Editing Opal (section)

==History==
Opal was rare and very valuable in antiquity. In Europe, it was a gem prized by royalty.<ref>"The central stone on the thirteenth-century crown of the Holy Roman Emperor was an opal said to be the color of pure white snow, sparkling with splashes of bright red wine: it was called "the Orphanus", perhaps because there was no other stone like it.24 And on New Year's Day 1584,25 Queen Elizabeth I was delighted to receive an opal parure—a full set of matching jewelry—from one of her favorite courtiers, Sir Christopher Hatton." Finlay, Victoria. Jewels: A Secret History (Kindle Locations 2145–2148). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.</ref><ref>"All of these early stones were almost certainly from the ancient mines of Slovakia—the same source as Nonius’ precious stone and the Holy Roman Emperor’s red-and-white one. The mines were worked until the late nineteenth century..." Finlay, Victoria. Jewels: A Secret History (Kindle Locations 2163–2165). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.</ref> Until the opening of vast deposits in Australia in the 19th century the only known source was {{lang|sk|[[Červenica]]|italic=no}} beyond the Roman frontier in [[Slovakia]].<ref>Finlay, Victoria. Jewels: A Secret History (Kindle Location 1871). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.</ref> Opal is the national [[gemstone]] of Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pmc.gov.au/government/australian-national-symbols/australian-national-gemstone|title=Australian National Gemstone|publisher=Australian Government, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet|access-date=10 June 2018}}</ref>