Black Opal

[Punks-Tricks]

Hi All,

Fairly new to PS and joined last year when looking for a diamond. Anyway I have enjoyed looking at all the lovely stones and jewellery on here.
I think I would like a black opal but have no clue where to start looking or what I should look for! Almost likely to set it in to a pendant.
I saw a lovely black opal in a halo ring in a local jewellers and went weekly to peer through the window like a child in a sweet shop. It was second hand and I didn't really like the setting or the price (it's was £5,500) I live in the UK and most of the jewellers are high street stores that wouldn't have the expertise. Please can you suggest dealers or vendors that I could get a stone from. No preference on size and would prefer quality over quantity, max budget around the £1,000 mark ($1480 dollars at today's exchange rate) I thought I wanted dark with rainbow colours but today I have seen some (granted it was on ebay so may not be real) in green's and blue's. These caught my eye as I am an avid fan of the Aurora Borealis and it reminded me of the AB. Anyway all information and suggestions much appreciated and gratefully received.

 

[LoversKites]

It is not easy to find good black opal and its difficult to judge them from images. Images or videos taken against a black background enhance the play of colour and are often taken under a direct light source, bringing the most play of colour out of the opal.
opalauctions.com has tons of opals from what they say are trusted sellers. But its hard to sift through and find what you want.

 

[soberguy]

Aussie treasure chest used to have lots of stones and videos.

 

[mochiko42]

Does anyone know about or have seen in person black opal from Ethiopia? It seems to be smoked or heated Wello opal, and supposedly the treatment is permanent.... I didn't even know these existed until recently..

 

[Punks-Tricks]

Thank you for your replies, I didn't think it would be easy. Will take a look at those recommendations, I'm not in any hurry so will do further research.

 

[Marlow]

Does anyone know about or have seen in person black opal from Ethiopia? It seems to be smoked or heated Wello opal, and supposedly the treatment is permanent.... I didn't even know these existed until recently..

There is black opal from Ethiopia..

http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/winter-2014-gemnews-new-deposit-black-opal-from-ethiopia

But I think most are treated ( smoke )

 

[T L]

Does anyone know about or have seen in person black opal from Ethiopia? It seems to be smoked or heated Wello opal, and supposedly the treatment is permanent.... I didn't even know these existed until recently..

There is black opal from Ethiopia..

http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/winter-2014-gemnews-new-deposit-black-opal-from-ethiopia

But I think most are treated ( smoke )

They're dying a lot of African opal these days, and not just black.

The only "black opal" I would trust to be natural would be from Australia.

You also have to worry about doublets and triplets of course, and from any location.

 

[Marlow]

Does anyone know about or have seen in person black opal from Ethiopia? It seems to be smoked or heated Wello opal, and supposedly the treatment is permanent.... I didn't even know these existed until recently..

There is black opal from Ethiopia..

http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/winter-2014-gemnews-new-deposit-black-opal-from-ethiopia

But I think most are treated ( smoke )

They're dying a lot of African opal these days, and not just black.

The only "black opal" I would trust to be natural would be from Australia.

You also have to worry about doublets and triplets of course, and from any location.

I think a triplet with a high quality opal would be a good choice for a ring - beautiful, cheaper and leeeess problematic then a solid and extremely precious opal.

I agree with you with the rest of your post.

 

[T L]

Does anyone know about or have seen in person black opal from Ethiopia? It seems to be smoked or heated Wello opal, and supposedly the treatment is permanent.... I didn't even know these existed until recently..

There is black opal from Ethiopia..

http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/winter-2014-gemnews-new-deposit-black-opal-from-ethiopia

But I think most are treated ( smoke )

They're dying a lot of African opal these days, and not just black.

The only "black opal" I would trust to be natural would be from Australia.

You also have to worry about doublets and triplets of course, and from any location.

I think a triplet with a high quality opal would be a good choice for a ring - beautiful, cheaper and leeeess problematic then a solid and extremely precious opal.

I agree with you with the rest of your post.

I think triplets and doublets are fine, but some unscrupulous dealers don't disclose the fact that they're triplets or doublets.

 

[minousbijoux]

Does anyone know about or have seen in person black opal from Ethiopia? It seems to be smoked or heated Wello opal, and supposedly the treatment is permanent.... I didn't even know these existed until recently..

There is black opal from Ethiopia..

http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/winter-2014-gemnews-new-deposit-black-opal-from-ethiopia

But I think most are treated ( smoke )

Thank you for beating me to it, Marlow. I was going to link to that same article. I look forward to seeing more examples of the Ethiopian black opals and how they compare.

 

[Marlow]

I think they are rare - maybe a small production so like a drop of water in a desert ( collectors...) .

I don't buy opal but if I see them in the next gem show ( in two weeks maybe) I will ask for them - there are some very good opal vendor.

Maybe I will post some pics.

 

[minousbijoux]

I think they are rare - maybe a small production so like a drop of water in a desert ( collectors...) .

I don't buy opal but if I see them in the next gem show ( in two weeks maybe) I will ask for them - there are some very good opal vendor.

Maybe I will post some pics.

Yes please!

 

[chamlet1]

Hi. Is there anyone that can tell me what types of opals these are? Matrix, region, precious, the whole specs. I never realized how many types of opals there are. If you need more pictures ill do my best. Also any suggestions of photographing and polishing would be great!

 

[Dioptase]

Top and last ones look like material from Shewa, Ethiopia. Nice for specimens but a lot tend to crack.

 

[the_universe]

one of the issues with opals from different parts of the world is stability varies greatly. Most "articles" I read on opal durability are incorrect (even the GIA is misinformed about opals). They categorize all opals as being a certain durability and this simply isnt true. One of the reasons diamonds are so popular is that diamonds are easy. They are durable, they are abundant, they are pretty, they are basic. Whereas, opals not so much.

Australian Opal is known to be the most "durable" and "stable" (they are less likely to craze & honeycomb) than other opals as a general rule (you can get good quality opals from all over so Im stereotyping here). The reason why Australian Opal is a lot more durable is the environment from which they are formed is extremely harsh. So if it is stable over many millennia in Lightning Ridge Australia then chances are its going to be stable in much less extreme environments. So for example, something simple like washing your in a public bathroom under cold water then drying your hands under a hot blower may craze/crack an unstable opal whereas a good quality Australian opal can handle that no problem.

Ethiopian opals can look really impressive but they are typically not very stable. This is why they are a lot cheaper than Australian opals. You can google and youtube on this if you like. There is also a lot of scamming going on with Ethiopian Opals. Here is a quick video showing one of the many scams.
https://youtu.be/2J4Qly4VM3I

This is a general rule. I have seen many beautiful high quality opals from all over the world. But, In general, Australian opal is significantly more durable and also tends to be more expensive. The best advice I can give you is educate on youtube and google as much as you can.

There is a website that I think does a great job and thats BlackOpalDirect.com that has tons of videos that educate those interested on the subject.

 

[bobsiv]

The only durability tests that I'm aware of, conducted by the GIA, found that Ethiopian opals were more durable than the Australian opals that were tested. That's been my experience as a cutter also, for what it's worth. Like you say, there's a lot of conflicting opinions out there. I'd be wary of any information coming from vendors who only deal in one type of opal.

http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/summer-2010-opal-ethiopia-rondeau

 

[arkieb1]

Hi Genuine vendors in Lightening Ridge;

http://lightningridgeinfo.com.au/buying-black-opal.html

Worthy of reading if you are new to opals;

http://www.opalsdownunder.com.au/learn-about-opals/introductory/how-buy-opals-guide-purchasing-opals

Aussie Ebay also has some nice pieces for sale from time to time and preloved Opal rings occasionally pop up as well, remember to ask lots of questions and only buy from vendors off ebay with decent feedback.

 

[LD]

I'm surprised at how many replies have said that it's difficult to find as that's not my experience. However, you do need to be careful where you buy from. This auction site specialises in only opals and the Vendors are subject to quite a bit of scrutiny.

It's worth having a look to see if you like anything - what I would say is that no matter where you buy opals, you'll find there's a difference between the photos (which are always taken in the most flattering light for each gem) to the real thing. This is not being deceptive, it's just that opals are difficult to photograph.

http://www.opalauctions.com/auctions/black-opal/

I have a huge lightning ridge black opal that I love and a few smaller ones too. Black opals are judged by their main body colour as well as the play of colour so it's worth reading up so you know what you're buying.

 

[the_universe]

I have 2 problems with OpalAuctions.com

1) nowhere on their products do they require the Brightness rating of the stone being sold. Videos and pics of opals are usually doctored up with filters or lighting to make them look much better than they do in real life. Leaving out the B rating is leaving out roughly 50% of the valuable information about the opal. lol

2) diffusion of responsibility; ie: no accountability from the seller. After the stone is bought and shipped and delivered if the customer doesnt like it (if they doctored the pics and its just not the same in person), then the customer is screwed.

for buying online jewelry I have absolutely no problem paying extra to work through a vendor who stands by his/her products and is also willing to take accountability if the product is not as described.

Just to clarify
N = Body Tone 1-9. 1 is the darkest (best) and 9 is the lightest (worst)
B = Brightness 1-5. 5 is the brightest (best) and 1 is the dimmest (worst)

 

[the_universe]

Hi. Is there anyone that can tell me what types of opals these are? Matrix, region, precious, the whole specs. I never realized how many types of opals there are. If you need more pictures ill do my best. Also any suggestions of photographing and polishing would be great!

dont quote me on this but they all appear to be mexican opal. The orange body tone with green flash is the clue that I see. I dont know much about non Australian opals so take what I say with a grain of salt.

from my experience boulder opal and australian opal tend to be the most attractive to me. One jeweler showed me a absolutely beautiful looking welo opal but he stored the ring in water because Welo opals absorb water and all the flaws get hidden.