The most valuable and popular of all Opals is Black Opal. Black Opal accounts for around 5% and is found at Lightning Ridge in Northern NSW. It is called Black Opal because it has a black base caused by black or grey iron oxide impurities in the Opal.
Black opal is the most prized opal and may realise prices over AUD $15,000 a carat. Boulder opals also have a dark body tone. White opals have a light body tone and are generally the least valuable form of opal.
Black opal is the most rare and highly valued form of opal, and has what is called a black (or dark) body tone. Black opals come in every colour of the rainbow. Their dark body tone makes the colours on the face of the opal appear rich and intense.
Black opals are generally considered to be the best in the world due to their dark body tone. Boulder opals are the much lesser known cousin of the black opal, but they can have equally stunning colour.
The variety of types of opal means the cost can vary from about $10 per carat to approximately $6,000 per carat. At $1 million, the 'Virgin Rainbow Opal' is the world's most valuable Australian opal. It was discovered in 2003 by miner John Dunstan in Coober Pedy of Southern Australia.
The most valuable and popular of all Opals is Black Opal. Black Opal accounts for around 5% and is found at Lightning Ridge in Northern NSW. It is called Black Opal because it has a black base caused by black or grey iron oxide impurities in the Opal.
With a long term view, opals can be seen as really great investments. If you look at the last 50 years of black opals, they have steadily increased over time. We have never seen a decrease in value in gem quality black opals.
The cut of a fine opal should be symmetrical. If it's a cabochon, the dome should be well rounded. Domed surfaces give the best play-of-color, and make the stone appear vivid from most viewing angles. If the cabochon is flat, it might be vulnerable to breakage, especially during setting into jewelry.
Considered to be one of the world's most beautiful opals, "The Virgin Rainbow" is a 63.3mm Black Crystal Opal Belemnite Fossil in a 'pipe' shape.
A genuine opal is a solid stone made of silica. Unless your opal is specified as a doublet or triplet, it should not have foreign material glued or fused to the back. A high-quality opal doublet will have a genuine opal face with a man-made backing to add to the weight and substance.
White opal with noticeable Play Of Color can range from $10.00 USD per carat to over $500.00 per carat. Next is Dark Opal, ranging from N5 to N6 on the chart. The darker bodytone is more rare making the value range from around $30.00 to $4000.00 per carat.
Value. Valuing boulder opal per carat is not generally accepted in the industry due to the large component of ironstone present in the stone. However, to give a rough indication, top quality boulder opal may fetch prices of up to AUD $3,500 per carat for a gem quality stone.
The minimum weight of Opal Stone should be your Body weight divided by 10, e.g., 60 kg body weight implies at least a 6 carat stone , however , the larger the stone size, the better and faster it will start to show effects.
World's Most Valuable Gem
Opal is an extremely precious gem. Gem Black, Boulder, Crystal and White Opals are the world's #1 most valuable commercially available gemstone, yet they are complex with an exponentially large range of valuation characteristics than Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, Sapphires or Tanzanites.
One can wear this gemstone as a pendant or ring. You should wear this gemstone in your Index finger of the right hand. For women, it is beneficiary to wear opal gemstone in their right or left hand.
You can wear Opal every-day, it is so versatile!. You can swim in it, shower, do the dishes. Just remember that any gemstone will crack or chip if it comes into contact with a hard surface (even Diamond) so make sure you have a strong setting. This is why bezel settings are great for Opal.
Australian opal is referred to as “sedimentary opal” because it is hosted predominantly by sedimentary rocks of the Mesozoic Great Artesian Basin. Australian precious opals usually contain around 5-6% water and consists of small silica spheres arranged in a regular pattern.
On the whole, opals are rarer than diamonds because there are less high-quality opals available than there are diamonds. The good news is that you can find a gem-quality opal for a great price, especially compared to a diamond.
For opal, we recommend Yellow or White Gold (14k or 18k variations) the most. Silver is too soft, so if you're wanting the white metal look stick to White Gold (silver can actually be harder to polish as well, which adds to the labour cost).
Its water composition is also such a distinct property that causes opals to change in colour. Heat, humidity, sweat and contact in water can make the amount of water in opals fluctuate. When this happens or when your opal pendant loses or gains water, its colour changes.
What is the difference between precious and non-precious opal? Precious opal shows a play of spectral colours though the stone whereas common opal does not. Common opal is usually opaque to translucent and brownish orange in colour, however it can come in any colour, some of which are quite attractive.
Not all opals are valued at the same price point. Australian opals are incredibly expensive, especially in comparison to opals sourced in other regions of the world. The reason is that Australian opals have a superior quality that is hard to come by in other regions around the globe.
Given consideration alone, Australian Opals are more durable and wearable than their Ethiopian counterparts — in that you don't have to worry about water or the stone against your skin potentially altering the gem's play of color.
Opals have two significant weaknesses as jewelry stones: a low Mohs hardness and significant water content. This results in a "Poor" grade.
These gemstones varieties are discovered at some of the most significant Australian opal fields – Jundah-Opalville and Winton in Queensland, Lightning Ridge in New South Wales, and Coober Pedy, located in central South Australia.