

The rays of different colors show balancing abilities that can help relieve pain. The boulder opal stone is also said to help find true love and alleviate depression.

If you find it useful, don’t forget to do share. This post is all about what you want ever to know pertaining to Boulder Opal. The boulder opal ring is the most popular choice. To get the best benefits of boulder opal, it is usually a good idea to wear it. They require preserving and handling with care. These stones are the epitome of beauty and are majestic. Their natural appearance is what makes them beautiful, and they don’t need any more enhancing. The base rock helps enhance the colors and patterns of the opal stone. The contrast between the color opal stone and the host stone is striking. it is also called the “Opal with mother rock.” Most opal stones fracture their host rock by forming themselves into the voids of the host rock. The colors of the boulder opal can be many such as black, green, blue, white, pink, yellow, purple, brown and red, etc. It is not in a crystalline form, but it is mineralized. Opal is a hydrated form of silica and has a water content of up to 21%. It gets cut into a certain orientation that the thin disk of opal comes off of the rock. Cutting of the rock gets planned whenever a boulder opal is discovered. We hope this article helped you gain more appreciation for this unique mineral.Boulder opal is a rock that contains a disk of opal attached to the normal host rock. Luckily, bumblebee jasper has the cuteness of this little bug without the painful stingers. Or, a polished piece might cost $10-$20, depending on the size and quality.Įveryone loves a cute bumblebee, except they sometimes sting us. Most raw samples go for about $30.00 per pound. This risky environment makes collecting difficult and dangerous, which adds to its scarcity.ĭespite the difficulties in collecting this crystal, it isn’t very expensive. This is definitely not a rock you should go rockhounding for on your own. This can be dangerous since you run the risk of falling inside the volcano or burning yourself on the hot vents. Most bumblebee jasper is gathered from the fumaroles of Mount Papandayan. The other reason this crystal is so rare is that it requires unique conditions to form. Since Mount Papandayan is an active volcano, miners need to journey inside a dangerous environment to gather these crystals. One of the main reasons bumblebee jasper is so rare is that it’s difficult to collect. The main supplier of this material is Indogate which handles most of the mining in this area. These volcanoes are typically steady exploders, meaning they don’t usually blow their top in one massive eruption. They typically have a peak and are composed of layers of lava and tephra.

Mount Papandayan is part of a stratovolcano which is the most well-known type of volcano. Currently, the only known site is in Bali along the base of Mount Papandayan. We recommend wearing gloves and a face mask to minimize inhaling rock dust while you cust and polish.īumblebee jasper has only been discovered in Indonesia. If you plan on customizing your bumblebee jasper, you should definitely be prepared. However, it’s really only dangerous if you plan on polishing, cutting, and sanding the rock by yourself. The short answer to the question is, yes, bumblebee jasper can be dangerous. However, a polished piece of bumblebee jasper should be perfectly safe to wear as jewelry. Realgar is a highly toxic compound and can be dangerous if inhaled or accidentally consumed. Some rockhounds are afraid to handle bumblebee jasper because of the presence of realgar. These minerals form into small stripes or bands and have a smooth exterior like jasper. It’s actually made up of a combination of sulfur, calcium, aragonite, pyrite, orpinite, and realgar. True jasper ranks 7 or higher on Moh’s Scale of Hardness while bumblebee jasper is closer to 5.īumblebee jasper looks like jasper but lacks the quartzite crystal structure. Both quartz and chalcedony are made from silicate, which is derived from sand and limestone. The technical definition of jasper is an aggregate crystalline structure made from quartz or chalcedony. It’s called bumblebee jasper because of its luster and patterns which make it look like traditional jasper. What is this crystal made from? Where is it found? Is it actually jasper? Keep reading to find out!īumblebee jasper is not actually jasper, despite its name. The orange, grey and black bands give it a bumble-like appearance. Its name is derived from the close resemblance it has with a bumblebee. Bumblebee jasper was discovered in the early 90s and rock collectors have been impressed with its bright stripes ever since.
