Opals in the news

[PinkDiamond]

From April and May 2014

Fire Down Under
A new find of fire opal in Australia may be a game changer.
By Mark Lepage

"Five years ago, a prospector named Peter Piromanski was trucking the bush in Western Australia when his vehicle got bogged down to the axles and could not move. He decided to camp for the night, lit a fire, saw things sparkling and realized he was sitting in the middle of an opal field.
Fast-forward to ..."

http://www.diamonds.net/Magazine/Articl ... ssueID=122

Thanks for sharing the article on the Australian fire opal find, Pink! That's pretty cool!

Richard Drucker wrote a piece called Opal in Tucson that's pretty good. I wasn't surprised to see how high the price of Welos have gone up.

http://www.agtaeprism.com/articles/2014 ... Tucson.pdf

I am very reliably told that this WA Volcanic material has been known of for a long time as is regarded as not much more than amber potch, so buyer beware.
They may have found something better but nothing has been seen in the commercial world.

Thank you for the opal news, Pink.

Mick, are the new, volcanic opals found in Australia fire opal? Thank you for the heads up on the material, too!

[PinkDiamond]

From February, 2015:

Flash Dance: The Opal Resurgence
The bounty of opals streaming out of Ethiopia has turned the tide for the gem. Once considered unlucky, it’s now a designer favorite for its availability, still-affordable pricing, and flickering play of color.
By Jennifer Heebner, Senior Editor

This story appears in the February 2015 issue of JCK magazine


Necklace with 640 cts. t.w. mandarin garnet and 360 cts. t.w. Ethiopian opals; $37,000; Erica Courtney, Los Angeles; 323-938-2373; ericacourtney.com

"In early 2008, farmers in Ethiopia’s Wollo province stumbled upon a cache of opals with an enchanting white-to-yellow-to-brown play of color. Unbeknownst to them, their find would kick-start a rush on the iridescent gems that’s still going strong today.

“The Ethiopian find has been the most important [opal] source from a volume standpoint for at least the past five years,” says Stuart Robertson, G.G., research ­director for Gemworld International Inc. in Glenview, Ill.

By all accounts, the availability of Ethiopian material has stoked demand for all kinds of opals (mainly Australian, though the gem is found in myriad locales ­including Mexico, Peru, and Turkey), resulting in a flood of new opal jewelry and higher prices. ..."

http://www.jckonline.com/2015/02/07/fla ... -306540353

SIGH, Good for somebody... Love the examples hate the slights. "Crocodile skin texture" (Ring in 24k and 18k gold with crocodile skin texture, 6.95 ct. Lightning Ridge crystal opal, and 1.01 cts. t.w. diamonds; $28,600; Victor Velyan, Los Angeles; 213-955-5950; victorvelyan.com) I don't think I ever heard of that one. They ignored American Sources in the Article too even though they quote an American Company executive "Jonathan Farnsworth, vice president of sales for Parlé Jewelry Designs/Idaho Opal & Gem Corp. in Pocatello, Idaho". They do mention the woods (Virgin Valley Is the major world source for these) "If Courtney can get her hands on opalized wood or Peruvian, Mexican, or Brazilian opals, she’ll buy those as well."

That was fun going to the different sights. Thanks Pink

Saw the faceted hyalite opal on Brad's website, Pink. Beautiful gem, but a pricey little fella. I didn't think Mexican hyalite opal was rare??

Nice piece, John! Did I misread your post, or did your car go through the wall??

Love the welo and spessartite necklace, Pink, from the JCK article.

Saw the faceted hyalite opal on Brad's website, Pink. Beautiful gem, but a pricey little fella. I didn't think Mexican hyalite opal was rare??

Hyalite is very common, but it's usually in such thin veins it's relatively useless. In this case the rarity factor is the finished size of the stone being over 1ct, as well as the phenomena of it's reaction to UV that causes it to fluoresce in broad daylight, and fires up even more neon green under direct UV. This would qualify it for the category of phenomenal gem, and the price per carat rises accordingly. The thing is, with this one, the rarity of stones that react this way even in daylight does make them worth the price.

Love the welo and spessartite necklace, Pink, from the JCK article.

Yes, I'm not even into the color of spesses, but that necklace is stunning and I'd wear it in a heartbeat as long as it didn't clash with my pink outfit and hair.

Thanks, Pink, I missed the part in Brad's description of the stone of how it reacts in sunlight and didn't take into accord that it's a faceted gem and it's size.