Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a jesuit priest from Italy, first came to the new world in 1681. His mission was to minister to the Indians in Mexico and Arizona, and to explore the area for Spain. He helped the Indians with their agriculture, aided them in their wars with the Apache, and opposed the Indian enslavement in the silvermines. He was well loved by them, and they told him of a beautiful blue stone in the nearby mountains. They consented to take him into the canyons and mesas and show him the Azul stone, which was the vivid vibrant blue of the southern skies. Father Kino was the first non-indian to view Southern Skies Opal.
This beautiful blue opal has been re-discovered after 300 years, and is finally becoming available to the public. One of our corporate members was prospecting in the mountains one day, when a splash of color caught his eye! He bent to take a closer look and there before him lay the beautiful Azul stone that Father Kino wrote about!!
Arizona Blue opal, aka., Southern Skies Opal is like nothing you've ever seen before!! The incredible blue color ranges from a robin's egg blue to black, and has a hardness factor of 6-1/2 to 7, which makes it wonderful for cutting!! Southern Skies premium opal will have red, blue, yellow, green and violet play of color in the stone. Our picture opal is totally unique to the gem world!! Never before seen swirls of different colors and patterns, resulting in pictures that mesmerize and hypnotize!! Take a look through our gallery and get ready to be Intrigued and Amazed!!