Gem of the Day! Black Opal Black Opal is rarest type of Opal, the national gemstone of Australia, Black Opal is also the most valuable gem of its kind. Almost all available Black Opal comes from the Lightning Ridge mine in New South Wales. The brilliant play of color, or fire, in these dark gems, along with their relative scarcity, causes them to be worth over $2300 per carat. The background tone of the black opal is very dark or black. The colors dance on top or come out of this dark base. It does not matter what color is displayed. The important thing is the background tone of the opal is dark. There are a lot of opals that could be termed semi black because the background tone is exactly that. Black Opal with a truly black background tone is incredibly rare. Not all Black Opal are expensive. To be valuable and expensive black opal has to not only have a dark background but it must have a lot of colour with a good play of color. For example, an opal has a very dark background and only a small amount of blue then it will be inexpensive. As the colors go up the rainbow (from violet to red) they generally become rarer and hence more expensive if on a dark base. Adding to this is when two or more colors are present, and exhibiting a pleasing color play. If the background color is semi-black then the opal will be less expensive. With so many countless combinations you can begin to see why black opal varies from inexpensive to down right mind boggling. By Jonathan Photo #1 Black Opals form Lightning Ridge Photo #2 Australian Black Opal Photo #3 Black Opal Sterling Sliver Ring
Posted on: Wed, 03 Dec 2014 16:09:45 +0000
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