"In the Victorian era, opal got cancelled, in part, because the novelist Sir Walter Scott created a character who died while wearing one. And, O.K., opal is softer than, say, diamond, whose diabolical merchants contributed to opal's tarnished reputation. But the stone was good enough for Shakespeare; in "Twelfth Night," he called it the "queen of gems." Because the opal's structure contains water, it is susceptible to dehydration, creating "crazing," an effect that gives only the appearance of flaws."
"Hardly a secret, it's true, but the combination of light, air, and cathedral acoustics (not to mention being free to the public) is hard to beat. Kogod's defining feature is its roof, a wavelike structure that seems to flutter like a curtain of glass over the tree boxes and a wafer-thin reflecting pool created by Kathryn Gustafson. (Norman Foster designed the atrium.)"
Treasured cultural institutions include museums, cinemas, and downtown fixtures that bring inspiration, joy, and comfort. The Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals at the American Museum of Natural History showcase opals in vivid colors and subtle textures. Victorian-era superstition and the stone's relative softness damaged opal's reputation despite Shakespeare naming it the "queen of gems." Opals contain water and can dehydrate, producing "crazing" that resembles flaws. The Kogod Courtyard in the National Portrait Gallery offers a bright, airy public workspace defined by cathedral-like acoustics, a wavelike glass roof by Norman Foster, and a wafer-thin reflecting pool by Kathryn Gustafson.
Read at The New Yorker
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