Boulder Australia Opal
Opal can be made into so many different items of jewellery. Sure, we all know that there are opal pendants, opal rings, opal earrings and so on, but opals, as opposed to other stones like diamonds and rubies etc, can be made into special kinds of jewelry.
There is an opal variety from Australia called Koroit and this is an unattractive type of stone when we compare it to an Australian Black Opal. It is mostly a reddish, dark brown lump of ironstone with slashes of opal running randomly through it. A jeweler cannot do much with that you might think, but simply drill a hole through it and attach a hefty chain or a cheap leather thread and it makes a gorgeous chunky necklace and it looks great on men as well as women.
Then there is boulder opal which often comes as a piece of opal connected naturally to a piece of ironstone or sandstone. The opal stone is undulating and may not have any of the fire associated with gem quality opal but when we look at it closely it has a pattern that might look like a seascape or a view of a mountain range or all kinds of other things. It might be the kind of thing you just like to stare at and imagine seeing all kinds of things in. Try doing that to a diamond! The beauty of a piece like this is that it is not gem quality and is very inexpensive.
I love jewelry like that because not only is it cheap to purchase but when you wear it people ask questions about it and they want to have a close up inspection of it. It is a great conversation starter. You never get people asking you if they can they have a look at your topaz ring. They never say: “Oh, where did you get that ring?” But with a $40 necklace of cheap Koroit or Boulder Opal you will get strangers asking what sort of stone it is and where did it come from.
Then there is one of my favorites Opal Inlay Jewelry. Beautiful pieces of crystal opal are set into the metal of rings, earrings and pendants. The opal is finished off flush with the surrounding metal. We often see this with boring stones such as Onyx and other lame looking minerals with very little color. But, when you make inlay opal jewelry normally you would use high quality opal and the results are fantastic.
You can put nearly any other gemstone next to opal it and it will enhance the piece of jewelry. Opals with diamond accents will always look stunning. Conversely, you can have a pink topaz or emerald main stone with inlay opals on each side and you have a brilliant item of jewelry then.
Opals can be inlayed, prong set or bezel set. They can be glued in place where as other stones will not appear attractive this way.
One comforting aspect of opal jewelry is that the stone will be mined by lonely men or husband and wife teams living in harsh conditions in outback Australia. There are no big companies involved and there is no forced labor here. It is a labor of love. Think about the cutting of rubies and other stones which is often done by children who should be at school. I am an opal cutter and although it is labor intensive I enjoy doing it and I have never met an opal cutter who is not passionate about opals so there is a kind of love attached to these stones all the way through from the man underground in the middle of nowhere to the wife or enthusiast carefully cutting and polishing the stone.
Gary Hocking is an Australian manufacturing jeweler who has his own website: http://www.opaljewelryexpress.com He will make you a beautiful piece of custom opal jewelry. You may copy and distribute this article as long as you keep the bio and a live link to his website.
Mining Boulder Opal in Koroit, QLD, Australia (a) – June ‘08
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Pair of Natural Australia Boulder Opal #1 $18.99 |
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Pair of Natural Australia Boulder Opal #3 $18.99 |
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Pair of Natural Australia Boulder Opal #4 $18.99 |
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32.50 Ct Dazzling Rainbow Flashing Natural Boulder Opal From Australia $15.05 |
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7.08 Ct Dazzling Rainbow Flashing Natural Boulder Opal From Australia $9.99 |
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14.05 Ct Dazzling Rainbow Flashing Natural Boulder Opal From Australia $28.00 |
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1.67 ct WORLD CLASS ELECTRIC GREEN&BLUE FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $9.99 |
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58.03 Ct Dazzling Rainbow Flashing Natural Boulder Opal From Australia $9.99 |
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Natural Gem 32.81ct Rainbow Reflection Matrix Boulder OPAL, QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA $7.37 |
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3.48 Ct Dazzling Rainbow Flashing Natural Boulder Opal From Australia $5.24 |
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14.26 ct WORLD CLASS HOT NEON GREEN&BLUE FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $9.99 |
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46.15 ct WORLD CLASS ELECTRIC GREEN&BLUE FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $9.99 |
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14.52 ct WORLD CLASS HOT NEON GREEN&BLUE FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $9.99 |
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Australia Boulder Opal carved Sea-horse pendant $79.99 |
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24.03 ct WORLD CLASS METALLIC BLUE&MULTI FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $9.99 |
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Australian Boulder Opal 8.3 ct 100% Natural Australia stone $224.99 |
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Australian Boulder Opal 8 ct 100% Natural Australia stone $179.99 |
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Australia Boulder Opal carved Owl silver pendant $45.99 |
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Australia Boulder Opal carved Leaf silver pendant $45.99 |
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36.19 ct WORLD CLASS METALLIC BLUE&MULTI FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $11.50 |
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Boulder Opal Crystal Pendant Australia 4.7cm 925 (BP5) $167.69 |
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37.57 ct WORLD CLASS ELECTRIC GREEN&BLUE FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $15.00 |
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47.92 ct WORLD CLASS METALLIC BLUE&MULTI FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $11.50 |
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0.55ct Genuine Freeform Solid Yowah Nut Boulder Opal Matrix Clean Face Australia $19.99 |
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41.65 ct. Outstanding Freeform Solid Yowah Nut Boulder Opal Matrix Australia $29.99 |
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Australia Boulder Opal carved Fish pendant $36.99 |
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Australia Boulder Opal carved Swan pendant $24.99 |
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Australia Boulder Opal carved Butterfly pendant 41ct $49.99 |
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Australia Boulder Opal carved Flower silver pendant $24.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 15cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 21cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 51cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 44cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 22cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 11cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 52cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 16cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 24cts $0.99 |
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Natural Australia Boulder Opal silver pendant 17cts $0.99 |
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Natural solid Australia Boulder Opal Beads 58cts $3.75 |
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Natural solid Australia Boulder Opal Bead 15cts $0.99 |
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Natural solid Australia Boulder Opal Bead 5.9cts $0.99 |
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~ Inlaid BOULDER OPAL Carving ~ Queensland, Australia $289.00 |
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2.24 Ct Dazzling Rainbow Flashing Natural Boulder Opal From Australia $6.50 |
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9.64 ct WORLD CLASS TERRIFIC HOT BLUE FLASHY HUGE AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $13.50 |
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6.38ct WORLD CLASS ELECTRIC GREEN&BLUE FLASHY AUSTRALIA MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $9.99 |
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6.12ct WORLD CLASS TERRIFIC HOT BLUE FLASHY AUSTRALIA TOP MATRIX BOULDER OPAL $9.99 |
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40.2 CT.BIG NATURAL AUSTRALIA MULTI COLOR CRYSTAL MATRIX YOWAH BOULDER OPAL NR $0.99 |
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5.15 ct. Beauteous Freeform Solid Yowah Nut Boulder Opal Matrix Australia $9.99 |
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10.00 Ct. Oval Cabochon Matrix Boulder Opal Australia $0.99 |
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Australian Boulder Opal Fish Lapidary Carving $24.99 ONE Australia boulder opal fish lapidary carving. YOU GET THE ONE SHOWN Boulder Opal Healing Properties * Creativity * Originality In addition to the generic properties of Opal, Boulder Opal aids inner beauty and faithfulness. It helps recall past lives, enhances mental clarity, emotional security, physical well-being, and spiritual progression. Boulder Opal aids eyesight…. |
