Boulder Opal is usually cut to the contours of the Opal vein creating a baroque wavy surface and is often freeform and irregular in shape, making boulder Opal unique and exclusive among it's peers. Boulder Opal is in very high demand and extremely precious. Opal bearing boulder is always cut including the host ironstone. To reach us, please email OPALSīoulder Opal is found sparsely distributed over a wide area of Queensland Australia, sandstone or ironstone boulder country where the Opal fills cracks and crevices in the ironstone boulders.

Featuring outstanding customer service, our friendly staff is dedicated to answering your questions and will respond to any email that is received within 48 hours, 7 days a week. As individual as you or I, Opal offers pieces within everyone's budget.Īt Australian Opal Direct, we pride ourselves in not only having a wide range of quality Opal Jewellery as well as the most desirable bespoke collections of Opal at the best possible prices. Our attention to detail in the cutting process as well as the craftsmanship of each unique piece can be seen throughout the wide selection of Opal Jewellery. Additionally, our hand selected designers feature cutting edge design work and craftsmanship setting the most innovative trends for the Opal industry around the world! Our location, close to the source and direct from the Australian Opal Mines allows us to provide the best possible Opal Gem at the most competitive price. From mining to wholesaling to exporting and retailing, we have over 30 years of experience in the Opal industry. Coober Pedy is widely known as the the capital for Australian White and Crystal Opal.Īll Australian Sedimentary Opals from these fields have the same chemical and structural make up only with the host rock being the difference.Īustralian Opal Direct offers custom designed Opal jewelry reflecting the unique characteristics of each individual rare gemstone.

White and Crystal Opal can be found in all parts of the Australian Opal fields and is typically a light or white with color flashes.

Black Opal has a dark body tone and can be the most valuable form of Opal which is mined around the town of Lightning Ridge located in Northern New South Wales.

Boulder Opal comes in a wide array of vibrant colors and patterns and is the strongest type of Opal as it is married to the Ironstone host rock with Winton, Queensland considered the capital of Boulder Opal Country.

The trinity of Australian Opal mined in Outback Australia consists of the following:

This means the bright rainbow colours of Opal, as they appear to the human eye, will move and change dramatically depending on the angle at which the stone is viewed as light refracts the silica spheres. The “play of colour” found in Opal is the result of interference and diffraction of light passing through tiny silica spheres in the microstructure of Opal. Each piece of Opal is “One Of A Kind” and can never be replicated or reproduced! The truly phenomenal thing about the Opal Gemstone is that it can display all of the colours of the spectrum. Opal takes millions of years to form inside of our planet earth and is extremely difficult to find and extract. Opal is one of only six types of precious gemstones found on planet earth, sharing prestigious company with Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies, Sapphires, and Pearls. Opal is one of the world's most beautiful and precious gemstones with 95% of the world's Opal coming from Australia.

Types of opal