top of page

The Earthy Blues & Greens of Black Opal

Writer's picture: Sasha BravoSasha Bravo

Aside from the beautiful landscape, kangaroos and a vast population of critters,

Australia is home to Precious Opal, and the leading producer of this gorgeous gemstone.

Unique in its optical 'Play-of-Color' properties & with a variety of color combinations and patterns, Opal, unlike any other gemstone, has no crystalline structure. Instead its amorphous, made up of nano size, hydrated silica spheres grouped together. The size of the spheres is what produces the spectrum of color, with larger spheres producing colors of red, yellow & orange and smaller spheres producing green, blue & purple. The arrangement & orientation of the spheres produce the different patterns and saturation we see in the 'play-of-color'. As the colors dance together, every stone is unique as you view it at different angles.

In valuating an Opal, the colors and saturation along with pattern should be strongest face up.

Designing a Custom Jewelry Ring with Black Opal and Emeralds 
Sasha Bravo Fine Art Jewelry

 

The small outback town of Lightning Ridge, in the state of New South Wales, is situated within the area of the Great Artesian Basin, the worlds largest, fresh, underwater system. Along with its wonderful soaking thermal baths, this unique geological area is home to the Black Opal.


During my first visit to the mines, a windy road crossing a desert golf course, ostriches on free roam, a few signs leading to the wooden shed bars, you meet with the local mates, grab a Tooheys (Aussie Beer) , and look at the wonder of Opals.



The majority of the material is in the rough (in-bedded veins of Opal in 'potch' -a whitish to grey to black host material), which is where the name Black Opal comes from.

The color of the host material is given an 'N1 through N9' designation (as you can see in the color chart below) to describe the shade of the background material as part of a single, solid piece gem.

Black Opals body tone falls between N1-N4.


Opal Body Tone Chart
Opal Body Tone Chart

 

Opal Cabachon polishing in cerium oxide
Polishing of Opal cab using Cerium Oxide

Pictured to the right, part of the lapidary process of cabbing and polishing of an opal.


Opals also come in form of a 'rub', a pre-cut state, showing the potential for a finished, polished stone.

One of my best travel memories, and shy of twenty years later, I'm still in love and fascinated with this one-of-a-kind Gem.


True to Nature, the blues & greens are a beautifully, natural earthy combination.



 


Earthy combination of blue & green in these simple, dangle earrings in 14KY.
Elegant opal earrings set in gold, showcasing vibrant green and blue color hues against a rustic wooden background.







A clients loose Opals set in a

sandy coastal 'cliffs' design.

Light & simple elegant dangle.

Black Opal Earrings

14KY gold













 

A Custom Jewelry piece always starts with a center stone.

If you have loose Opals or would like to purchase an Opal for a custom setting, contact us at info@sashabravo.com

I'd love to show you some amazing gems available for Custom design.


I welcome you to join our monthly newsletter, where we offer a variety of loose gems through our trusted partners from around the world.






5 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page