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What is a black opal worth

Published on August 17, 2023

Anello con opale nero australiano di 30,98 carati

What is a black opal? How much is it worth? And why is it often considered more valuable than other opals? Here’s what you need to know about the black opal ♦ ︎

Think about it: jewels with a black opal in the center are more and more appreciated. Not only: on average they cost more than others. The opal is a stone that came back into fashion a few years ago and black opal is the queen of this type of gem.

Katherin Jetter, anello con opale nero e spinello — Katherin Jetter, black opal and spinel ring

The opal is a stone famous for its iridescent shades. In geology it is considered a mineraloid, and is chemically an amorphous hydrated form of silica. It is also the national gemstone of Australia, the countries where black opals are found. And, in particular, in the area of Lightning Ridge, the capital of opals.

Read also: Everything on the opal

We must also add that there are two large classes of opal: the precious ones and the common ones. The precious opal has its famous iridescence, while the common opal does not. The iridescence is caused by the internal structure of the opal, which causes the diffraction of light, with the consequent change in color. The black opal is considered the rarest, while white, gray and green are the most common.

Chopard, Fiori d’Opali, anello con opale nero di 20 carati con pistilli di diamanti montati su oro bianco rodiato nero e petali cesellati in titanio colorato di striature blu e gambo con tasavoriti verdi, lazuliti e diamanti brown — Chopard, Fiori d’Opali, ring with 20-carat black opal with diamond pistils mounted on black rhodium-plated white gold and chiseled petals in titanium colored with blue streaks and stem with green tasavorites, lazulites and brown diamonds

Why is the black opal so rare? The tough activity to extraction is the most frustrating activities in the world. To find a black opal you have to dig holes at random in particularly rich areas, where the diggers fit into an extremely deep well, risking to fall for about twenty meters, they risk their lives. In short, when you see a jewel with black opal, know that finding it has cost effort and risk. Of course, the prospect of a profit corresponds to work: a large black opal can reach up to 15,000 Australian dollars (about 9200 euros).

Anello con tsavorite, opale nero, diamanti — Michael-Kneebone, ring with tsavorite, black opal, diamonds

What distinguishes black opals? Black opals have traces of carbon and iron oxide. The body of the gem varies from black to dark gray. In short, the black opal is not black: it is colored on a dark background. It is this unusually dark shade that allows rainbow iridescences to appear more vividly than light opals. Of course, not all black opals are the same: the value of stone may depend on many other factors, such as brightness, body color, shape, colors, and any defects.

Anello con opale e zaffiri — George Pragnell, black opal and sapphire ring

How are opals cut? Usually, the classic cut of opal is the cabochon. The way an opal has been polished and cut has a great influence on the overall value. The cut affects its final price.

Anello con opale taglio a pera. In vendita per 90.000 dollari — Martin Katz, pear cut opal ring

For those who believe … There are many people who imagine that stones have special powers and can affect the lives of men. In the Middle Ages, the opal was considered a lucky stone. Some thought it could guarantee invisibility if the opal was wrapped in a fresh, hand-held bay leaf, much like the Harry Potter cloak. But in the nineteenth century, the opal became suddenly suspect. In a novel by Walter Scott a woman wears an opal with supernatural powers: when a drop of holy water falls on the stone, it becomes colorless and the woman dies shortly after. After the novel, the opal was referred to as porta bad luck and sales in Europe fell by 50%. Who was right?

Anello in oro bianco, diamanti, opale, zaffiro, granati — Cartier, ring in white gold, diamonds, black opal, sapphire, garnets

Orecchini pendenti degli anni Cinquanta con diamanti e opali — Seaman Schepps, 1950s diamond and black opal drop earrings

Anello in oro con opale, due zaffiri arancio e lacca nera — Maison Auclert, gold ring with opal, two orange sapphires and black lacquer

Pendente Carcinus, oro giallo 18 carati, opale nero, acquamarina, zaffiri blu — Daniela Villegas, Carcinus pendant, 18K yellow gold, black opal, aquamarine, blue sapphires

Anello Astrolabio, con diamanti bianchi, opale nero, zaffiri blu, gialli e arancio, tsavorite — Lorenza Baumer, Astrolabe ring, with white diamonds, black opal, blue, yellow and orange sapphires, tsavorite

The Precious Skylines by David Morris

Published on February 10, 2023

alta gioielleria

Anello Confetti con lapislazzuli, opale nero, diamanti

High jewelry signed David Morris: the Maison of Bond Street, in London, has added more stars in the sky of the British capital. Its Skylines collection, made up of extraordinary white and colored diamonds, also features a series of jewels inspired by ancient Egypt. The element that takes you back to the time of the pyramids is the use of lapis lazuli, a stone dear to the pharaohs, together with diamonds and stones such as the rare black opal. The style of the new pieces also adds a rigorous geometry, with straight and symmetrical lines.

Collana Antares, com 5,57 carati di diamanti rosa e 65,35 carati di diamanti bianchi su oro bianco

Creative director Jeremy Morris, however, went even further, without abandoning the London jeweler’s predilection for diamonds and maxi precious stones. As for the Capola necklace, with a geometric motif composed of rock crystal and diamonds, with a cabochon sapphire weighing over 48 carats in the centre. Or with the Aurora Maelstrom ring, with an exceptional pear-cut blue diamond weighing 4.28 carats in the center, surrounded by pink and white diamonds. The skyline in London is increasingly precious.

Anello Aurora Maelstrom con un diamante blu taglio pera di 4,28 carati, diamanti rosa e diamanti bianchi

Collana Capola com zaffiro cabochon birmano di 64,55 carati e 48,35 carati di cristallo di rocca, 18,18 arati di diamanti

Orecchini Mosaica con 6,4 carati di zaffiri e 7 carati di diamanti

Orecchini Meteora con tormalina rosa per 60,66 carati, onice, diamanti, titanio e oro bianco

Anello Vega con zaffiro birmano di 16,30 carati, diamanti bianchi e rosa

Dalben jewels are born on Lake Como and arrive in the USA

Published on December 9, 2021

Rings/Showroom

In Como, an Italian town on the Lake that George Clooney also likes, there is the Dalben atelier which, like the nearby body of water, is very popular with Americans and in generals to the tourists. It is the atelier of Oreste and Laura Dal Ben, who created Dalben Gioielli. The couple designs and makes handmade jewelry with simple but pleasant lines. Oreste Dal Ben is an artist applied to jewelery, while Laura is an architect. They work in a complementary way, drawing from the design school of nearby Milan, but also from the tradition of ancient art, architecture and nature.

It is a jewelry that produces valuable pieces, especially rings, sold at prices that average between 2,000 and 8,000 euros. The design and creation of the jewels including the setting of the stones, all takes place inside the laboratory and this allows a continuous quality control up to the smallest detail. Most of the Dalben jewels are sold in the USA.

Anello in oro rosa con opale australiano

Anello in oro con smeraldo di 3,82 carati

Orecchini a forma di pesci in oro con opale australiano

Two designers for Tenthousandthings

Published on November 29, 2021

Rings/Showroom

Tenthousandthings, many things together. Or, rather, many jewels created by a pair of designers Ron Anderson and David Rees, who unlike many of their colleagues are self-taught and have experience in fashion retailing behind them. Putting the clothes aside, they created Tenthousandthings and opened a workshop in central New York City, in Greenwich Village, to create anchors, bracelets, necklaces and earrings in silver and gold, along with semi-precious stones and natural pearls. The inspiration is largely directed to the natural world.

They also opened a stone carving workshop in Jaipur (India) where the two designers work with local artisans and create their shapes, some new, others traditional, completely by hand. The processing of the jewels, on the other hand, takes place in the New York laboratory, in the back of the store. The style of the jewelry is modern and traditional at the same time, with rings that often adopt cabochon-set stones, especially opals.

Orecchini con cristallo e perle di Tahiti

Ciondolo in oro con turchese Bella addormentata nel Bosco — Ciondolo in oro con turchese Bella addormentata nel bosco

Bracciale in argento spazzolato e ossidato

Anello in oro con perla barocca naturale

Freedom and jewels by Victor Velyan

Published on November 6, 2021

Rings/Showroom

Anello in oro 18 carati con tormalina Paraiba, diamanti e perle

If you meet him on one of California’s wide roads, riding his powerful Easy Rider-style motorcycle, you would never say Victor Velyan is a renowned jeweler and fine jewelry designer. But the appearance is deceiving. It is true, however, that the designer has an unconventional life behind him by jewelry standards. As a boy he played in a rock band, then spent 12 years in Africa as a safari guide. But in 1984 he returned to his homeland and started working as a diamond setter and then an apprentice jeweler. Having learned the techniques necessary to attempt a new adventure, he opened his own company, but with the idea of producing on behalf of third parties. Also because, as he says, it must be frustrating to have won over 27 awards, but under the name of other designers.

Until he decided, as often happens, to put his experience with one of his Maison to good use. Victor Velyan’s jewels, however, also hide past lives in the design. Large stones, sometimes juxtaposed in clusters, with often fancy or cabochon cuts, diamonds, paraiba tourmaline, emeralds, opals and lots of gold. Jewels that combine luxury with a musical rhythm, with the vivid colors of Africa, with the freedom of motorcycle travel.

Orecchini in oro 18 carati con smeraldi colombiani e diamanti

Anello in oro 18 carati con smeraldi colombiani

Collana in oro con opale, diamanti, tormalina Paraiba

Bracciale in oro con acquamarina e diamanti

Pendente in oro con opale nero e diamanti

The opal flowers of Chopard

Published on July 17, 2015

Showroom

Opals, titanium and zirconium: the combination of Chopard is unprecedented for its capsule collection of fine jewelry Opal Flowers. Starring a stone of ancient tradition, not considered in the modern era, but that in recent years has been rediscovered and is now widely reassessed. And, in fact, during the week of haute couture in Paris, the Maison presented three rings whose center stone is just a flaming black opal, iridescent, in different shades which are to dominate once the blue, then green, and dark red . Three variants of the same variety for a creative striking: in a ring opal almost blue is surrounded by diamond pistils from which protrude light and vivid blue-veined petals made of titanium, a lightweight metal colorable in a wide range of shades , as Chopard demonstrates in this case; then there is the second model with a rare stone shades and games light red, accented with purple pistils of rubies and sapphires, set in white gold and black rhodium petals shaped zirconia, an extremely hard alloy which allows maximum precision workmanship, studded with red spinels. Finally, the third, but no less exceptional jewel: an opal cabochon on the green with tiny titanium blue petals and pistils in the same metal with purple sapphires and amethysts. They are the first three copies of a collection of six rings, probably others will be shown at the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris in September. Meanwhile, here are the first images. M.d.B.

Fiori d'Opali, anello con opale nero di 20 carati con pistilli di diamanti montati su oro bianco rodiato nero e petali cesellati in titanio colorato di striature blu e gambo con tasavoriti verdi, lazuliti e diamanti brown — Fiori d’Opali, anello con opale nero di 20 carati con pistilli di diamanti montati su oro bianco rodiato nero e petali cesellati in titanio colorato di striature blu e gambo con tasavoriti verdi, lazuliti e diamanti brown

Fiori d'Opali, di lato — Fiori d’Opali, di lato

Fiori d'Opali, anello con opale nero da 24.3 carati con pistilli in titanio blu e petali in titanio con pavé di zaffiri viola e ametiste. Sul gambo in oro bianco tsavoriti — Fiori d’Opali, anello con opale nero da 24.3 carati con pistilli in titanio blu e petali in titanio con pavé di zaffiri viola e ametiste. Sul gambo in oro bianco tsavoriti

Fiori d'Opali, anello con opale nero, dalla rara sfumatura rossa, di 9 carati con rubini e zaffiri viola, incastonati in oro bianco rodiato nero e petali in zirconio tempestati di spinelli rossi. Sul gambo in oro bianco e rosa diamanti neri — Fiori d’Opali, anello con opale nero, dalla rara sfumatura rossa, di 9 carati con rubini e zaffiri viola, incastonati in oro bianco rodiato nero e petali in zirconio tempestati di spinelli rossi. Sul gambo in oro bianco e rosa diamanti neri