Description
We acquired several pieces of this rare blue opal at “The Blue Opal” in Huachuca City, Arizona, from our friends Mike Anderson and Cheri Saunders in the 1990s. Cheri told us she discovered the opal in 1969 when she found a beautiful blue stone in the Arizona desert north of the Mexico border while resting under a tree. Initially, she didn’t recognize the stone as opal, but subsequent testing confirmed its composition. Due to the material’s high cost, we could only purchase a few small slabs and some rough opal every time we visited. During each visit, Mike and Cheri took the time to get to know us personally and shared stories about their adventures, naturally discussing rocks extensively. Following Mike and Cheri’s passing, and our subsequent relocation from Arizona, we lost track of the shop’s fate. Nonetheless, we remain grateful for the opportunity to have known such remarkable individuals.
This opal, from the Jay-R Mine, is classified as “Common Opal” due to its lack of “play of color”. Notably, their high-grade opal did exhibit “play of color”, albeit extremely rarely and at a price point that far exceeded our budget at the time.
