklace has more than 20 grams of blue Australian opals with white diamonds, black diamonds, fancy sapphires, amethysts, sapphires all set in 18k gold

Meanwhile, Goshwara took a different approach with tassel earrings using 12 stands of opal beds for each earring and pairing them with 18k gold, diamonds and onyx. It’s a simple and elegant use for this material.

Goshwara opal bead 12 strand tassel earrings in 18k with diamonds and onyx

There are limitless ways to unleash the possibilities that opals bring to jewelry design. Whether it’s about color or the patterns of the gem, there are ways to exploit the beauty of opal and unlock its power in all types of jewelry.