OPAL
BUYING OPALS When viewing our opals or any opals on the internet i suggest the following.DESCRIPTION All opals should have the exact location the opal was mined from Opal miners or wholesalers know where the opal came from and as wholesaler of opal I like to know the mine the opal came from and from what depth the opal was mined. That sole factor alone is why we have been successful at wholesaling opals. We know the opal source and location and details of the opal mines operation and we know the family tree a this opal mine, As example we know if opal field has had good opal production and if opal has been good and stable or if opal from a particular filed cuts better or worse than it does in the rough, so important factors if your after repeat business.COLOUR ROTATION This factor is also very important when buying an opal and not many buyers ask this question.Some opals flash from only one direction whereas other opals show good colour 360 degrees. When we select opals for ring stones I like to see strong colours from most angles. Some opals are only suited as pendant opals as they will flash brilliant colour from one angle only. Only 10-25% of opals are suited as ring stones. the more cabochon the more they are suited for ring.If you see several picture of bright opal but all facing same direction, ask to see different position to see if flash is only in one spot. When listing I will make comment that this opal suited as pendant opal,so that informs buyers. Ring stones are generally more expensive than pendant stone ,but colours are the price point for opals. The most expensive and rarest opals have red fire. Pattern is also nearly as important as colour, rare pattern s like harlequin ,mackerel pattern are very rare Professional buyers look for colour ,colour play and pattern and cabochon .By colour play im describing the multi level colours that some opals have as example red flash but blue mauve colours formed naturally lower in the opal Orange to brilliant sunset colours are still rare and are just below red fire colours Greens are popular but not as rare as above colours, brilliant green fire is so beautiful especially with hues orange sunset colours Blue opal ism also popular and more plentiful but still hard to find brilliant flash and cabochon. Most my comments are in regards to black opals. With Boulder opal cabochon is not that important as opal is formed different and rarely does it have thick colour bar to cabochon. Boulder opal is formed as similar to seam opal in veins where as good black opal is formed in Nobby. If picture is on grey background that is like greyish colour you can assume the picture was taken on white paper, this gives the opal more in-depth colour. COLOUR It sometimes is difficult to get the exact colour of the opal oin a picture , best to make sure opal image hasnt been enhanced too see picture of opal on hand or finger so if the opal colour has been enhanced the skin will look grey or yellow colour, not a healthy skin colour.Videos are perfect to see the actual colour and pattern. Professional pictures, im always wary of a professional picture. Like the perfect postcard picture, these images are always over the top If buying crystal opal ,that is see thru, it is good to view on black and white surface as well as on the hand . Some red opals have colour bars on bottom that are blue and this shows in picture as less red. We receive so many feedbacks stating that the opal is better that they receive than the picture.
