The Boulder Opal Story

We believe that boulder opal is the most miraculous of all the gemstones. Why? Because not only is it stunningly beautiful but for it to even exist a number of natural events needed to occur that were extremely rare. . For more info read on...

NEWS(15/08/2011):

We (JG Jewellers) are very excited to be opening Brisbane's 1st ever Opal Muesum next to our shop...

You will read interesting information, see fantastic pictures and of course find brilliant jewellery.

Firstly... For this area to be effective I have include website links that will take you away from this page. 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 like - it is my aim to make it quick and easy for you to find exactly what you a looking for be-it jewellery or information. So of course look around check out the other sites, but please before you make any decision, please make sure you have look at the boulder Opal section of JG Jewellers.- We specialise in jewellery with contempory sterling silver setting focusing on the stone.

So lets begin...

What is Opal?...

• This is how I explain what Opal is click here (the same opal inforamtion is on our website).
• This is how I explain how opal gets its colour from the silica structure.

How is boulder opal mined? Click here

If you are looking for a site that has wonderful interesting information about Opal i.e. famous Jewellery/crowns or list of famous jewellers - click here.

Here is how the Gemological Association of Australia state what Opal is... 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.

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.

Boulder Opal is a type of Opal that comes from Queensland and named as such because it is found mainly in the thin veins of large ironstone Boulders. When an 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 Boulder Opal strongest of all the Opals. To read how Boulder opal is mined click here.

Now there are many 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.

Like most Gemstones Opal comes in many different varieties here is a brilliant website which will help you to see the differences in them all.

Something that I just wanted to quickly mention here is what the difference between an opal solid, doublet and triplet is...

• A Opal Solid is a stone that is cut from one piece of stone.
• A Doublet is a usually a black or white opal that has been thinly sliced and has had a stone backing (potch and sometimes ironstone) placed on the back to give strength (and in most cases enhances the colour of the opal).
• A Triplet is basically an opal doublet that has had dome Quartz glued on the top-side of the Opal to give an magnifying effect to the Opal and give it some depth.

A rough guide to prices - a Opal Doublet/Triplet should be about 1/10th the price of a Solid Opal (but this is a very rough rule of thumb).

HAVE A LOOK AT THIS!!!....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 awesome!!! This is why I love boulder Opal!!!.

Queensland Opal will look different depending on where what area it is found. Boulder opal is named as such because the opal is found inside rock, some as big as boulders, if an opal comes from somewhere in Queensland it will most likely have ironstone as a part of its "make up" but it may also have distinct characteristics and will often be named after the region where it comes from i.e. Yawah nut rather than boulder opal.

For a list of all the Queensland opal fields and the wonderful history associated those fields click here.

Boulder opal can have a dark backing but most black opal comes from - Lightning ridge which is in northern NSW, this website is About lightning ridge where Black Opal comes from and is written by the a member of the Association down there. . White Opal comes from - Coober Pedy which is in South Australia.

Most, but not all boulder opal is open cut mining here is a great video showing what it is like to mine boulder opal under the ground (Thanks to Elisabeth and Jacky)

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 families mining (and it certainly isn't a growing industry) . But why? If Boulder Opal is arguably one of the most beautiful stones why isn't it flourishing industry? There is some of reasons why I believe the industry is not doing as well as it should (knowledge gained from talking to many of the "old timers" in the industry)...

1. Finding Opal these-days is difficult. There used to be opal/opal-traces on the ground surface giving clues to the Miners that Opal lay underneath. After a hundred years of Miners looking/searching for opal, nearly all these traces have disappeared - these days most opal is mined in a close proximity to where other Opal has been found, looking at the geology of the earth and guessing that the Opal is there. Many of the old diggers talk about how in the old days the opal they sold back then would be worth a absolute 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! It 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 more than the dollar, this has resulted in less tourists - sales from tourists can equal up to 90% of a shops income.
4. Opal Doublets/triplets - 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) and then later fining out the it is not a solid opal - you can imagine what a sour taste this would create.
5. The fragility of Opal - Opals can crack if subjected to too much dryness, or if dropped on a hard surface and are not set with this fragility in mind (i.e. Valuable opals should be surrounded in Metal - Bezel setting) -Opals need to be looked after.
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 what the NSW government say about Opal -it is quite a good website with lots of information.
• Here is what the QLD gov has to say about Queensland opal - a poor effort when compared to the NSW government website.
• Here is some information about buying Opals and here is a good website about how Opals are graded.
• Here is nice website about the Opal centre in Lightning ridge (black opal)
• Umoonaopalmine is Coober Pedy's premier underground tourist attraction.
• At this website there is some more answers to any questions you may have. There 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 is called (Opal-expert) and their content if full of great content I particularly like the two pictures (showing at a molecular structure) the difference between opal with fire(colour) and Opal with-out fire.
• This website will take you to opalsdownunder these guys have a nice store and some interesting content on their website.
• If you are interested in how Boulder Opal is cut and polished then here is a good website
• Here is an interesting Blog about a few days travel in White cliffs
• 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)
• Here is some websites that I hope will give you a real feel about what it's like mining Boulder opal...
• This website that has lots of great photos and pictures and a story about her mining experiences.
• Here is a great Blog of a miner and his family from Koroit
• Here is a fun site where you can buy your own opal claim. Also a good place to download some cool screensavers.

Here are some more interesting articles about Opal...

1. Heres a few things to think before buying any Australian Opal pendant
2. Buying Australian Opal jewellery? What to keep in mind...
3. The Amazing Australia Gem Opal
4. What is the Birth Opal Stone Month?
5. Things you May like to know if you want to buy Blue Opal Earrings
6. What is the difference between common Opal and Opal with the play of colour?
7. Complete list of Brisbane Opal Shops

Here is a collection of opal websites....

1. jgjewellers (our website - Based in Brisbane we Specialise in Solid Opal Sterling Silver Jewellery)
2. sunriseopals (opal miner up in Quilpie)
3. majesticopals (fantastic Opal Shell Specimens)
4. downtoearthopals
5. gemstory
6. opal-network
7. cliftonopal
8. opalminded (Stylish opal Shop in Sydney)
9. mineshaft (Opal shop in Canberra)
10. Quilpieopal (Nice Shop in Brisbane)
11. opalhunter
12. janiceevertopals/ (Her Family has been in the Opal industry for a long time)
13. Lostseaopals (Excellent Shop in Lightning Ridge)
14. delarue-opals
15. indigoopals
16. opalauctions (www.gemrockauctions.com, www.opalplus.com) (http://www.opalinformationsite.com)
17. johnstonjewellers (Nice Opal Shop in Melbourne)
18. harlequin
19. opalinfo (pdf)
20. aussietreasurechest
21. opalhut
22. King of Opal (nice site no online store)
23. shermanopals (no online store)
24. haydenrossaustralia
25. BlackOpalDirect
26. lauriemacadam (Opal Jewellery Art - Based in Calafornia, USA)
27. koroitopals (some nice pictures)
28. opalartjewelry (Opal and art)
29. ibeopals (some nice pictures of Opal including an opalized dinasaur bone)
30. lindasteinworthjewelry (funky modern opal jewellery)
31. grahamblackopal
32. opal-network (some wonderful specimens on this site)
33. yowahopals
34. opalrocks (Jewellery designer in America).
35. opal-tibara (based in the USA)
36. flashopal
37. uniqueopals (nice photos of Opals - Also some good information on doubets/triplets)
38. opals-on-black
39. opalopal
40. patsopals
41. blackopalmine
42. blackopaldirect
43. gem.org
44. ausopaldirect
45. costellos
46. opals-australia
47. flameopals
48. nationalopal (excellent informative videos about Australian Opal).
49. opalstrike (Based in WA)
50. codyopal
51. opalcutter
52. opaladdiction
53. glenelgopal
54. desertfireopal
55. downtoearthopals
56. outbackopalmine (Opal shop in North of cairns - no online store)
57. opalmine
58. opals.net
59. fremantleopals
60. justopal
61. anoraanna (black opal)
62. Stoned Opal (Really nice opals - I particularly like their picture stones)
63. jgjewellers (Once you have had a look at all these site remember to check out ours! - Based in Brisbane we Specialise in Solid Opal Sterling Silver Jewellery)

Hoped you enjoyed this page and looking at all 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

Click here to find out how you can get a 20% discount on all boulder opal jewellery from JG Jewellers

Find Quality Boulder Opal Jewellery at JG Jewellers