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INDEX
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Opal Prospecting the Easy Way: At Gem Shows
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Has the magic shift of light and color in an opal beckoned to you lately? There is so much more "special" opal available these days. Since Crocodile Dundee's invitation to "Throw another shrimp on the barbie," world travelers have seen Australia's
National Gemstone and wanted to bring it home. Americans in particular were amazed at the variety and quality of opal available in the Land Down Under and wondered why they hadn't seen opal like this in the USA. They asked this question in jewelry stores
and gem shows throughout the United States. This newly created demand coincided with the discovery of new opal fields in Australia, so the object of their desire became more accessible.
This piece of opalized wood from Yowah is very unique, approx. 15 x 33
mm. Its price is $800. |
Now, you know that opals are out there, but need to do some "opal prospecting" of your own before you find that "just right" gemstone for you. In the 14 years I spent prospecting for opal in Lightning Ridge, Australia, I operated under a friend's
instruction (passed on to him by an Aboriginal) to "just look". Just look at the country (the terrain, the dirt), both below and above ground and ask questions. You too need to LOOK, not glance, at opals on display in dealers' cases. Look fully into
each one. You will begin to see the endless differences, personalities, and allure of each stone. There will be those opals that rekindle in you, a childhood awe. You will feel wonder again. Go ahead and ask the stone dealer the questions that arise.
Many who sell opal have a lifetime passion/addiction going on here and have a wealth of information on opal to share.
Australia produces approximately 95% of the world's opal. Lightning Ridge, Australia produces its top gem, Black Opal. My first love has been black opal ever since I received that fateful opal ring from my parents, at age 13. Therefore my tips and
information usually refer to the black and crystal opal of that opal field. However, it often applies to most Australian opal with but minor differences.
Yowah Nut Opal Pair, approx. 18 x 29 mm, $300
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My second love, (fickle woman that I am) is the Yowah Nut opal of Yowah, Queensland. It is a smaller, concretionary form (geode, thunder-egg) of the famous Boulder opal. It is found mainly in one square kilometer of Australia in the boulder opal fields.
The "nuts" are found in both loose and conglomerate form. Tiny nuts in conglomerate form is often referred to by Aussies as "puddin' stone". Yowah nut opal is a jewelry designer's dream and can be found in a number of finished designer jewelry pieces.
Opals come in many other forms; jelly, white (milk), crystal, boulder matrix, Andamooka treated black matrix, just to name a few. Once you begin to really look at what opal is available and see the price ranges of $2 to $20,000 per carat (yes, I said
$20,000 per carat- Black opal can be very precious) some confusion may set in. Perseverance will make it all clear. You will find many opals that tug at your emotional "I want" strings, but to calm your fears of not making the right purchase, keep these
helpful bits of advice in mind. Remember also that I refer to SOLID opals and not the constructed forms of opal known as doublets, triplets, and mosaics.
The opal's reputation for fragility has been perpetuated by the improper cutting of the stone, which weakens it, settings that hold the opal too roughly, poor grade opal being used, and general misinformation on its proper handling. On the Mohs scale of
hardness, opal ranges from 4½ to 6½ , with Black opal (which is also more dense) in the upper range. Generally, a finished opal with a bit of dome and proportionate length to width gives more mass and strength. This doesn't mean that a long, narrow cut
cannot be mounted and protected by a caring, skilled, and creative jeweler. Thin, flat opals that have been cut in the attractive marquise style (oval with sharp points at each end) is a fragile shape indeed and are best mounted in pendants or earrings,
rather than a ring.
A bargain can be had by purchasing an opal with a valuable price per carat color, but whose fire "faces" in only one direction. This directional attribute reduces the stone's value and COST to you. Perhaps it flashes its most fiery face only if hanging
as a pendant, held in any other direction the fire and color disappears. On the value scale, an opal that is "on" in all directions as you turn the stone 360 degrees is worth the most, and therefore, costs the most. Why not buy the directional stone at
its affordable price and wear it as a pendant?
Now let me explain pattern. The "patches" of color, sheen of color, and flow of color in an opal form its pattern. Tiny twinkles of fire in the stone are known as "pin fire" which is low on the value scale. Also low on the scale is "grassy" pattern (a
pin fire pattern on an artist's canvas that has been smeared across the painting). Higher up the scale of patterns is "harlequin," large, even patches of color actually blocky in shape and fairly evenly distributed across the face of the opal. In the
gem opal arena, "chaff," "Chinese writing," "mackerel sky," and "cat's eye" are all collectors' prizes, but can be found for less money by the "gem show prospector" who has done a lot of looking. As with most gemstones, flawless opal is tops, but sharp,
bright color and pattern can hide any clay inclusions that may lie underneath. Also, creative goldwork done in the setting of an included opal can hide its visual flaws and highlight only clean, top grade opal in the finished piece.
Be aware that too much clay and sand in an opal can affect its integrity and strength as does too thin a cut. Indian jewelers have strengthened stones of many kinds for years by backing them on jet, basalt, or a cork-like material, so there are ways to
strengthen and set a thin opal, but the price of the stone should reflect its more fragile pre-mounted state. Your jeweler is the key here. Every town has a local opalholic jeweler. Opal is his passion. He knows how to properly set your opal in a
finished piece of jewelry. You can recognize him or her by the number of opal pieces he carries and the variety of loose opals he can pull out and show you.
If you can see through an opal when you hold it up to a light AND the color patterns are floaty, holographic, or vague in nature, it is probably a "jelly" opal. Lovely to behold, but a bit on the low side of the value scale. If, however, the color
pattern is bright, clear, and sharp when looked at straight on, AND appears clear when looked through at a light, it is "crystal" opal. The clearer the crystal, the better the grade. The good crystal opal should be packed with color and pattern
containing no windows (clear, transparent spots, devoid of color). Again the opal value per carat should be less with windows, but bezel settings can hide some of these if they are near enough to the edge of the stone. On the crystal value scale, going
from low to high, blue is the lowest, then green, then dazzling golden crystal, followed by the most desirable red crystal.
Yowah Nut Opal, approx. 24 x 25 mm, $600
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When speaking of the color in crystal (the color of the fire) I refer to the dominant color, as you know a truly good opal often displays the full color spectrum. In a gem red crystal opal, the blues, greens, and golden fires are there, but the red
dominates. You probably have seen the blue crystal opals used in much of the early 1900's jewelry. Top crystal opal, so popular here in the US is exceeded in value only by Black opal.
Ah, the Black opal! My first opal love. Remember in valuing, blacker is better. I must reiterate here that "black" is in reference to the background color, the color base that the fire and color comes out of. There is a point where gray opal becomes
dark enough to be classified as black. Again, talk to the experts. Here is the value scale of gray/black opal considering background color ONLY, lowest to highest: light gray, gray, leady gray, leady black, blue black, black, then glassy black. In
reference to dominant fire color ONLY, the value order is, from lowest to highest: blue, green, blue-green, green, green-orange, blue-green-gold, red, red-multicolor, with pigeon's blood red being tops.
The following complicates things a bit, but is a good thing to know. I whisper this to you in my best racetrack tout whisper, "Pssst, red heliotrope, cornflower blue, yellow and gold. Very rare and sure winners in the gem black opal market."
I have one additional value factor to share with you in the purchase of opal. It is the "GASP" factor. Some opals change not your breathing pattern, and some make you sigh, but the opal that makes you gasp has the charisma and potential to be a top gem
or is meant for you. One kind of opal that is having this effect on Americans these days is the boulder opal from Queensland, Australia, characterized by a sheet of opal lying on a dark ironstone base. Ironstone matrix boulder is characterized by
rivulets of fire rippling over or through the ironstone matrix and none is better than the Yowah Nut matrix opal, especially if it has a crystal core. The Yowah Nut opal has concentric circle patterns of fire sprinkled or rippled through the matrix.
This forms a unique, earthy look, unlike any opal you may have seen before. Picture stones, patterns, movement of color, so much to tempt the eye.
Yowah Nut Opal, approx. 18 x 34 mm $500
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Get out and prospect some of the richest opal fields available here in the US, your local gem and mineral shows. Rock and gem shows are your jewelry and gem underground. Herein live those opalholics who put their money and time into learning about their
obsession and are anxious to pass this knowledge and appreciation of opal on to you. Australian miners visiting the States make a beeline for rock and gem shows because here the knowledgeable opal lovers are. Remember too, that the American Opal Society
has an annual Opal and Gem show in Anaheim, CA. They provide a full day of opal seminars while the show is in progress. Take this bit of advice I share with you and the advice of that old Aboriginal, and go LOOK for your opal!
copyright 1997 by Barbara McCondra
Outback Gems will have a booth at the American Opal Society show, Nov. 8th & 9th at the Quality Hotel, 616 Convention Way, Anaheim, CA.. Barbara will be a featured speaker at the Symposium. (For information and reservations, call 714-525-7635 or send
email to editor@bovagems.com.)
Barbara will also have a booth at the Culver City (CA) show July 12 & 13 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, corner of Overland Avenue and Culver Boulevard. Info: bsmith@infodial.net or 310 820-8878
Australian Outback Opal Expedition
Outback Gems is preparing to launch its second "Outback Adventure" Australian tour. Our 1st tour in April exceeded all of our expectations. A truly fabulous time was had by all (including us). Things went so well that the town of Yowah unexpectedly held
a huge "goodbye" barbie for all of our guests the night before we left for the next opal field, Lightning Ridge. We truly enjoyed sharing our Australian friends and their unique Aussie hospitality with the members of the tour. The next tour is scheduled
to begin in mid-August (the best weather of the year on the opal fields, 70 degree days and cool nights). A few open reservations remain. If you too would like to experience the Australian Outback opal fields, contact us at: (602) 846-0407 or (602)
992-0952. Or email us at RedonBlack@aol.com
We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Please contact us as soon as possible as seats are limited and August 15th is not far off. We limit our tours to 8 persons so that we are able to provide our guests with a once in a lifetime, truly
personalized "Outback Adventure."
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Copyright, 1997 by Barbara McCondra
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Barbara McCondra is a popular lecturer who travels widely on speaking tours. Her son Ron Vil, who mined with her for many years, is the owner of Outback Gems, specializing in Australian Opal including, Lightning Ridge and Yowah Nut Boulder opal. They
were featured in the June 1995 issue of Lapidary Journal. You can contact Barbara through
Outback Gems, voice and/or Fax 602-846-0407 or email at RedonBlack@AOL.com.
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