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Black Opal

Nicknamed by Shakespeare, "The Mother of All Gemstones" the Black Opal is the most valuable form of all opals.  Australia is the biggest supplier of natural black opals worldwide.    

The attraction to opals is the phenomenon known as play-of-color which creates a kaleidoscopic dance of colors within the gem.  The mystique of this optical phenomenon made opals one of the precious gems during the Middle Ages.  

White Opal

Black opal simply refers to the dark body tone of the stone as compared to the milky tone of white opals.  The play-of-color shows much better on a dark background, making black opals more attractive and fashionable. Top quality black opals can be more valuable per carat than diamonds.

The word opal comes from the Sanskrit word upala, which means precious stone.  Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world, dating back 6,000 years.

Aurora Australis

The Aurora Australis, considered the most valuable black opal, was found in Lightning Ridge, Australia in 1938.  It was polished into an oval shape, weighing 180 cts.  It was dug from an old sea-bed.  

Trivia:  Gemologists grade gemstones based on the Four C's that stand for color, clarity, cut and carat (wgt).