1. Solid opals come in many variations, if opal size or opal pattern or opal colour and opal shape are the same the most valuable opal will be. 1 Black opals the rarest and most highly prized of all the opal gemstones. The best black opal comes from Lightning Ridge, Australia. Black opal has very rich and striking opal colours that are formed on a dark or black opal potch base. This dark opal base intensifies the colour. Black opal has been sold for as much as $14,000 per carat gemstone wholesale or field price. Outstanding quality for $10,000 per carat field price. Black opal with all the opal colours good quality starts at around $2,000 per carat on the field. The opal may go through many sets of hands before arriving in theopal jewelry retail shop and so the retail jewelry price is much higher. Top quality black opal jewelry is very rare and in relation to many other gemstones is probably under priced. The investment potential for even medium grades of black opal is very very interesting. This is a resource that is fast disappearing ! 2 Boulder opal especially the darker opal variety. Boulder opal gets its name from the fact that an ironstone backing is part of its natural formation, the opal colours can also be quite brilliant and dazzling and Boulder opal gem quality also brings a high price almost matching the black opal prices. It would appear that there is a larger production and it is found over a much wider area (mainly Western Queensland ) than black opal and so the price of average grade material is somewhat lower. 3 Crystal opal or fire opal. This variety of opal can also be extra ordinarily beautiful and Boulder opal gem material can sell for $1000 per carat wholesale or field price. This opal is translucent and even transparent when held up to the light. Lightning Ridge opal, Andamooka opal and Coober Pedy opal are all produces of gem materials. Thinner pieces of crystal opal make the best doublet opals and triplet opals. 4 White opal. Gets its name from the white opal potch the opal colour forms on or in. Coober Pedy has produced very large quantities of white opal. This opal is much cheaper than the above mentioned varieties. This is partly due to some of this material being quite porous and brittle. However some white opal is still very attractive indeed and some of it is quite stable. 5 Water opal. Mexican water opal , partly because it generally doesn't have the fire of the other opal families Please note there are many opal fields in the world but because 95% of the World's production comes from Australia I have concentrated on them. Brazil opal, U.S.A.opal, Honduras opal and Indonesia opal also produce this gemstone.

5. Brightness of opal colour, play of opal colour ( what the colour of opals does when you move the stone ) general appeal including patterns or pictures and colour combinations are all determining factors when valuing opals. When these factors are the same then red opals will be the most valuable, followed by pink orange opals gold yellow opals green and the blue opals and then purple opals. Part of the reason for this opals value scale is that purple opal is the most common and red opals the rarest. Just to put things in perspective though, an opal showing very bright or electric blue can be valued as highly as an average red opal all other things being equal when buying opal gemstone!

6. Use your intuition"VALUING AN OPAL

Opal Colour.