Opal Pendant

Stunning opal pendant with radiant blues and greens emanating from a dark chocolate boulder opal background set in gold with natural ruby

Boulder Opal from the Winton mines, Western Qld, Australia

Boulder Opal Pendant Description: Boulder opals hold a fascination rarely seen in other gemstones.

This one has a strip of precious opal in the middle surrounded by its ‘mother’ the natural boulder opal ironstone from which this type of opal jewelry gets its name.

This one comes dressed in a lovely black velvet gem box. The price includes international registered mail to your door or post office box.

Style of pendant

Fascinating blue-green solid boulder opal matrix set with an accompanying natural ruby in gold. This boulder opal is a mixture of ironstone and precious opal that sometimes is described as the effects of a galaxy at night with the opal ‘stars’ shining through.

Explanation of Boulder opal

Contrary to common belief, black boulder opals are not black. They were given this name many years ago when the first prospectors who found them were astounded to see the dark brilliant colors coming from an opal that traditionally was considered a light-colored stone.

The Europeans had long known the value of precious opal from the Hungarian mines which as far as we know were all pale or light-colored stones.

Then, when opal was found in White Cliffs, and Coober Pedy, most of the stones were pale. Black Boulder Opal was one of the first stones found in Australian opal history.

It’s the dark in the background of the opal that causes the color to throw forward and have denseness and dynamic that the more delicate pale opal does not have.

The recent opal nomenclature (official naming) has identified boulder opals, if they have the same very dark background as Lightning Ridge, as Black opals. So properly they can be termed black boulder opal.