When we say that the national gemstone of Australia is the opal then we should not take that lightly. Australia has more mineral and gemstone deposits than any country in the world. Things have been found in other continents but our mining operations are relatively new and the rest of the world's future supply is debatable.
When you think that Australia has diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and nearly all the lesser gems then choosing the opal to represent the country is highly significant.
Opals were first found and mined in the early 1800s and mostly by European miners who were financially poor but knew how to work hard and could stand the harsh physical conditions. They stood to make themselves rich. They sometimes did and stayed here in aussie opal.
So you would think that Australians of all ages and sex would be very familiar with opals and know all about them. Well, you would only have to look in mum's jewelry box to find some opals wouldn't you? Well, that is not the case at all.
Australians don't know much about opals at all. Most of them have never even seen one. If I asked ten women in Sydney if they have an opal in their jewelry box I would be surprised if one of them actually did.
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