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Rough opal, straight from the mine, is a porous material containing “potch” pockets (per the Honduran miners) that is surrounded with basalt (think porous lava). Untreated, opal is very difficult to work with due to the fragile nature of the material, and, when cut and polished, the end product not only has a dull finish, but the intensity of the colors running throughout the opal is diminished and it is visibly full of tiny pores of “potch” pockets.
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