wpe50.jpg (1913 bytes)    TigerSoft News Service    3/29/2008        Visit our www.tigersoft.com   
                                       
                     by William Schmidt, Ph.D.
  (C) 2008 All rights reserved. 

                                                   
          Beautiful Colors for Your Enjoyment.  See also our American Turquoise: A Journey through Native Blues.

   HARLEQUIN     
     BLACK    
O
PALS
wpe13D.jpg (10859 bytes)

    www.andamookaopal.com.au/  


                                 HARLEQUIN BLACK OPALS - By William Schmidt, Ph.D. - www.tigersoft.com
              
             
                                   Northern lights?  Fireworks?   A magic mushroom trip?    No, harlequin opals
!
                              Each offers a unique and phenomenal light-show.  They bear little resemblance to their
                              much more common, plainer cousins, the ordinary white opals that most US jewelers
                              offer.   When first introduced to England in the late 19th century, harlequin opals were not
                              even accepted as opals, they are too gaudily bright and colorful.  But they soon took the
                              world's breath away.   Viewed from any side, the best black opals send out shafts of
                              light, brilliant ruby-reds, deep, deep blues, glorious purples as well as burning yellows and
                              lush greens.  They stun the visual senses.  No other gemstone displays the whole spectrum
                              of colors.

                            wpeF6.jpg (14366 bytes)    wpe147.jpg (12202 bytes)
     http://www.opals-of-light-and-fire.com/web_images/black-opal-1.jpg       http://www.codyopal.com/cody0405/images/opal2.jpg
         
                                     Their shafts of light are so big and bold. Sometimes they form a checkerboard pattern.   
                              They may be may be full opals.  Or they may be more affordable doublets or triplets.   A woman
                              wearing a harlequin must be ready for lots of compliments, steady gazes and even offers to
                              buy her harlequin right there and then.  They are not bad luck. Opals simply should be kept
                              out of direct sunlight, away from extreme cold and occasionally placed in water, so as not to.
                              become overly dry and fracture.

                                    99.9% of the brightest colored and most lustrous opals come from only two places in
                              the entire world:  Lightning Ridge in New South Wales and Mintabie in South Australia.

                             Top quality opals sell for more than $30,000 US per carat.

                                   My visit to the San Diego Gem Faire in April 2008 inspired this write-up.  I saw more beautiful
                              opals in 30 seconds that I had ever seen, even though wherever I go I always look for stores
                              selling them.  They were extraordinary.  The man who mined them was kind enough to
                              encourage my interest.  Below are some of his opals.    Here is his website:
                                               http://www.grahamblackopal.com/webcontent11.htm
                              I saw the opal just below, up close and personal.  It is easily worth $250,000. Every change
                              in perspective, radiates new beams of colors.  Gazing at it, I felt like I had taken a worm-hole
                              to a  faraway galaxy.   
                                    wpe158.jpg (28447 bytes)
                                                
                            
wpe155.jpg (2112 bytes)            wpe154.jpg (7546 bytes)                  wpe156.jpg (2482 bytes)

                                             wpe159.jpg (40339 bytes)

                                    wpe15A.jpg (29950 bytes)

                      wpe128.jpg (16429 bytes)   

                      wpe12B.jpg (23899 bytes) 
                  
http://www.cooberpedy.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/images/gif_gemstone.GIF 
                           wpe137.jpg (10796 bytes)   

                           wpe13B.jpg (8366 bytes)

                           wpeF3.jpg (7248 bytes)
              
Ebay $49,999 - 36 carats 36 mm x 23 mm X 7 mm - Lightning Ridge "semi-black"

                       wpeF6.jpg (13129 bytes)
                        
Ebay $45,995 - 31 carats 31 mm x 24 mm X 5 mm -

                         wpe13A.jpg (9455 bytes)  

               wpe140.jpg (22453 bytes)  
                           
 
www.kaufmanndesuisse.ca/ENG/opals/opals_7.htm
        
                                 

      
wpe4F.jpg (33251 bytes)

 

    Tiger Software Helping Investors
    since 1981
                     Make Your Retirement Grow
                               Suggestions: 
     
  Peerless Stock Market Timing: 1928-1966         
      Track Record of Major Peerless Signals
       Earlier Peerless-DJIA charts       
       7 Paths To Making 25+%/Yr. Using TigerSoft 

       Index Options            
       FOREX trading        
       Investing Longer-Term         
       Mutual Funds
       Speculative Stocks     
       Swing Trading       
       Day Trading        
       Stock Options          

   
   Commodity Trading       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                      

                     This is the land they come from.
           wpe12D.jpg (18555 bytes) wpe128.jpg (27521 bytes)
                   ( http://www.fredwardgems.com/images/Fred-Ward-with-opals.gif
                    http://www.delsjourney.com/images/news/news_02-03-08/2-2707_Opal_Fields.jpg   )

           wpe13C.jpg (14443 bytes)                      wpe13E.jpg (11688 bytes)
           ( http://www.bryantmcgill.com/myspace/opals1-300.jpg
                                                                        http://www.gemplayer.com/images/birthstone/opfy01017.jpg   )

                   It is the glow under-ground that often reveals the opals to miners.  Special instruments
          can find opals more easily.
          wpe12C.jpg (19176 bytes)
                                             http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200605/r85826_761715.jpg


           wpe144.jpg (30054 bytes)
                 
                            http://www.opalhouse.com/client_images/catalog25949/OpalColors.jpg

wpe126.jpg (44072 bytes)
     http://opaloasis.com/files/opals1.jpg
                                    Australian Lightning Ridge Black Solid Opals 

wpe139.jpg (22072 bytes)
         Black opal is the "king of opals".  It israre. Mine prices of $10-20,000 per carat are not unusual
         for the best stones. In an average year, only a few (less than ten) world-class black stones are mined
         and offered for sale.  These come mainly from Lightning Ridge in NSW.   These can crystal or opaque.
         Even  expensive black opals may have only a very thin colour bar on black potch.  The rarest specimens
         show bright flashes of red. 


wpe134.jpg (14348 bytes) 
wpe135.jpg (16536 bytes)
wpe136.jpg (15865 bytes)   wpe138.jpg (29208 bytes)

                                               Australian Black Opals

wpeF3.jpg (17851 bytes)   wpeF6.jpg (15296 bytes)
http://www.australianblackopals.com/images/frontnew1.jpg

wpe146.jpg (20614 bytes) wpe148.jpg (6414 bytes)

             http://www.black-opal.co.uk/img/black_opal.jpg                           http://www.codyopal.com/cody0405/aboutopals.htm

                     These stone's spectrum of colors change as light "plays off the regimented layers of sub-microscopic spheres
              that form the basic structure of opal. In the best examples, dramatic splashes of color are juxtapositioned like
             puzzle pieces producing a wide range of patterns....he finest BLACK OPAL in the world comes from Lightning Ridge
             Australia in New South Wales. It is the RAREST of all opals and can sell for millions of dollars or more. The Red
             Multicolored form of black opal is the most prized ! Black Opal also comes in a "crystal form" but very dark background
             usually solid color, it may not have any solid black backing visible - in some cases may be double sided color. When
             held up to light you may be able to see through it thus "crystal"... Because of the curious nature of opal formation,
             it is possible for a variety of organic forms to be systematically replaced by opal bearing fluids that faithfully replicate
             the object during the replacement or fossilization process. Shell and other forms of plant life ( and even dinosauers)
             can be opalized in a slow, methodical process, that reproduces the shape of the original life form in both "precious"
             or "common" opals.
The uniqueness of these opals, familiar to the ancient seascape of Australia, has been faithfully
             mimicked in a highly transparent opal exhibiting any combination of colors across the spectrum but predominately a
             blue/green play of color, like the sea it started with. The desirability of any example of opal replacement is dependent
             on a combination of factors including shape, form, color, completeness and especially the brightness or quality of the
             actual gem material. The patterns can exhibit broad flashes, small flashfires, speckles of color or even pinpoints."
  
            Some commercial sites:
http://www.aussietreasurechest.com.au/shopdisplayproducts_homepage.asp?id=44

                              Australian Boulder Opals

wpeF7.jpg (12693 bytes)  wpeF7.jpg (30711 bytes)
( http://www.bernardine.com/gemstones/boulder-opals.htm )

wpe129.jpg (18571 bytes)    wpe115.jpg (14891 bytes)

                      opaloasis.com/

wpe142.jpg (13795 bytes)  wpe143.jpg (27079 bytes)
    
www.lapidary-rock-saw-blade.com                                                                                http://www.mybestgem.com/opchi3.jpg

    Boulder Opals.   These are found only in Queensland.   They are formed from silicon diozide and
    other minerals that have seaped into the fissures of ironstone. The cutter must always take a little of this natural
    ironstone when extracting a gemstone.  This gives the dark overall colour which does not detract from the Boulder
   Opal. When little or no ironstone appears in the face of Boulder Opal, the price of Boulder equals  that of very
   fine Black Opals. The natural occurrence of Boulder allows for particularly interesting shapes which in the hands
   of a creative jeweller makes for stunning creations.
               (Source: http://www.grahamblackopal.com/about-opal/opal-classification.php )
   When the opal is mixed through the boulder ironstone, it is also called "matrix opal."  Hardness ranges between
   5.5 and 6 on the Mohs scale.  Boulder opal is very durable due to the ironstone backing the opal forms on.  
  Because water content within the opal is very low it almost never cracks or crazes as it ages.

   "During the 1980s,when the super-strong yen pushed black opal prices to levels beyond the reach of the rest of the
    world, far-less-expensive boulder opal came on strong in America as a substitute. Then, during the withering of
    world recession of the early nineties, when the Japanese also balked at the high cost of black opal, this alternative
    variety came on even stronger in Japan." (Source: David Faberman)

                              Australian Opals from Coober Pedys
                       
wpe115.jpg (8940 bytes) wpe151.jpg (52822 bytes)
( http://www.joannarepton.co.uk/images/opals01.jpg )                    Living underground in Coober Pedy..
          See - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coober_Pedy and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCU-QTW32go

                            Australian Lightning Ridge Crystal

wpe12A.jpg (11950 bytes)     wpe141.jpg (9555 bytes)



                          Mexican Fire Opals

wpe12E.jpg (47024 bytes)   wpe12D.jpg (5507 bytes)


wpe126.jpg (9180 bytes)   wpe12B.jpg (5824 bytes) wpe12C.jpg (11318 bytes)wpe12A.jpg (48916 bytes)

  http://www.loscabosguide.com/opalosdemexico/mexicanopalphotos.htm

                                                                         Light/White Opals

wpe150.jpg (2195 bytes)  "Natural opals with a base tone ranging from colourless to medium grey are called light opal. Some people refer to these as "white" although this expression should only be used where the body colour is very milky.  Light opal makes up the bulk of precious opal. White Opal may be transparent through to nearly opaque, although it usually has a "milky" appearance and has a light body tone or white body colour. Mainly mined at Coober Pedy and Mintabee, (South Australia) although the first deposits were found at White Cliffs (NSW). "  ( Source: http://www.codyopal.com/cody0405/aboutopals.htm )

wpeF3.jpg (13432 bytes)
http://www.gemsandclocks.com/pics/opal.jpg
wpe129.jpg (19140 bytes)
http://www.costellos.com.au/images/opal_history_map5.gif

"The history of Australian opals started as late as 1849 at a cattle station called Tarrawilla, near Angaston some 80km outside Adelaide however, Australian opal did not appear on the world market until the 1890s. Prior to the emergence of Australian opal on the market, opal was sourced in Hungary and South America. Consequently, the Hungarian mines promoted the idea that Australian opal was not genuine, probably because gems with such brilliant colour had not been seen before. "
www.costellos.com.au/opals/history.html

wpe145.jpg (46944 bytes) 
http://www.opal-online.org/picts/opaloval.jpg

So many patterns of color: "Harlequins", "Flagstones", "Ribbons", "Peacpck Tail",  "Rolling Flash"
wpe14A.jpg (3703 bytes)  wpe14C.jpg (2910 bytes)  wpe14B.jpg (2245 bytes) wpe14D.jpg (3654 bytes) wpe14E.jpg (3816 bytes) wpe14F.jpg (2123 bytes)
http://www.codyopal.com/cody0405/aboutopals.htm

EBAY OPALS - 1/15/2010.
wpe179.jpg (9613 bytes)wpe17C.jpg (9643 bytes)
US $59,995.00
wpe17D.jpg (30732 bytes)
                                                                             $49.950 US
                                         wpe17E.jpg (22400 bytes)
$32,500 US


,                     
       
                                                           
                    

        

 

Hit Counter