Black Opal Information

Out of all the Opal types Black Opal is the most sort after and most valuable type. In fact it is so highly prized it has been an object of desire throughout the ages with kings, emperors, maharajas and sultans all being mesmerized by its beauty. If the Opal is referred to as the “Queen of Gems” then the Black Opal is the Queen of Queens.

 

Characteristics

Black opal is characterised by a dark body tone which ranges from dark grey to jet black. Importantly this body tone refers to the general body tone of the stone, and is not related to the rainbow colours present in the opal. Due to the unique characteristic of this dark body tone, the classic Opal rainbow colours stand out much better in a black opal.

 The cause of this dark body tone is from the fact that black opals have carbon and iron oxide trace elements present which causes an unusual darkness of the Opal and hence creates the colour to have an extra vibrancy to it. This vibrancy of colour makes black opal the most valuable form of all opals.

Value

In addition to the dark body tone there are the regular factors to take into account when working out the vlau of a black opal. The brightness, pattern, calours and size all have a say into what the Opal is worth. It is not rare for a top of the line black Opal to fetch over $10,000 AUD per carat.

Origin

Black opals are mostly mined in Lightning Ridge, in northern New South Wales. Lightning Ridge is famous for the black opal and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of black opals have been found there. In 2008, the black opal was named as the ‘gemstone emblem’ for New South Wales. Black opals have also been found at Mintabie in South Australia. Buy Black Opal Here