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New Australian Black Opal Ring

userangl28212003

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
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1,018
I just recieved my new black opal 14k yellow gold ring and I am in love. I got it from an etsy vendor who cuts her own opals from lighting ridge. I did notices the back potch was a light gray and had sand on the back so for curiosity I sent pictures to Justin from Black Opal Direct to get his opinion. This is what he said:

Your opal looks to be natural but cannot be 100% sure. The giveaway is the sand in the back of the piece. Most people won't use potch with sand for a backing of a doublet. So I;m going with natural ( me: I dont think people would us light gray potch either for a doublet)
It looks to be N4 with a brightness of B3 So yes I would consider it a black opal.
Many opals I have seen with a lighter back and a black colorbar. And as you probably know you never judge an opals body tone by the back of the gem.
The pattern looks to be chaff and floral pattern. Without a carat weight it is hard to put a value on it, but for the opal alone its worth in the vicinity of $500 to $800

I paid $425 for the entire ring :). Here are some pics and video. Vendors pictures look more accurate in darkness of opal than my pic or video for how it looks in real life. For some reason i'm having hard time catching the dark blue and the brightness of the green flshes in the pic and video, but wanted to show the color play of it

il_570xN.708426002_tdzv.jpg
il_570xN.708426242_ofyg.jpg 20181117_143602.jpg 1.jpg
 

Bron357

Ideal_Rock
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Joined
Jan 22, 2014
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6,532
Beautiful ring and an excellent purchase. I really like the setting style.
Just remember opals are quite soft ie easily abraided so not best for everyday wear. No ultrasonic cleaners either, just a soft toothbrush with water if you want to clean it and use a silver polishing cloth on the metal.
Opals are magical gems, wear and enjoy.
 

2Neezers

Brilliant_Rock
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Joined
Jan 8, 2014
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1,874
Your new opal ring is gorgeous! Black opals with blue and green flashes are a favorite of mine and your stone looks perfect in its setting. It was very nice of Justin to evaluate your stone and I bet it feels great to know you got a great deal on a beautiful piece. I would be interested in knowing the Etsy vendor if you don’t mind sharing =)2
 

userangl28212003

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 26, 2014
Messages
1,018
Your new opal ring is gorgeous! Black opals with blue and green flashes are a favorite of mine and your stone looks perfect in its setting. It was very nice of Justin to evaluate your stone and I bet it feels great to know you got a great deal on a beautiful piece. I would be interested in knowing the Etsy vendor if you don’t mind sharing =)2

Hi. Justin has a new new thing on his website for $10 to ask questions on an opal and he will give you his advice so I thought why not since I trust his opinion. The etsy vendor is call Opal Market, which they are on opalauctions.com to which is why I felt safe to buy from them. They also metioned retail value of rin was around $1200, but you get good discounts from opalauction vendors
 
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