Boulder Opal

opal family

Boulder Opal jewelry

Etymology and history

The name of boulder opal is from the Greek word ‘Opallos meaning to see of changing colors. Australian boulder opal is unique and the different varieties give a spectacular choice of rainbow colors, shape and size. In the middle Ages, opal was considered a stone that could provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose color was represented in the color spectrum of the opal.

Boulder Opal description

Australian opals are of different varieties such as black, white, boulder, crystal and the common opal. The most expensive and prized variety are black opals. They contain streaks of fire on a dark body color. The white opal is opaque meaning that the opal color is on the surface of the stone rather than being translucent. Boulder opal is very durable due to the ironstone backing the opal forms on. Because water content within the opal is very low it almost never cracks or crazes as it ages. Opal is a mineraloid gel which is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl and basalt.

Boulder Opal jewelry

Boulder Opal looks amazing, but when combined with gold and silver into opal jewelry the appeal is multiplied. Because opal has such an endless variety, the design potential is enormous and you can see this when you look at the amazing range of opal jewelry at the silverrush2000 site.

Occurrence

97% of Australian boulder opal comes from Australia. This is a biggest stock around of the world's opal.