WHAT IS OPAL?

The Lightning Ridge opal fields are located in New South Wales , Australia . Lightning Ridge red multicolour black opal can command $20,000 plus per carat and is the worlds most valuable opal.

Good quality Lightning Ridge black opal is characterised by:

• The blackness of the base colour.

• The brilliance of the fire and the predominance of red.

• The richness of the colours, and the quality of the other colours with the red (heliotrope, yellow, cornflower blue, electric green, gold, bronze).

• The rareness and desirability of the pattern of the fire, the directionality of the fire (is the colour play "ON" at all angles of viewing).

• The fluidity and mobility of colour and pattern, the shape and size of the stone, and the overall composite appeal of all these factors

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN OPAL FIELDS

COOBER PEDY

Coober Pedy has been the world's largest opal bearing region for over 50 years. It is the source of most of the "traditional" opal one sees in jewellery stores. Most opal mined from Coober has a milky white body colour, though some fantastic crystal opal is also found there. The name "Coober Pedy" comes from Aboriginal language, and loosely translated means "White man in a hole". Aptly named! This field is famous for its' abundant opalized fossil shells, some of which command thousands of dollars per carat.

MINTABIE

Mintabie is the second largest opal producing field in South Australia . The opal it produces varies from white base, to crystal, with many shades of grey, to even black. This opal typically forms as a seam of precious opal sandwiched between thin layers of sandy, dark material. The crystal opal from this field is very popular for inlay material due to its brightness and hardness. Of course, fantastic gemstones can also be cut out of the rough. 

ANDAMOOKA

The Andamooka opal field is well known for its' brilliant crystal opal, as well as "painted lady" and matrix opal (white, natural black, and treated matrix black). The matrix opal from this field can often be somewhat porous making obtaining a good polish more difficult, but the brilliant colours flashing out of the matrix is worth the extra effort.

LAMBINA 

The Lambina opal field produces several types of opal. Seven Water Holes Field on Lambina Station in South Australia is the source for black opal or jelly opal. The jelly is packed with intriguing sparkles and colours. The blue greens in the rare and infamous Black Lambina are clearly defined. Some stones cut out of this field's opal looks much like some Lightning Ridge crystal. Lambina opal has a reputation for its ease of cutting due to its formation and thickness.

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