A few specimens of fire opal exhibit “play-of-color”. These specimens have both the fiery background color of a fire opal and the play-of-color of a precious opal. Some people call these special stones “precious fire opal”.

The play-of-color can be tiny bright flashes of color when the opal is played under light, or a billowing glow contained within the stone. The accompanying photo is a precious fire opal cut from material found in Ethiopia. It exhibits a neon green play-of-color from one direction and a neon violet play-of-color from another direction. From a few directions you can see a little of both.

In the past decade, Ethiopia has become a steady producer of beautiful opal. Much of it is yellow to orange semitransparent opals with play-of-color.