What is Boulder Opal

This page is dedicated to Boulder Opal - it pulls together everything to do with Boulder Opal - I have found inspiring stories, fantastic pictures and of course brilliant jewellery. So please read on and I hope you enjoy reading about the wonder of Boulder Opal.

Firstly... For this area to be effective I have needed to include website links that will take you away from this page. This of course is perfectly OK, but I would just like to let you know that the main reason I have created this site is to promote the website www.jgjewellers.com.au. Boulder Opal is such an amazing stone and the internet is so large that you will be bound to find something that you love. So of course look around check out the other sites, but please before you make any decision, please make sure you have quick look at the boulder Opal section of JG Jewellers.- Where you will find hundreds of solid boulder opal jewelley items that are handmade with a very pretty natural stone.

So lets begin...

What is (boulder) Opal?...

Here is how the Gemological Association of Australia state what Opal... Opal is a gemstone consisting of hydrated amorphous silica with the chemical formula SiO2 .nH20. There are two basic forms of opal described by visual appearance. Precious Opal – is opal which exhibits the phenomenon known as play-of-colour, which is produced by the diffraction of white light through a microstructure of orderly arrayed spheres of silica. Common Opal and Potch – is opal which does not exhibit a play-of-colour. The distinction between common opal and potch is based on their formation and structure. Potch is structurally similar to precious opal but has a disorderly arrangement of its silica spheres. Common opal shows some degree of microcrystallinity.

The above information was taken from Gemological Association of Australia and if you click here you can read their nomenclature which standardises all the terminology, it is an interesting read if you want to get a quick 'official' overview on Opal.

So the above describes Opal - Boulder Opal is a type of Opal and named as such because it is found in mainly in the thin veins of large ironstone Boulders. When a opal cutter cuts boulder opal he will remove one side of the stone showing the Opal and leaving the natural ironstone underneath the opal. This natural ironstone backing makes Boudler Opal strongest of all the Opals.

Now there are a few interesting words when it comes to Opal so before we go any further you may want to have a quick scan through some of the opal terminology - it is an excellent and very comprehensive website about all Opal terminology.

Now is as good a time as ever to see what can be done with Boulder Opal here is a list of the entrants to the Opal Jewellery design competition (with much thanks to Opal hut website for displaying all the Opal entries - Wow!, aren't they awsome!!! This is why I love boulder Opal!!!.

Queensland Opal will look different depending on where what area it is found.Strickly speaking Boulder opal comes from the Quilpie region, if an opal comes from somewhere else in Queensland it will most likely still have ironstone as a part of its make-up but it can also have destinct characteristics and will often be named after the region it comes from i.e. Yawah nut rather than called boulder opal. So now it's time to find where in Queensland the Opal is found...

The biggest deposits of Boulder Opal found to date is at Quilpie. Here are three different articles about Quilpie (1,2 ,3& 4),

Another area is Yowah ( 1, 2 & 3 )

Another couple of important areas is at Opalton & Winton 1

And finally great Blog of a miner from Koroit

Here is a dodgy video that gives you a clear idea what is like to be an Opal miner (thanks to the fellas who created the video!)

The current industry...

Put simply...To make a living in the Opal industry is not easy...Decades ago there used to be hundreds of people mining Boulder Opal in Queensland, these days there is but a couple dozen famalies mining (and it certainly isn't a growing industry) . But why? If Boulder Opal is arguably one of the most beautiful stones why is it not central to a flourishing industry? There is a few reasons...

1. Finding Opal is difficult. There used to be opal/opal-traces on the ground surface giving clues to the Miners that Opal lay underneath. After hundreds of years of Miners looking searching for opal, all these traces have dissapeared - so these days Opal is now mined based on where other Opal has been found, looking at the geology of the earth and guessing/hoping that the Opal is there hidden, many of the old diggers talk about how in the old days the opal they sold back then would be worth a fortune now.
2. The cost of Fuel - A few decades ago the cost of Diesel was a fraction of what it cost now. Today a three man team mining will often go days (weeks/months) and not find any opal with colour- The fuel alone could cost around $300 a day! I sure can be tough being an Opal miner. Here is submission to the QLD government that expands on some of the challenges.
3. The Auzzie dollar - Less than a decade ago the Australian dollar used to be half the US dollar, these days it is almost on par, this has resulted in less tourists - and depending on the location of a shop tourist sales can equal upto 80% of a shops income.
4. Opal Doublets/triplets - For information about what a doublet and triplet - click here. Doublets and triplets have there place in the opal industry but I believe that they have caused confusion and mistrust (which is never good)- people have purchased these Opals and have not being informed that they are not one complete piece (solid Opal)
5. The fragility of Opal - Opals can crack if subjected to too much dryness, or if dropped on the ground -Opals need to be looked after. It is almost as if they are a living thing - such beauty needs to be looked after - if neglegected you will quite literally break its heart ;-)
6. Finally - bureaucracy... It can take years for a mining lease to be granted, here is a document from the boulder opal association about this topic,

So after reading all this why on earth would one want to get into the industry? Because Boulder Opal is such an amazing stone we in the industry have such passion behind making sure the stone becomes one of the 'masters' of all stones...

Here is what eckhart tolle says about it...“Since time immemorial, flowers, crystals, precious stones, and birds have held special significance for the human spirit. Like all life-forms, they are, of course, temporary manifestations of the underlying one life, one Consciousness. Their special significance and the reason why humans feel such fascination for and affinity with them can be attributed to their ethereal* quality”.

* = ethereal meaning: ‘heavenly or spiritual'

Here is a brief summary of what some of the main players in the Opal industry have to say

Here is some information about buying Opals (and here is another) I particularly like this page because of what they say about Opal Luck

Wikipedia has some of the basics about Opal. This website is About lightning ridge where black Opal comes from and is the Association down there.

This website has some really good information about Boulder Opal. They also have a story about how they got into the industry. At this website there is some more answers to any questions you may have. Here is a large opal Auction site. This website has lots to choose from with over (50,000 items). They also have lots more information.

This website will take you to opalsdownunder these guys have a nice store. it's at the sunshine coast and a fairly good explanation on the Opal fields.

If you are interested in how Boulder Opal is cut and polished then here is a good website

I found that this website had a few facts and interesting information that I did not read in other pages (make sure you click on the 4 tabs)

Finally I will leave you with this website that has lots of photos and pictures and a story about her mining experiences.

So I hoped you enjoyed this pqge and taking a look at the other sites, before you make any purchasing decision please make sure you have quick look at the boulder Opal section of JG Jewellers.- Where you will find hundreds of solid boulder opal jewelley items that are handmade with a very pretty natural solid boulder opal stone.

For information about the Spiritual Properties of this stone Click Here

Here is some more links to information about Opal and Boulder Opal...

• blue opal jewelry
• gem opal stone
• birth opal stone
• Matix Opal
• Additional information on Australian Opal Jewellery
• Additional information on Australian Opal Pendant

Where to find a quality seller?

If you are looking for Jewellery that is from a quality supplier then we recommend JG jewellers (if you would like to find out how to get an additional 10% discount from any JG Jewellers purchase then click here).

Mindat Information About Boulder Opal

Find Quality Boulder Opal Jewellery at JG Jewellers

why do you like this stone?

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