Third, online degree students have access to a very wide range of resources. Not only can you use entire internet as your library and research center, but most online degree programs make professors and teaching aids readily available. Correspondence takes place by email, and often students can participate in online forums with other students having similar interests or studying same courses.

Fourth, there is tremendous variety. You are not restricted to courses offered by local college. You can study for your online degree through a school down street or a college on other side of world.

Fifth, you can usually work at your own pace. You are not locked into attending physical classes, so your pace of study will be much more flexible.

Sixth, your online degree course of study will usually be much less expensive than traditional classroom-based courses of study. Online degree programs do not involve classrooms, labs or physical buildings, so costs are much lower.

Finally, there are many resources on internet that can help you choose best online degree course of study. Online degree directories list thousands of programs in every conceivable area of study, making your access to online degree information unlike anything we have known in past.

For more information pay a visit to this Online Degree Directory

Matrix opal is when opal is infused in rock in which it was formed. Veins of precious opal permeate sandstone or ironstone filling holes and crevices of host rock.

Synthetic Opal:

Synthetic opal as name suggests, is produced in laboratory and has a similar structure to that of precious opal.

The following observations can be made to differentiate between natural and synthetic opal:

a. Synthetic stones show brighter colours and larger colour patches;

b. In synthetic opal, colour grain boundaries are highly irregular;

c. Synthetic opal has a distinctive snakeskin patter;

d. The material shows a more ordered array of colour because intricate patterns of natural opal cannot be duplicated.

Rough Opal Parcels:

Rough opal parcels are sorted into three grades: Top, Middle and Low.

Each Top parcel has a King Stone (the best stone in parcel). Colour is primary criteria for grading.

You can buy rough opal in several different conditions:

a. Mine Run – Directly from miner himself. These stones have not yet been cut or graded.

b. Off Cuts – The miner has removed all marketable opal and you are sold what is left. With off cuts, you can usually tell what you are going to be able to cut.

c. Rubs – The opal stones have been cut and ground into basic shapes, after having removed most of rubbish.

Andomooke Matrix:

A more porous opal found in mining fields. Out of ground it is quite pale, but after treating it with a carbon dye process it looks like a real, black opal.

Yowah Nut:

This rare and unusual opal, up to 5 cm across, looks like a round or oval nut and is an ironstone formation.

Opal forms within nut either as a solid kernel or more commonly, in concentric layers infused with host rock. The nut has to be split open before contents are revealed and it may be split so that mirror images are produced.

Opal Doublets:

Opal doublets, as name suggest, is a thin layer of precious opal cemented onto a backing, usually a piece of black common opal or ironstone. Produced because opal is too thin to produce a solid stone, doublets are a cheap and inexpensive way to buy a colourful piece of precious opal without cost involved of a solid.

Triplets:

Similar to a doublet, but has three pieces sandwiched together, with a thin piece of precious opal cemented to a backing and a clear quartz cap placed on top to protect and bring out colour of opal.

That conlcludes part 5. In final instlament I have combined Parts 6 and 7. We learn how opal is valued and I have included a dictionary giving definitions of those terms and words which you may be unfamiliar with.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article and as always, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Best wishes and have a great day

Stuart Bazga

www.kulpunyaopals.com