Opal is Australia’s National Gemstone, with each of Australia’s major opal fields having its own distinctive geology, opal types, fossils, landscape, natural and cultural heritage. This panoply of treasures, unique in the world, is the consequence of a freakish combination of geological conditions (Rey 2013). Gemstone laboratories and industry participants, educators and opal enthusiasts look…
There is no governing body which has sent the prices for opal; they are the result of what the international market is prepared to pay in order to obtain the gem. As with any other commodity, opal is subject to the laws of supply and demand. The supply opal is never guaranteed – the lack of…
Australian Opal is found in sedimentary rocks aged 115-100 million years. The majority of Opal is quite hard and will scratch glass. However, there are a few areas that some fields that produce unstable material with a higher water content, which can crack or craze. It is important to buy your opal from reputable jewellers…
There are five virtues of fine Pearls that define their value; Lustre, Size, Shape, Complexion and Colour. Lustre Lustre is the paramount characteristic of pearl quality that is instantly noticeable. It is not only how light reflects from Pearl’s surface, but also how it seems to glow from within. Like all virtues, the lustre of…
By strange coincidence and only on rare occasions, fossil bones from the Early Cretaceous period (115-100 million years) have been found which have been replaced opal. In exceptional circumstances the opal can exhibit a brilliant play of colour. Opalised remains from the “Age of the dinosaurs” have been important for understanding past environments and the…
Australia’s Great Artesian Basin (GSB) hosts widespread deposits of Opal, and continue to be the major source of high-quality gem opal for the international coloured gemstone market. Opal mining in the GAB has produce billions of dollars’ worth of exquisite gems, including light opal mainly found in the opal fields of South Australia, Boulder Opal…
Opal Black Opal, Boulder Opal and White Opal deposits in Australia Australia’s Great Artesian Basin (GAB) hosts widespread deposits of Opal, and continue to be the major source of high-quality gem opal for the international coloured gemstone market. Opal mining in the GAB has produce billions of dollars’ worth of exquisite gems, including light opal…
A pearl is the gem produced by oysters in saltwater, or a freshwater mollusc. In either case, a small foreign into the shell, and then into the tissue of the mollusc. If the intruder becomes trapped, and the oyster can’t rid itself of it, the foreign body become an “irritant”/ To ease the discomfort this…
Blue is the main colour of sapphire. Blue is also the favourite colour of some 50 per cent of all people, men and women alike. We associate this colour, strongly linked to the sapphire as it is, with feelings of sympathy and harmony, friendship and loyalty; feelings which belong to qualities that prove their worth…
All of Nature’s splendour seems to be reflected in the manifold opulence of fine opals: fire and lightening, all the colours of the rainbow and the soft shine of far seas. Australia is the classical country of region. Almost 95% of all fine opals come from the dry and remote outback deserts, Australia. The Roman…
Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They have the most beautiful, most intense and most radiant green that can possibly be imagine; emerald green. Inclusions are tolerated. In top quality, fine emeralds are even more value than diamonds. The name emerald comes from the Greek “smaragdos” via the Old French “esmeralde”, and really just means “green gemstone”.…
The name Opal was probably derived from Sanskrit “upala”, meaning “valuable stone”. This was probably the root for the Greek term “Opallios”, or a “stone from several elements”. So, the ancient Romans may already have had an inkling why Opals show such a striking play of colours. Unlike most gems, Australian Opals are infinitely varied…