Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 March 1920 — MEXICAN OPALS IN DEMAND [ARTICLE]

MEXICAN OPALS IN DEMAND

Even With Primitive Methods, Our Southern Neighbors Dig Beautiful Stones From Their Mines. The Queretaro district Is the chief source of supply of Mexican opals. AU the mines are owned by Mexicans. No foreign capital Is Invested. Old-fash-lohed methods of mining are employed and activity is desultory. If prices are good, work becomes feverish. If prices drop off, few opals are mined. Most of the best quality stones go to Mexico City. Dealers there market them in other countries. The poorer grades are sold in little shops throughout Mexico or are peddled to tourists at railway stations. Thousands of these cheap opals are sold In towns along the border In the United States. They can be bought for from 80 cents up. It is this cheap grade of stones that has given Mexican opals a poor reputation among jewelry buyers. The fact is, a fine Mexican opal is a beautiful gem. It differs from Australian opals In that the latter are usually opaque to transmit light, whereas Mexican opals are usually clear. To bring out the soft play of colors in a Mexican stone, artificial backs are often used In setting the gems. Many are backed with their own genuine matrix. The better class of Mexican opals is not so expensive as the Australian or those Imported from the famous mines of Australia, but they are far from cheap.