Black Opal
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Black Opal History
Highly prized and covetously sought after by kings, emperors, maharajas and sultans, the majestic opal has been desired throughout the ages. Its intrinsic beauty intimates the ever-changing mystery of loveliness; the secret of which is so jealously guards and holds spellbound those who possess it. Yet, with all their pomp and wealth, many of this elite were denied the privilege of ever possessing the unique ‘Queen of Gems’: Lightning Ridge black opal.
Lightning Ridge, the home of the beautiful black opal, is nestled away among high ridges covered with scrub and pebbles . It is here that nature eons ago hid the earth’s rarest gem, black opal. The beauty of the green trees, blue sky and red pebbles is reminiscent of the ever-changing colours of the magnificent opal found deep below.
Lightning Ridge, however, was not the first place to report black opal. It had been found in Egypt in 1899, two years before Jack Murray sank the first hole at the Nobby in 1901, at Jundah, in Queensland in 1891, and later at White Cliffs. But Lightning Ridge opal was different, and it is this difference that has made it famous. Until that time, the world had never seen such incredible patterns in opal on such a beautiful black back. The supply of black opal from Lightning Ridge dramatically changed the way gem merchants evaluated opals, setting an unprecedented hallmark for the gem.
Black opal is the rarest and most valuable of all opals and is generally found as a bar of various colours in a dark body. In addition, there is also Semi black and black Crystal.
Lightning Ridge in New South Wales is the worldwide home for black opal and is widely regarded as producing the best black opal in the world.
BLACK OPAL MINING
Black opal is getting harder and harder to find. Not only have fuel prices and lease fees made it very costly to mine for opal, but the scarcity of black opal is now a reality. This trend has been emerging for years, and it is now rare to find quality red fire black opal.
The majority of opal being mined at Lightning Ridge is now seam opal, which is formed in bands similar to opals from Cooper Pedy . Black opals that have formed as nuggets are now rare to find. Even the colour base of black opals is different to years ago; the natural base is now more of a grey black colour rather than dark black as it used to be. Miners are finding much more semi-black opal.
Black opal colour guides can be used to grade the darkness of a black opal. N5 is the darkest, and Hi the lightest.
BLACK OPAL INVESTMENT
Black opals have always been the informed buyers top choice when selecting gemstones for investment. Black opals that have strong red fire and a dark black base are considered extremely rare and are an investment that will generally appreciate by at least 20% per year. Many black opals sold on Opal Auctions have increased in value between 20 and 30% per year, and some black opals valued at $1000 per carat have now increased to $3000 per carat.
Investors in black opal should always look for top opals that have a black base. Other factors include;
- cabochon shape (domed tops are ideal for Jewelry)
- Uniqueness of the pattern
- Colour. Red is most valuable but some orange and green fire ribbon patterns can also make for excellent investments
Black opals have always been the favourite type of opal for serious collectors, but boulder opal has increased in popularity as well.
The Japanese market tend to prefer black opal cabochon and have helped moderate an ongoing value increase for this opal type.
AVAILABILITY
There are a few spectacular opal collections in Australia but none that include a large black opal collection because they are so rare.
This trend is repeated overseas, where large opal collections can be found in several countries including the US, Hong Kong and Germany but a large collection of black opal is very rare indeed.
MARKET TRENDS
With the ever increasing cost of opal mining mainly driven by oil prices and dwindling availability, the opal mining industry is coming under more and more pressure.
In Lightning Ridge all the “easy” mines have already been exhausted, and miners are facing very tough and dangerous mining conditions to extract opal in the more dangerous mines.
Low grade black opal is steady and available so the common laws of supply and demand are in force.
Opalholics - now is the time to buy investment opal because the supply of high grade black opal is thinning, and the mining community of Lightning Ridge as a whole is not finding much opal, which can only mean one thing for prices .
Opal mining report October 2009-09-12
The good news is that production in all opal fields has stabilized and is now slightly increasing. Australia has experienced a mining boom the last few years and due to the high wages being offered many miners have left to work in these gold coal and gas fields.
Now that this boom has ended some miners are returning back to the opal fields. The Lightning Ridge Miners Association has seen a explosion in members. This is due to there new bond scheme in which miners can now leave one bond with the association which can cover other claims.
Other wise they would have to spend thousands if they have a few claims. It appears that government regulations have caught up with the opal mining industry and you have to do several courses to have a claim in your name. There are safety and environmental courses that have to be done.
Miners are meant to keep a log book on who works there mine act which is a far cry from a un regulated industry most miners are used to. At Lightning ridge quite a few miners are now mining closer to the town. This saves on travelling costs and the material closer to town is mainly Nobby material which is of a higher quality then the seam opal found further out. Mining costs have increased due to fuel costs and government regulations.
Some miners are using all electrical machinery powered by generators and doing away with the blowers [these suck the opal dirt to the surface]that use huge amounts of fuel. The cost of production to miners is always unknown as some miners can work for over a year with no decent opal find. I do remember one discussion i had in the pub with four successful miners and they agreed[after a few drinks] that the cost for a good commercial stone would be app $100 a carat.
When you consider that most of the production is well below this price you can see why the miner needs to get thousands per carat for gem material to make a decent living.
Coober Pedy has experienced a similar loss of experienced miners and prospectors to the other mining areas as they have some gold and gas fields close by.
Most people are quite surprised to find that app 60% of production is from noddling and not under ground mining.Noodling is where you process the top opal dirt that miners left search for material that they missed. Some of these noddling machines cost up to $250,000 and even work a 24 hour shift. The opal dirt comes up a conveyer belt and ultra violet lights light up the opal and a automatic machine then picks it out.
There is still large areas to work but this material is usually not large chunks. The Chinese opal buyers love this material as it makes good small stones and doublets. To give a idea of production levels there used to be over 50 resident Chinese buyers but now there is app 6.Many more buyers do come and go on short trips.
Queensland-The worry about land right claims appears over and there have been some good opal finds recently. Some of the material has magnesium under the opal bar which gives a beautiful black opal appearance.
A lot of the production is sold straight from the mines. The production in the Yowah Koroit area is down but there is still some good quality material around at reasonable prices.
There are still a few good months of productive mining to do before the summer temperature arrives-its too hard on machinery once the temp is over 100 degrees.
Prices on the field have stabilized and it is hoped there will be a small increase in the field price to encourage more miners to return to the industry.
President Opal Association
Paul Sedawie
Seda Opals
Black opal is found primarily in the opal fields of New South Wales. Read up on them in our opal mining section: Opal Fields of New South Wales
Buy Black Opal
Try the below searches to see our examples of our opal search engine:
We also stock rough and fossilised black opal.
How to Polish Opal
Thanks to the priceless work of one of our members, we have a great guide in our opal forum about how to polish opal.
OPAL ASSOCIATION NEWS LETTER NOVEMBER 2008
The good news is that the Lightning Ridge had some heavy rains and there has been some new land release for prospecting. Over 100 people turned up for the first ballot which is a good indication of the interest in new mining areas. There appears to be more quality black opal Nobby material around but there is still a lack of buyers in the town particularly from over seas..
We welcome the following new members
Graeme Dowton - White cliffs
Keky Qie of Opal strike- Sydney
Opals Australia of Sydney
Australian dollar
With the strong dollar there is a lot of negative talk of the effects it will have on opal sales. It must be remembered in the 70s we had a similar exchange rates and opal sales were still strong. Many opal sellers did well the last few years in the USA but many [including my self] sold on the exchange rate profit. This meant that the opal market was spoilt so now we have the hard grind of selling the quality and not the price. Many Australian retail opal shops sell with a discount so they might like to consider saying the discount is to compensate for the strong dollar. Many opal dealers I have spoken to are looking to Europe for extra sales as both the USA and Japan are slow.
Opal show USA
This is a yearly show held in Anaheim Ca in November. It is known for lapidary people but a lot of jewellers and collectors visit the show and there are a few booth holders from Australia. The show was slow and a few regular opal collectors didn’t show up . Many customers were talking to booth holders asking about the exchange rates and opal production. I don’t think it does our industry any good to talk about low production to opal buyers. With out a good supply of opals our customers will move away to deal in another stone or business. Just mention that good money can still buy good opal
Sadly one American opal seller apparently left his goods in a car and they were stolen. While dealing with such valuables items we must all be alert. Remember most insurance doesn’t cover any goods left in a car or hotel room.
Future challenges.
The mining boom has had a negative effect on the opal industry with many people leaving all the opal mining towns to get high paid jobs working in the export mining sector. We can only hope that these people will return one day to the opal industry. They are now on real wages and paying real taxes. The opal industry still has cash is available to miners but this window will tighten over the coming years. There is a great example of some miners in Yowah working on the gas fields and on there time off they can mine for app 2 weeks. Its great that they have money for mining and now they are producing material so the industry can still be a winner with the mining boom.
One trend is for miners to open up retail shops in the mining fields. There have been new shops opening up in the past 12 months in Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy and on the boulder fields. Some have stated to me that the opal buyers are to selective in there purchases and a retail shop allows them to continue mining. We wish them the best of luck.
Paul Sedawie
President Opal Association
OPAL ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2008
We are in the process of making payments to the Opal Association online. However, there has been an unexpected delay. Therefore, we have sent the current year’s certificates to you. Included is this financial year as well as 2008/2009. The fee (unchanged) is $100 annually. The payment form is attached below.
*Important – Email Address
If you have not been receiving emails and newsletters from the Opal Association please email Paul Sedawie and indicate the correct email address.
OPAL SHOWS FOR 2008
Coober Pedy: Attendance was impressive with several overseas buyers. The show consisted of 15 booths of which, 10 have signed up for the next year. Major sales included rough opal, carvings and high quality opal beads.
Winton: Attendance was reasonable. The sale of a high quality rough parcel was reported. Next year the Opal Mining Symposium will be held at Winton.
Yowah: This year started off with the usual massive bonfire to kick off the show. The show consisted of 75 booths with a high number of attendees. The usual local buyers were present and trade was brisk the first day. Unexpectedly, a dust storm on Sunday shut down most of the show. Sellers did well on Monday, selling from their homes and stores.
Lightning Ridge: Due to bad weather on the first day, the outdoor area was closed. The interior section was busy. The number of booths decreased this year, however the mood was positive. Next year, The International Jewellery Show will be held at the same location and is generally a much stronger show. Major sales included commercial stock. One dealer reported the sale of a 20 carat red black opal to a private collector on the last day while others were packing up. So it pays to hang around!
Surfers Paradise: The last of the shows, there was a decent display of quality stock. There were reports of strong sales in boulder opal rough to overseas buyers. The number of less expensive booths decreased and booths in the main section were up. There were reports of strong opal sales between dealers also. An overseas buyer bought top quality rough specimens and opalized shells.
All shows emulated positive spirit and the social occasions associated with the shows are always popular. The attendance of new overseas buyers and collectors was welcome!
NEW PROSPECTUS
Two companies are raising funds for sapphire and opal mining. One of these companies has a 1250 km lease near Lightning Ridge. For more information on this please see ozgemstones and opalhorizon
BODY TONE CHART
We have been working on a body tone chart to help buyers distinguish between stones on the N1 to N9 body tone scale.:
SYNTHETIC OPAL
We were considering reporting an internet seller to the ACCC for selling synthetic opal as real black opal. Before any further action was taken, the seller withdrew his stock off the internet site. As a reminder, it is the responsibility of all members to keep us informed of any misleading, false or fraudulent advertising of opal. For more information please contact Paul Sedawie (President)
PRESIDENTS REPORT OCTOBER 2007
THE OPAL ASSOCIATION IS NOW UP AND RUNNING AGAIN.SPECIAL THANKS MUST GO TO JASON BLAIKLOCK WHO HAS DONE A ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF BEHIND THE SCENES PAPER WORK.THERE WAS 6 YEARS TAX RETURNS AND ASIC REQUIRMENTS TO BE DONE.AS WITH MOST SMALL ORGINIZATIONS MOST OF THE WORK FALLS ON A FEW.WE ACCEPT THAT BUT WE DO WELCOME COMMENTS AND CRITISM[AS LONG AS ITS CONSTRUCTIVE.] REMEMBER THIS IS YOUR ORGINAZATION SO YOU CAN HELP IN THE DIRECTION WE TAKE.
OCTOBER PROMOTIONS
WE HAVE PRINTED OUT 2000 POSTERS PROMOTING OPAL AS THE BIRTH STONE FOR OCTOBER..THESE POSTERS WILL HAVE DIFFERNET LANGUAES ON THEM. WE INTEND TO POST THESE TO ALL OPAL SHOPS AND SOME JEWELLERY SHOPS IN AUSTRALIA
.THEY WILL BE SENT OUT TO BOTH MEMEBERS AND NON MEMBERS OF THE ACCOCIATION AS WE WISH TO PROMOTE OPALS TO ALL.MANY EMERGING NEW MARKETS DON’T REALIZE THAT OPAL IS THE BIRTH STONE FOR OCTOBER.
SYNTHETIC OPAL
SO FAR WE HAVE SCORED TWO SUCCESS IN GETTING AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES TO CHANGE THERE WORDING WHEN SELLING SYNTHETIC/IMITATION OPAL ON THE INTERENT. SOME SELLERS HAVE HAD MISLEADING/FALSE OR CONFUSING COMMENTS ON THERE PRODUCTS. WE HAD A SOLICTER DRAW UP A STANDARED REPLY TO BE SENT TO THEM. IN THIS LETTER WE SAID WE WOULD REFER THEM TO THE TRADE PRACTISE ACT IF THEY DIDN’T CHANGE THERE WORDING AND THEY COMPLIED.
SO IF YOU SEE A OPAL SYNTHETIC/IMITATION PRODUCT ADVERTISED ON THE INTERNET OR IN SHOPS CONTACT US WITH THERE DETAILS AND WE WILL RESPOND.OPAL IS A VERY STRONGLY RECOGNIZED AS A AUSTRALIAN PRODUCT SO LETS PROTECT IT.
THERE IS A LARGE PROBLEM WITH THE OVER SEAS MARKET OF SYNTHETIC/IMITATION OPAL BEING SOLD AS SOLID NATURAL OPAL. IF ANY MEMBERS HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW WE CAN SOLVE THIS WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
OPAL COURES
THE OPAL ASSOCIATION WILL SOON HAVE A COURSE ON OPAL KNOWLEDGE ON OUR WEB PAGE. THIS WILL BE AVALIABLE FREE TO ALL VISITORS TO OUR SITE. WE MAY CHARGE MEMBERS A FEE IF THEY WANT A CERTIFICATE ISSUED TO THERE STAFF WHO COMPLETE THE COURSE AND SEND IT TO US FOR CHECKING.THIS IS TO HELP IN THE RETAIL MARKETING OF OPAL.WE INTEND TO DO MORE WORK ON THE COURSE SO YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME.WE ALSO WISH TO GET APPROVAL OF THE COURSE FROM THE LARGER GEM ASSOCIOTIONS OVER SEAS.
NEW OPAL CERTIFICATES.
AT THE REQUEST OF SOME MEMBERS WE HAVE CHANGED THE MEMBERSHIP CERTIFICATES TO A MORE COLOURFUL ONE USING THE MAP OF THE WORLD WITH AUSTRALIA IN IT.THIS IS A EXAMPLE OF HOW SOME ONES REQUEST BENEFITS ALL.SO IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FORWARD IT TO US.
CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICTY.
SOME MEMBERS HAVE ASKED FOR A CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICTY FOR OPAL WITH THE OPAL ASSOCIATION LETTER HEAD.WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THIS AND WE WISH TO HEAR FROM MEMBERS IF WE SHOULD INCLUDE A RECOMMENDED RETAIL PRICE OR PRICE FOR INSURANCE ON THE CERTIFICATE..
NOMA
THIS IS THE NATIONAL OPAL MINERS ASSOCIATION.YOUR PRESIDENT HAS ATTEND MEETINGS IN COOBER PEDY, LIGHTNING RIDGE AND SURFERS PARADISE.THESE MEETINGS WERE ATTENDED BY ALL THE MINERS AND OPAL ASSOCIATIONS.IT IS ENCOURAGINING TO SEE ALL THE GROUPS WORK TO GETHER TO PROMOTE OPAL AS BEST WE CAN. WE WILL BE APPROACHING THE GOVERTMENT TO SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME FUNDING FOR RESEARCH IN TO AREAS OF CONCERN FOR THE INDUSTRY. IT WAS DECIDED TO SUPPORT A OPAL FASHION SHOW WITH ALL OPAL AND MINING GROUPS DONATING $30,000 RETAIL OF OPAL PENDANTS AS PRIZES FOR THE $100,000 OPAL FASHION BASH 2008.
CONCLUSION
FOR THE OPAL SYMPOSIUM IN COOBER PEDY THEY USED THE WORDS ‘’THE FUTURE IS IN OUR HANDS” IF THERE ARE CHANGES TO BE MADE IT IS UP TO US TO DO IT .WE ALL KNOW THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY AND THE CHALLANGERS AHEAD.NOW IS THE TIME TO STOP NEGATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT OUR INDUSRTY AND THE PRODUCT WE SELL.OUR INDUSTRY HAS CHALLENAGERS AND A SIMPLE VERSION OF THE CURRENT MARKET IS OPAL USED TO SELL ITS SELF BUT NOW WE HAVE TO SELL IT..WE SHOULD ALL BE TALKING THE BEAUTY OF OPAL UP AND PROMOTING OUR INDUSTRY.WE ALL KNOW IT IS A BEAUTIFUL STONE SO LETS TELL THE WORLD ABOUT IT.
Ttop
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Last Update: 18 Jul