Most Expensive Opal: The Record-Setting Stones Explained
The most expensive opal ever found, from Olympic Australis to Aurora Australis, and what actually sets the price of the opal you can buy.
Richard Lewis
Black Opal Price: What Actually Sets the Value
What actually sets black opal price: body tone, brightness, pattern, and color, explained by a goldsmith who cuts the stones himself.
Cat Eye Opal: What Makes It Show That Line of Light
What causes cat eye opal’s chatoyant line, why it shows up in common opal, and how Peruvian and chocolate opal trade names fit in. A jeweler’s guide.
Aurora Opal, Galaxy Opal, Rainbow Opal: What the Names Mean
Aurora opal, galaxy opal and rainbow opal are not official grades. A goldsmith explains what sellers really mean and how to tell if it is real opal.
Hydrophane Opal: Why Ethiopian Opal Absorbs Water
Hydrophane opal absorbs water and can cloud or discolor. A goldsmith explains why Ethiopian opal behaves this way, and how to care for it.
Coober Pedy Opal: Australia’s Underground Opal Capital
A jeweler’s guide to Coober Pedy opal: the underground South Australian town that mines the world’s white opal, and how it differs from Andamooka.
Pink Opal and Purple Opal: What They Really Are
Pink opal and purple opal explained: the real Peruvian stone, how red opal differs, and what Mexican purple opal actually means.
Blue Opal: Peruvian Stone vs Blue Play-of-Color
Blue opal explained: how Peruvian blue opal differs from precious opal with blue play-of-color, plus meaning and how each wears in a ring or necklace.
Mining for Opals: Inside the Australian Opal Fields
Opal mining explained: underground shafts, noodling, and the miners I buy rough from directly, from a working goldsmith.
Dark Opal and the Opal Body Tone Scale
Dark opal explained: how it differs from black opal on the N1 to N9 body tone scale, and what that means for value, setting, and wear.
Lightning Ridge: Australia’s Black Opal Country
A jeweler’s guide to Lightning Ridge opal: where the town is, why its claystone ground makes black opal, and how the mining fields work.
Alexandrite: June’s Color-Changing Birthstone
Alexandrite is June’s rarest birthstone, green by day and red by night. A jeweler explains the color change, its history, value, and natural versus lab-grown.