Gemologists are speculating after a rare opal which contains an entombed insect was sourced from the Indonesian Island of Java.
A formation which was once thought impossible by many scientists, due to the slow-forming process of the gemstone; CEO of a Philadelphia investment company, and graduate of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Brian Berger recently purchased the highly-unlikely insect-opal.
What’s even rarer, is the combination of the the ‘play of colour’ witnessed throughout the stone, coupled with the fossilised insect (which Mr Berger says, upon close inspection appears to have an open mouth, and is well-preserved, with fibrous structures extending from the appendages).
With research being conducted, the theory is the opal itself is opalised amber, with the belief that the insect was likely trapped in resin or tree sap, and as circumstances have it, became preserved as amber with an insect inclusion, with the second rarer process of opalistation occurring.
The amazing gem was recently examined by the GIA, and awarded a letter of provenance for the rarity of such an inclusion.
Source –
Brian Berger, entomologytoday.org
