Most often, you’ll see them cut as slices or cabochons. For instance, dendritic opals with inclusions resembling woodland landscapes have been dubbed “landscape opal.”Ĭomposed of up to 30 percent water, dendritic opals are “soft gems.” Soft gems are typically easier to cut and shape, but dendritic opal’s inclusions make this process trickier. The key dendritic opal properties for determining its opal value are its inclusion pattern and cut.ĭendritic opal inclusions can form various patterns, and every pattern is unique. Opals are one of the trickiest stones to value, Gemstone properties help gemologists and jewelers determine a gemstone’s value, so consumers know they’re paying the right price for the gem’s quality. Now you know the mineral side, but what about dendritic opal properties as a gemstone?

Once dendritic opal has hardened, its raw form typically looks like a grape or kidney. However, the water-mineral solution that eventually forms dendritic opal also has manganese and/or iron minerals that form the stone’s inclusions as it hardens. Groundwater picks up silica spheres and settles into pockets underground, gradually hardening into opal. This variety is called dendritic opalite.ĭendritic opal formation occurs as it does with other opals.

Natural opalite, which has a mossy green body color and may show chatoyancy, can also contain dendritic inclusions in black, gray, or bluish-black. The stone is typically opaque but sometimes translucent, or a combination of both. Its inclusions are dark, often black, dark green, or brown. The most common dendritic inclusions in these opals are metallic oxides like manganese and iron.ĭendritic opal’s body tone is typically white or yellowish-brown with a milky, opalescent sheen and resinous luster. These inclusion patterns have also led to the alternate names “moss opal” or “mossy opal.”įor reference, inclusions are any material that gets trapped in another mineral during the mineral’s formation. Let’s start on the geological side to see what exactly dendritic opal is.ĭendritic opal is a form of common opal (showing no play-of-color) characterized by inclusions that display mossy or branch-like patterns. Today, we’ll discuss dendritic opal meanings, history, and properties, both geological and spiritual. In the spiritual community, dendritic opals hold potent magical properties, often used for healing physical, emotional, and spiritual ailments. When an opal or any gemstone displays tree-like inclusion patterns, gemologists call it a “dendritic” variety of that stone. Gemologists use the word “dendrites” to refer to tree-like markings on a gemstone or rock. Generally speaking, what is a dendritic gemstone?īiologists know dendrites as the branching ends of nerve cells that communicate with other dendrites along synapses to pass messages through the body. One such gemstone is dendritic opal, a type of opal with dark inclusions that form stunning fern-like patterns across the stone’s surface. Gem-lovers may come across the term “dendritic” in a few gemstone varieties.

Dendrite gemstone