Black Opal in 22k?

[Ronnilee]

Hello, All;
I came across your site while researching Black Opals to determine if I wanted to take a chance on this pendant. It came up recently at a sparsely-attended estate auction.
Thought I''d share and see if anyone wanted to venture an opinion. I think it''s a nice example of a Boulder opal on matrix. The designer thought enough of the stone to mount it on 22k gold, and hopefully he/she knew more than I.
I don''t want to overload the thread, but I''ll be posting 6 pictures. Please bear with me while I experiment with uploading.

 

[Ronnilee]

Different angles, different light sources.

 

[Ronnilee]

One pic was too big. Will resize and upoad it last.
Meanwhile, it came with earrings, too.

 

[Ronnilee]

There''s some ''sand'' in the earrings, but it''s not visible unless you''re right up close.
From any distance all you see is flash-on-black.

 

[Ronnilee]

Opals are really hard to photograph well!

 

[Ronnilee]

OK. Here''s the one I had to shrink some more.
If the pictures aren''t satisfactory and anyone''s interested, I''ll try taking some more.

 

[Ronnilee]

Oh...some details:

Pendant measures @22mm x 7mm x 4mm (measurements rounded down)
Clean face, no matrix showing through.
Background appears to be jet-black. Where a grey ''film'' shows, it''s a camera artifact of an area that''s about to flash color.

This is what happened when I tried to take a photo outside in diffuse, late-afternoon sun. (I know...this makes 7. Sorry)

 

[T L]

Incredible opal - I LOVE IT!!!

 

[Linda W]

Beautiful set!! I love the play of colors.




Linda

 

[movie zombie]

what''s not to love?!

movie zombie

 

[Fly Girl]

Love, love, love it! So pretty. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Sharon101]

Wow, did you actually buy these pieces!!!!!

Im in Australia and sadly opals are not really appreciated or purchased much by the locals, which is odd considering its our countries main stone!!!!

I know alot about opals because my family have been selling them for almost 100 years.

The opals that you have in your pictures are very special. The rich vibrant color speaks for itself and really drives up the price and value of the pieces.

 

[geckodani]

No need to apologize - we love pictures!! Those are gorgeous! What a fun and lovely find!

 

[Ronnilee]

I want to thank everyone for your comments and for visiting the thread.
I was apprehensive that someone would point out a fatal flaw I''d missed, but now it''s really gratifying to see that you enjoy the opals as much as I do!
I''ve seen some spectacular gemstones displayed on this site and value the opinions.

Sharon101...Wow, really?
I had no good idea of their value when I decided to buy them. Still don''t; can''t find any comparables. Just love ''em, and the pendant''s worn daily.

Back-story is that they came out of Australia @30 years ago as salesmans samples. Maybe true, maybe no. They were in their original presentation box which bore the logo of "Gemtech".

They''re now the heart of my small collection of vintage jewelry.