Ulysses Culver's enormous opal was a sensation at the 1894 World's Fair. Culver had discovered it in a deep cavern in Australia (all alone, since his native guide refused to enter that particular cave, due to a local superstition about it). Now the opal sat resplendently upon black velvet in a glass case. With an oily black sheen that seemed to have shattered rainbows suspended within, the gem inspired awe in all who saw it. The opal made Culver a celebrity, and he was quickly welcomed into high society. One night, while at a party hosted by horse blanket magnate J.B. Saddlesore, Culver happened to be in the library when an earth tremor struck. Six volumes of The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Textiles fell from the shelves directly onto Culver's unsuspecting head.

   After Culver's tragic demise, the opal was granted to his brother Herschel, an noted scientist. Rumors about a curse on the opal were circulating, but the ever-sensible Herschel Culver dismissed this idea as mere superstition. Several weeks later, there was a deadly explosion in Herschel's laboratory. The supposed curse of the opal had struck down both of the Culver brothers.
  Next, the opal was acquired by Miss Constanze Moreau, a glamorous stage actress. Just days later, Constanze was in a train traveling over a high bridge, when she happened to lean against an unsecured door. The opal survived the fall, but poor Constanze didn't.
   Gilbert Fishmonger III, heir to a sizable fortune, became the famed gemstone's next owner. One morning, he took his horse out for a refreshing ride in the woods. The horse eventually returned, but Gilbert never did.
  The Culver Opal changed hands many times throughout the years,  but was eventually purchased by the esteemed music critic Thomas Q. Webb. Thomas was very proud of the magnificent opal, and even brought it with him on a sea voyage, aboard a magnificent ocean liner called the R.M.S. Titanic.