Opals


Visit only heritage opal site heritage listed , riches opal field on the world wide web www.graham black opal.com   , largest black opal found in modern times Guinness book of records Harleys comet black opal .

Attributes Opal is a delicate stone with a fine vibration, it enhances cosmic consciouness and includes physical and mental vision stimulating originality and dynamic creativity, it aged in accessing an expressing one’s true self, Opal is aborbent and reflective.  It picks up thoughts and feelings, amplifiers them, and returns them to source.  It is a Karmit stone, teaching that what you put out comes back.  Opal is a protective stone in that, properly programmed, it makes you unnoticeable or invisible.  It can be used when venturing into dangerous places, and in shamanic works where strength is required.  Physiologically, Opal amplifiers traits and brings characteristics to the surface for transformation.  Enhancing self-worth, it helps you to understand you’re full potential.  Mentally, Opal brings lightness and spontaneity.  It encouragess and interest in the arts

 

Black opals Nevada

Black opals Nevada are suppliers of black opal unlike Australia that produces the vast amount of black opal that supplies the world market, Nevada opal contained a lot more water than Australian opal this is why Australia black opal is stable.

Nevada was covered by lakes and lush forestry which was slowly drained and buried due to volcanic activity, climate change and geological up lift.    Remnants wetter period are evident in the abundant petrified and opalized found everywhere.  These fossils can range in size from small twigs to huge petrified logs, many 30 to 50 feet long.  In the southwestern portion of the valley lies the last super cave its bones and artefacts have been carbon dated to 10,000 to 12,000 years.  Little is known about these early inhabitants.  It is believed there was nomadic peoples following the game herds and seasonal occupied the caves surrounding the marshy Valley.Petroglyphs carved in boulders near the area are thought to be created by the Piute or Ute people who populated the area in later times. The abundant common opal and obsidian in the region made an excellent metal for creating tools and weapons as shown by the numerous artefacts which are still found nearby.  There is evidence that Chinese were the first opal mines in North America, sending and expedition to mine the pressures black opal perhaps 4500 years ago.  During the late 1800s and early 1900s a few specimens were collected by passing cowboys and sheepherders.  These early ex-ample were widely reported in the past prospectors and opal enthusiasts found their way to the isolated valley.  Opals were first mined commercially in the area around 1905 with the discovery of the rich deposits which became known as the Bonanza mine.  Other early black opal mining operations include the rainbow  mine.  To view the largest black opal found in modern times please view www.grahamblackopal.com and if you have time to view the categorie over $10,000 you will see the finest examples of Australian black opals  from lightning Ridge.


Australian black opals : the capital of the black opal industry is the town of lightning Ridge and the surrounding districts, lightning Ridge is in the far north west region of the State of New South Wales which is on the Eastern’s side of Australia, a full day’s drive from the capital of New South Wales Sydney, and it is also a full day’s drive from the capital Brisbane which is in the State of Queensland which is the northern state which is also on the eastern side of Australia.  OK we have now located the area where the Australian black opals are found and mind produced.  Australian black opals are the most beautiful of all black opals and Australia produces nearly all the worlds opals.  Australian black opals are so superior to the small amount of black opal found elsewhere, the capital of the Australian black opals industry is a town situated close to two state borders Queensland and New South Wales and the population varies from about 10,000 and as the town has many seasonal opal miners because the extreme heat of the summer a lot of miners decide to mine during the cooler months and this is why the population varies.  Within a radius of 100 km of lightning Ridge Australian black opals have been found and there are many opal fields that have produced large quantities of Australian black opals a lot of the opal fields a mind out and no longer producing, and others still have teams of black opal produces working today where lightning Ridge is basically worked out besides the odd miner and company which open cuts the old claims.  There was so much Australian black opals produced in lightning Ridge that there has never been any other location that has produced anywhere near the amount of opal or quality.  In 2005 the mineral resources Department released large amounts of land for prospecting Australian black opals and many of the companies have taking machinery exploration drilling rigs into the new areas and in the near future there should be some great opal drilled up which should keep the industry busy for many years to come in the future

Opel

Opel this particular spelling of the English word Opal comes from the European country of Germany and Austria. And as Germany like England would be two places in the European Union that enjoy gemstones such as the Australian opal. In Germany the word opel relates to the lucky gemstone of Australia as the German people describe the Australian National gemstone as their own lucky gemstone, prior the Second World War Germany was famous for the gemstone industry, in particular they were large manufacturers and cutting of semiprecious gemstones and crystals from around the world. Unfortunately in today’s time the Third World countries of South-east Asia and Asia has provided a much lower capital base manufacturing proposition for many European, American countries also Japanese companies, hence most of the jewellery manufacturers have moved to these locations for manufacturing opel.


Opal care you must take care of your Jewelry, a soft toothbrush and warm water is great for cleaning your opal jewelry, in a 360° motion use the toothbrush in a circular fashion and when the water has stained a little bit, empty the water out and refill with clean warm water, repeat this three times emptying the water and refilling with clean water.  Please do not use toothbrushes that are hard to medium grade, the softest toothbrush is best when cleaning your opals.  And if the gold or silver is still not up to grade and you are not happy then you can use some chemicals that are recommended for cleaning the Jewelry and there are many, I must emphasise please do not use these chemicals on your gemstone only on the metal. 

Opal rough

Opal rough -  there is such a huge difference in buying rough opal from out the different opal fields of the world, in particular Australia the difference is so great between what you will purchase for your dollar when it comes to lightning Ridge and Australian black opal.  For the same price for a small 8 L bucket of black opal you can get 200 litres of Queensland boulder opal obviously depending on the grade , high-grade Queensland boulder opal you would get nowhere near 200 L, and Crystal opal from South Australia Cooper Pedy very different again when you are buying rough compared to the above two that I have mentioned.

fire opal

This term is used in America frequently I have heard it used representing patterns of opals, and also to describe the intensity of the range of brightness that the different opals are graded under. And there is in Mexico a fire opal which unlike the Australian Opal industry which supplies the vast amount of this mineral to the worlds Jewelry boutiques , this particular type of Mexican fire opal does not resemble crystal opal black opal and Queensland boulder opal at all it is usually orange to red colour unlike Australian opal which carries all the colours of the rainbow and the most beautiful patterns of all, to view a spectacular range of high-grade opal please view the categorie over $10,000 at www.grahamblackopal.com this range of black opals are all unique gem quality from the famous township of lightning Ridge the capital of the black opal industry of the world.

Pictures of opals

Pictures of opals can be very deceiving, hence when purchasing a opal over the Internet, it is always best to purchase opals from web sites that are usually located on the first few pages of your Web browser as these companies understand that to have a successful business it is all about integrity and hard work. Hence to have a web site on the first few pages of a leading search engine like Google Yahoo! or MSN than it takes a lot of work, and the company is not a flyby night company, and these websites will provide you with the genuine product and price. Obviously viewing in a opal specialist shop in Australia is also better then a picture in a glossy jewellery company brochure.

If you are a opal gemstone lover and would love to see the history of the industry for yourself, then you must travel to lightning Ridge Australia and drive to the famous 3 mile opal field in the township of lightning Ridge. Where you have the largest open cut mine that has been preserved for each heritage value, the mineral resources Department of lightning Ridge has secured the famous 3 mile open cut with a 6 foot chain mess fence and viewing platforms for the Australian and international tourist. You can clearly read the history for yourself and view the rainbow like profile of the structure and textures of the individual levels of sandstone and clay, a palaeontologist, gemologist, gemstone lover’s and tourists from around the world enjoy the spectacular history lesson, where you can clearly view the old opal shafts where the miners from Europe and Britain first found the rare harlequin patterned red on black multicolour classic gem. The old shafts and ballrooms are clearly visible where the old-timers used pick and candles, and the large deposits of where this gem stone laid for many millions of years can still be seen today from the open cut where the miners left big ballrooms where all the opal was ,as these areas were heavily open up and worked. The blood sweat and tears are often not heard of or talked about as the retail side of the industry is glamorous and spectacular, so the early pioneers should not be forgotten brave men that were not scared of poisonous snakes, the natives these Europeans that discovered Australia that decided to travel in the outback in to deserts to look for rare gemstones and make their fortune . Eldorado of the black opal industry was the famous heritage listed 3 mile opal, still the richest field and best quality opal in the history of the blackopal industry.

types of opals

 There are so many types of opals and most of them come from Australia, you have the gem of opals the rare and exotic black opal only found in the surrounding areas of the township of lightning Ridge New South Wales Australia.  Queensland boulder opal is found through out the state of Queensland and the opal fields can be thousands of kilometres apart, and is usually found in large quantities hence making it a much lower grade opal than black opal, and crystal opal from Coober Pedy South Australia which  South Australia  is the world’s largest producer of this type of beautiful opal.  Mexican opal other terms used – fire opal odyssey from Mexico and is a lower grade gemstone.  Brazilian crystal is also not the quality of Australian crystal opal.

Opal

Opal is a mineraloid gel which is deposited at relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, and basalt. Opal is one of the mineraloids that can form or replace fossils. The resulting fossils, though not of any extra scientific interest, appeal to collectors .The mineraloid opal is amorphous  hydrated silicon dioxide. Opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, yellow, green, shore, blue, magenta, brown, and black. Of these hues, red and black are the most rare and dear, whereas white and green are the most common; these are a function of growth size into the red and infrared wavelengthsÑsee precious opal. Common opal is truly amorphous, but precious opal does have a structural element. The word opal comes from the Latin opalus, by Greek ˜palli˜s, and is from the same root as Sanskrit for “stone”,Opals are also Australia’s national gemstone.The water content is usually between three and ten percent, but can beas high as 20%.

Fire Opal

Fire Opal in the Australian black opal mining industry with suppliers the vast amount of Opal to the world markets, there is no such thing as fire Opal, this is mostly a term used overseas that relates to the brightness of the Opal.  Also the country of Mexico has a semiprecious red orange lower grade gemstone that is called fire opal, which really does not resemble Australian crystal or black opal at all.

opal Jewelry

With your beautiful opal Jewelry it is a very good idea if it is a very expensive opal or has sentimental value , then it is best for dress occasions and special events. Otherwise cleaning from time to time with a soft toothbrush and warm water and a little bit of polishing with a clean cloth after cleaning. Please be very careful of knocking your opal against hard objects so to avoid chips and cracks on your gemstone, also a bit careful of harsh chemicals that possibly could dry the opal which in turn could affect the colour play.

Opal Jewelry

Personally opal that is surrounded by small diamonds is the most beautiful jewelry in the world, in many countries they place a beautiful opal in the middle of the setting, which is the main feature of the jewellery and then the Goldsmith surround the gemstone with beautiful clear diamonds.  This design is often used with ladies rings, and also ladies pendants .  In the modern times as Opal is getting rarer and rarer the jewellery companies are utilising every piece of opal, these small pieces can be inlaid into jewelry which is very popular, usually the high end gem quality black opal and crystal opal is set in 18 carat gold and often in white gold, most of the commercial grade opal is set in solid silver. 

birthstone

Opal is the birthstone for the month of october , and black opal is related to the star sign of Sagittarius, gemstone lovers often call opal the Queen of gemstones, in many countries for example Germany opal is a very lucky gemstone, also China, Japan and the United States of America. Many people believe that opal has a healing power as crystals are often use with alternative treatments . Gemstones

gemstones

Important when it comes to your gemstones, a expense opal is best for special occasions and is not particularly a work and general purpose piece of jewellery.  So maybe a triplet or less expensive solid Opal would be better for everyday wearing as it can be replaced without too much financial difficulties.  Obviously a birth stone Opal or a gift from a special person is always hard to replace even if it is not valuable, it certainly has sentimental value.  So again in this case this type of Opal Jewelry should also be warn on special occasions. 

Types of Opals

Types of Opals there are many types of Opal , Australia which supplies most of the world’s markets.  Crystal opal from Cooper Pedy and as Cooper Pedy is in the state of South Australia it is not the only location for mining crystal in that State.  Black Opal from lightning Ridge in New South Wales, and many locations in the State of Queensland for Queensland boulder up opal.  Fire opal from Mexico, and opal crystal from Brazil .

Loose Opals Loose Opals this is a term used by mining and wholesalers, as in the retail industry most of the opals are set in jewellery.  loose opals have been shaped cut and polished ready for sale to the wholesaler. The Opal industry on the Internet usually sells a lot of single Opal gemstones which are also loose opals, and by the way it is possible to buy single and loose opals in most of the opal specialist shops in Australia.

Pictures of Opals

Pictures of Opals in the following weeks we will be providing our opal blog viewers with images and photographs of some of the mining leases and surrounding landscapes where the opal miners spend most of their working life.  Also some beautiful photographs and images of gem quality opals from Australia, black opal from lightning Ridge, Crystal opal from Cooper Pedy South Australia.  And of course from Queensland Australia, the beautiful Queensland boulder opal.                       

Types of Opals

There are many types of Opal , Australia which supplies most of the world’s markets % 95 . Crystal opal from Cooper Pedy and as Cooper Pedy is in the state of South Australia it is not the only location for mining crystal and white opal in that State. Black Opal from lightning Ridge in New South Wales, and many locations in the State of Queensland for Queensland boulder opal. Fire opal from Mexico, and opal crystal from Brazil , and U.S.A opal , Indonesia , South America .

 South Australian White Opal.

 

White Opal the majority of this gemstone is found in the State of South Australia in the township of Cooper Pedy and the surrounding mining feels, there is also other locations in South Australia where you can find other types of Australian Opal. South Australia is located between the two southern States, Victoria to the east, West Australia to the West. These days is a very multicultural township . With primary producers and miners from all the regions of the world working for either the love of the gemstone, or jest to strike it rich and retire a rich man. obviously there are also some women mining as it is not so difficult these days four a woman, as mankind has already blazed the trail’s, and most of the hard work has already been done there is plenty of infrastructure around the town, technology is available to all which takes the backbreaking work out of the business, services like hospitals etc etc

South Australian Crystal Opal

The State of South Australia is located at the most southerly point of Australia with Victoria to the east, and Western Australia to the West. This state produces the largest amount of Crystal Opal in the world. The major mining town is called Cooper Pedy which is a extreme dry arid region of Australia. Most of the residential houses in the township are located underground and many are quite elaborate Homes, Cooper Pedy also has hotel complexes underground.     For more opal info visit grahamblackopal.com 

The community : Black Opal capital of the world.

 In modern times the township is mainly made up of three major communities, first and largest community by far : Caucasian Australians which usually are a few generations of Australians dissent. English term used for these people : trueblue. The second community aboriginal, most of the towns around lightning Ridge have a community of aboriginals. And the third community usually come from the Baltic region of Europe, which are made up of many small countries Serbia, Croatia, Romania, etc etc.For more opal info visit www.grahamblackopal.com

 

 Queensland Boulder Opal.

 

Queensland is a huge state of Australia which lies in the northern part of Australia on the eastern side, adjoining the State of New South Wales in the South, and northern territorial to the West of the State. And there are many locations in the State in the far west about, 15 Hour Drive from the eastern seaport, to the desert regions and semi arid part of Australia. Queensland Boulder Opal mining is usually undertaken with large machinery in open cut mines, Queensland Boulder Opal is usually found in reasonable large deposits , gem quality Boulder Opal will never reach the price per carat of what black Opal does.


We will talk a little bit about the subject of flat colour bars, this particular type of opal you need to take more care when you are cutting, the miners and the cutters prefer to work with the wider colour bands as there is more room for error, and usually better returns. Also thick colour bars of Opal will allow for more strength in the finish opal gemstone. 

About high domed cabochon Opal 

 

About high domed cabochon Opal, as this type of Opal is recognised usually as a more beautiful gemstone, and is certainly rarer then the flatter colour bars, it is always up to the customer and clients to decide what type of Opal they prefer. Many men prefer a beautiful flat Opal, where many ladies would prefer a cabochon Opal.

Lightning Ridge the capital of the exotic and rare blackopal gemstone is in the state of New South Wales Australia. As the town these days also caters for tourism as well as supplying the professional miners. Unfortunately is no longer producing large amount of Opal, how ever since the late 1980s there has been many black Opal nobby fields in particular producing high quality gem blackopal, also the seem country has produced large amounts , most of these mineral leases have been in all directions up to 50 km around the township of lightning Ridge and are still producing some amounts in 2007.

Tourism in the black Opal town of lightning Ridge 

 

Tourism is quite a large business these days as the Opal feels around town are practically nonproductive, and as this is the capital of Black Opal in the world, then if you are a Black Opal gemstone lover then you have no other choice then to come to Australia. And this is why the township of lightning Ridge has become a tourist town, most of the Black Opal industry these days are 50 km from the township. All the modern Opal Fields today are spread around the outback and can be quite difficult to find with out local knowledg

rough opal

 

Most rough opal is usually purchased by wholesalers and opal cutters and hobbyist, tourist often travel through these mining towns, specially towns like lightning Ridge and Coober Pedy which these days are readily visited by gem lovers and tourist which will purchase small bottles of chip opal usually that are submerged in water to allow the uncut Opal to show its play of colour. Some of these opal specimens are a mixture of fossil and semiprecious opal.

Opals are the gemstones for the month of October and are the official gemstone from down under Australia, many people born in the month of October will purchase a opal for good luck as the other 11 months of the year people will purchase gemstones that are related to the month which they were born in. And opal lovers and gemstone collectors just love to have opal in their collection of jewelry, it does not matter which gemstones you wear as all gemstones and jewelry are up to the individual who purchases the particular stone that suits them.

Opal mines USA 

 The American population love opals ,particularly states like California the capital Los Angeles. You will also find a lot of opal in the jewelry shops in San Francisco  .  And also the jewellery shops in the city of new York some of the most expensive pieces of magnificent Opal jewelry in the world can be located in the 11th Ave New York City .You can find travelling around America mining companies and Opal prospectors along with many miners in a few locations in the USA   .  There is also opal found just under the border of the United States in  Mexico and even further down in Brazil

 Gem opal

Gem opal is a term used to describe a perfect opal, there is no impurities or faults the opal gem is unblemished these gemstones are the rarest and usually the most expensive.  A perfect gem black opal should be a high dome cabochon multicolour predominantly red harlequin pattern the brightness five out of five, and the back of the opal is dark black with no faults or sand.  You should be able to use a diamond loop and look very close at the face of the opal and not fine any scratches faults marks, the opal must have perfect clarity, and every direction that you look at the gemstone it should have a brightness of five out of five.

loose Opals  

Loose opals gemstone collectors love to have a few opals in their collection of gemstones that they have collected over the years.  And if these opals are not set in Jewelry then you can call them loose opals and you can have many shapes and sizes from symmetrical to free-form, round to oblong, square triangular and when it comes to free-form opals there is no end in shapes and sizes from large to small,  high dome opals or cabochon this term is used in the profession for opals that are very thick.  You can also have flat opals with a very thin colour bar there are so many different types of loose opals that you can collect.  To view many loose opals on the Internet then we would recommend the site www.grahamblackopal.com as Graham Black has a government heritage listed site at lightning Ridge New South Wales Australia.

 

Guinness book of records : Harleys comet black opal :      www.grahamblackopal.com          Gemstones are many people’s love as they say diamonds are a way to a woman’s heart, and black opal is the way to health wisdom and love. As does all the gemstones of the world rubies sapphire, Jade etc attract different types of people, the Chinese love their Jade and the lucky Australian red opal as red is for good fortune and is lucky in China.  Other people just love jewellery with gemstones  and it does not matter if they are lower grades semiprecious, and other people love the statist of expensive gemstones and in many countries around the world if people are looking for expensive and rare gemstones and jewellery then they are most likely wanting a beautiful black opal that is enhanced by many much smaller high-grade clear gem quality diamonds,  the Goldsmith and designer will surround the gorgeous black opal with diamonds to make a 360° border this enhances the design . 

 Black opal rings

Black opal rings are absolutely stunning and gorgeous when women wear such beautiful jewelry, these black opal gemstones are so exotic looking and unusual that you will rarely ever see a gorgeous black opal ring on any other person but yourself. On the other hand black opal rings for men are masculine and impowering for males, they have a feel of wisdom charm and charisma . A male black opal ring is usually quite a large opal and will do all of the work by its self to dazzle and intrigue people just surround the black opal in a large solid gold ring setting. Where for ladies a fine gold setting with a gorgeous elegant 2 ^ high dome cabochon black opal surrounded by small diamonds, as the gorgeous black opal does not need to be enhanced too much by lessor gemstones, because black opal are so rare and exotic ! please do not have that Goldsmith and designer incorporate too much fancy work when you are working with good-quality black opal as they are so rare and really do not need much work at all as they really stand out in a crowd and can only enhanced the natural beauty of a woman.               

Opal images

Opal images some of the major search engines will have a image link at the top of their Web browser, for examples searching on the word opal you will find the word images at the top of the page which will take you to many photographs of opal images and all of these photographs if you click on them you will be redirected to a web site that is related to opal images, and you will find on that first page of opal images a picture of Australia and a article about Queensland boulder Opal if you click on the photograph it will take you to the web site www.grahamblackopal.com which has a huge amount of great information about the Australian opal industry.  You will also find a trolley cart where you can purchase Australian opal and contact forms for you to e-mail Graham Black about any information regarding the topic of opal gemstones or just e-mail him here gems@grahamblackopal.com , there are many photographs and opal images also on the web site for your free viewing , and please do not hesitate to ask him to send you a image of a opal that you would love to own and wear as jewelry, this site is a extremely safe and well made web site please do not hesitate to view Australian opal gemstones as you will find a large and vast range of different quality opal for every budget and you should have no trouble locating the gemstone of your choice.

 Opal gemstones

Opal gemstones do not need to be set in Jewelry with too much elaborate work all costs, as each opal gemstone has its own unique display of colour, and there are many types of patterns, shapes and sizes from flat opal to a high dome cabochon opal.  Which is unique on its own and does not need to be fancied up with gold or silver and is the main display of the Jewelry.  Obviously a man’s ring would be masculine and more metal and a larger setting would be needed, then a fine ladies piece of jewellery that would not need a lot of gold.  And if the jeweler has a few low-grade small opal which would obviously not stand out in the crowd being not so expensive, then the jeweller can arrange them side by side which in turns allows the opals to be the main display of the Jewelry.    

 Australian black opals

Australian black opals are the most unique you will never find two of the kind black opals that will upstage you when you arrive at your destination and if you ever come across another person with a Australian black opal piece of jewelry that they are wearing it will never resemble your opal unlike diamonds and rubies you can come across a person at a dentse wearing the exact diamond ring as what you have, or a Sapphire broached that you have. or a beautiful ruby necklace that you are wearing, Australian black opals are all individual unlike other gemstones there are so many colours with Australian black opals, also so many patterns with Australian black opals that shapes and sizes are often different to. You can have very high domed cabochon opal and you can have very flat black opals, and curbs in between ,free-form Australian black opals it goes on and on Australian black opals are endless, gorgeous beautiful exotic and will bring new great happiness.

 rough opal

You can buy rough opal any amounts from .5 of a kilo to 1000 kg sometimes it just comes in a 8 L plastic bucket all a 44 gallon drums, it all depends what you want what you can afford, and of course what the primary producer is producing small amounts large amounts and sometimes it is nearly impossible to buy any opal rough.  And other times there is plenty available on the market particularly Queensland boulder opal and white opal.  It is not often you will find large amount of black opal rough yet it is more common to find good-quality crystal opal rough from time to time.  Unless you have inside information and friends involved in the mining industry you will have to travel a lot and it can be thousands of kilometres between opal Fields to purchase opal rough.  And it can be a very dry and dusty and lonely drive as there are not many planes to charter in the outback of Australia and sometimes you can have floods which blocks the roads and this can make it very difficult to purchase opal rough.

 Opal gem

 

This is a term used to describe the ultimate perfect unblemished Australian Opal with no flaws or blemishes, the perfect pattern for example Harlequin Peacock Harlequin, ribbon Harlequin, Chinese writing Opal Patten, and a picture Opal gem Stone the Opal gem must have a extreme high dome cabochon, with all the colours of the rainbow predominately dark red with the brilliance intensity and brightness that most people’s eyes have never seen.  The Opal must be brilliant from every angle that you can possibly look at.  We are mostly talking about the beautiful face of the Opal not the underlying Opal material potch or ironstone also you should never see lines fractious of any colour also on beautiful face of the Opal.    

opal  jewelry   

 

The finest collections of opal and jewelry can be found in Australia, in particular the the city of Sydney which has many locations Darling Harbour has many beautiful opal jewelry boutiques along with the famous rocks in Sydney and also you will find many beautiful opal jewelry boutiques in pit street it is the heart of the shopping district of Sydney. All so Web Shops on the internet, the southern city of Melbourne and Adelaide also have some beautiful opal jewelry boutiques and shopping available, North to the capital of Queensland Brisbane also has magnificent opal jewelry shopping, and the famous Gold Coast in Queensland as many excellent opal Jewelry designers and Goldsmith are based on the Gold Coast.  And North Queensland Cairns which also has the Great Barrier Reef which from the air resembles beautiful freeform and symmetrical opal shapes as it carries on down the coast for 2000 km spectacular colours and patterns one of the wonders of the world. 

 Opal

The mineraloid opal is amorphous SiO2·nH2O, hydrated silicon dioxide. The water content is usually between three and ten percent, but can be as high as 20%. Opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, shore, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and black. Of these hues, the reds against black are the most rare and dear, whereas white and greens are the most common; these are a function of growth size into the red and infrared wavelengths—see precious opal. Common opal is truly amorphous, but precious opal does have a structural element. The word opal comes from the Latin opalus, by Greek opallios, and is from the same root as Sanskrit upálá[s] for “stone”, originally a millstone with upárá[s] for slab (see Upal). Opals are also Australia’s national gemstone.

 

Opal is a mineraloid gel which is deposited at relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, and basalt.Opal is one of the mineraloids that can form or replace fossils. The resulting fossils, though not of any extra scientific interest, appeal to collectors.

 

Opal there is only one true meaning to this ancient word in the English and American dictionary, and it only means a precious and semiprecious gemstones that mainly occurs in Australia that produces over 90% of the world supply of crystal Opal , Boulder Opal and black Opal.  This gemstone is found in the rugged and semi arid regions of the outback of Australia in particular the State of New South Wales – Queensland and South Australia.

Largest opal found in modern times you can find this in the Guinness book of records, it is over 2000 carats of black opal which was found on the 3 mile opal Fields lightning Ridge.  If you would like to view photographs of this famous opal then please visit the web site www.grahamblackopal.com and click on the opal categorie over $10,000.  This opal is worth over $1 million and is in its natural state which resembles a comet that would be travelling in outer space the colour bar is very wide and is clearly visible, this particular opal GemStone from lightning Ridge Australia would be every collectors dream to have such a GemStone like the Halley’s Comet, in their rare collection as you would find in most wealthy businessmen and women collection also royalty such as kings and queens .

Black opal pendan

Black opal pendant are absolutely stunning and gorgeous when women wear such beautiful jewelry, these black opal gemstones are so exotic looking and unusual that you will rarely ever see a gorgeous black opal pendant on any other person but yourself.  On the other hand black opal pendant for men are impowering for males, they have a feel of wisdom charm and charisma .  A male black opal pendantis usually quite a large opal and will do all of the work by its self to dazzle and intrigue people just surround the black opal in a large solid gold setting.  Where for ladies a fine gold setting with a gorgeous elegant 2 ^ high dome cabochon black opal surrounded by small diamonds, as the gorgeous black opal does not need to be enhanced too much by lessor gemstones, because black opal are so rare and exotic ! please do not have that Goldsmith and designer incorporate too much fancy work when you are working with good-quality black opal as they are so rare and really do not need much work at all, as they really stand out in a crowd and can only enhanced the natural beauty of a woman.

 opal jewelry wholesalers

 

Most of the opal jewelry wholesalers are based in Australia where well over 90% of the opal is mined and produced throughout the outback towns, a lot of the wholesalers these days have their manufacturing base offshore the majority of the crystal opal from South Australia Coober Pedy is taking by Chinese middlemen and buyers to the mainland of China where there are large factories that orientate and cut and polish the opals.  And there are also huge jewelry factories there also, if you really want a unique design you must then buy from the Australian jewelrs which make one of a kind opal jewelry designs unlike a lot of the foreign buyers which travel to Australia which mostly make a design and then begin to manufacture thousands of the same opal jewelry designs.


Australian opal jewelry 

 

Australian opal jewelry is mostly made in Australia unlike a lot of the international companies around the world which have gone to China – South-east Asia to manufacture their whole range of gemstones and jewelry.  A lot of the Australian jewelry is handmade to suit the opal size and shape and is not calibrated by machines to all the same dimensions and carat weight as many international companies do so .  In the townships around the Australian opal fields the cutters orientate and shape for the colour which is all cut by hand by people in the industry, you will also find a lot of Australian opal jewelry and Goldsmith’s working from such towns and on viewing their shopfronts which are usually in the main part of the towns , you will find at large range of Australian opal jewelry. 

Royal Peacock Opal Mines 

This is a famous location for opal  that is produced in the United States of America, unlike Australia that produces the vast majority of opal for the International and world markets.  Still there is opal found outside of Australia royal Peacock opal mines in the United States of America for example, fire opal found in Mexico and way down south in South America you have the Brazilian opal, Indonesia in South-east Asia also produces opal, and in Yugoslavian in Europe there are also small amounts of opal produced.  The Royal Peacock opal mines are quite famous in the United States, where lightning Ridge the home will black opal is very famous in Australia and opal is the national gemstone Down under.

 

The subject of the Halley’s Comet lightning Ridge Black Opal please click on this link which will take you to the web site of grahamblackopal.com which has photographs and images of this Guinness book of records Australian lightning Ridge Black Opal the largest Black Opal ever found in modern times. As Graham Black has a opal lease within a stone’s throw of where they found the Halley’s Comet Black opal which he has leased for close to 30 years and mined around the famous heritage listed three-mile area for many years. The year 2000 Graham finished open cutting the old lease where they first discovered the rare and unique and valuable exotic pattern the harlequin . Which is a very uniform pattern and is extremely sought after by many of his customers around the world, and as he was the last man to work with the men who found and owned the lease where the Halley’s Comet was found. These men told Graham that for many years they worked underground in the old diggings at lightning Ridge which is now heritage listed that where they found the famous opal after open cutting the claim that it was only a hands length in the clay where they walked past four many many years. And was possibly very lucky to find the rare gem stone after owning the lease for many years that if they had not open cut the claim they probably would had never discovered the famous Halleys Comet opal on the 3 mile opal fields of lightning Ridge New South Wales Australia   

 

 

 

 

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