EXCEPTIONAL Fire Opal "Water Drop" - Mexico 20.10 carats - NO RESERVE PRICE - Height: 23.1 mm - Width: 16.3 mm- 4.02 g - (1)

This natural Mexican fire opal in a 20.10 carat matrix immediately stands out for its extraordinary teardrop silhouette, particularly harmonious and spectacular for a specimen of this size.

At the heart of the clear matrix there appears a significant natural window revealing opaline material in fire-red, incandescent orange, and golden yellow tones, creating a striking contrast.

Even more remarkable, a second small opaline area near the tip reveals under light true multicolored flashes, notably reds and greens. The combination of this unique morphology, its substantial dimensions, the preservation of its matrix, and its different opaline zones makes it a particularly aesthetic and atypical specimen.

Features

- Stone: Natural Mexican opal
- Type: Fire opal in matrix
- Origin: Mexico
- Weight: 20.10 carats
- Dimensions: 23.1 × 16.3 × 8 mm
- Shape: Teardrop
- Main colors: Fire red, intense orange, amber and golden yellow
- Optical phenomenon: Small zone showing color flashes visible under light
- Matrix: Natural, beige to cream
- Condition: Specimen retaining the relationship between opal and its host rock
- Interest: Collection, gemology and mineralogy

A remarkable natural teardrop shape

The morphology is one of the major attractions of this specimen.
With a height of 23.1 mm, the stone develops an elongated silhouette that tapers to a well-marked point, giving the appearance of a true mineral drop. This shape particularly showcases the large central red-orange window.
The opal thus seems enclosed in a clear mineral envelope, like an incandescent heart revealed through the matrix.

A spectacular red-orange heart

The broad central zone forms the centerpiece of the piece. It shows a remarkable chromatic progression from yellow-orange to intense orange and then to deep red.
This coloration directly evokes molten material and perfectly explains the historical name “fire opal” given to these Mexican gems with exceptionally warm colors.
Unlike an opal fully detached from its rock, this piece preserves much of its geological context. The irregular boundary between the opal and its matrix allows observation of how opaline matter naturally occupied the rock cavities.

A particularly precious detail near the tip

The photograph also reveals a fascinating element: a second small opaline window near the tip.
Much more discreet than the central heart, it nonetheless shows beautiful color flashes under light, with especially vivid red and green tones. This detail adds a second area of interest to the piece and invites observation from different angles and lighting.
The contrast is striking between the immense red-orange heart and this multicolored appearance located several millimeters higher in the matrix.

Mexico, historical land of fire opal

Mexico holds a special place in the history of opal. Its volcanic terrains are world-renowned for producing opals with yellow, orange, and red tones that helped make Mexican fire opal an iconic variety.
The history of these gems predates modern mining. Opals were already known in pre-Columbian Mexico, before mining and international diffusion experienced a new surge in the 19th century.
Since then, Mexican opals have become inseparable from the country’s great gemological traditions.

A formation born from an ancient volcanic environment

The origin of the stone is as fascinating as its appearance.
In volcanic environments, silica-rich fluids could penetrate fractures and cavities of the rock. Over extremely long geological processes, the silica deposited in these spaces gave rise to opal.
This specimen precisely preserves and allows observation of this relationship. Instead of presenting only the gem detached from its support, it displays the opal directly embedded in the rock that tells its geological history.
The large central window thus gives the impression that the matrix has been opened to reveal a core of fire left hidden for geologic times.

A collectible piece that is particularly aesthetic

With 20.10 carats, generous dimensions of 23.1 × 16.3 × 8 mm, a spectacular teardrop silhouette, a large central red-orange zone, and a secondary small opaline appearance with multicolored flashes, this piece combines especially appealing features for a collection.
It has especially a readily recognizable identity: a true mineral drop containing at its center a heart of Mexican fire.

A remarkable Mexican opal in a 20.10 carat matrix, as fascinating for its teardrop morphology as for the dramatic contrast between its clear matrix and its incandescent red opal heart.

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