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LEARN ABOUT OPALS                                       BOULDER OPAL                                             FAMILY HISTORY
                                                                    Boulder OPAL is only found in
            HOW TO VALUE AN OPAL                                    Queensland and naturally forms in the thin               The Le Souëf family has been involved with OPALS
                                                                    cracks of Ironstone. Boulder OPAL is cut
                                                                                                                             for over 50 years. At the age of 19, Nick Le Souëf
            Australian OPAL is one of the rarest and most valuable   leaving a natural Ironstone backing and                 (pictured above left) went in search of the famous
            gemstones in the world, and was formed up to 100 million   OPAL as the face. This type of OPAL is                Black OPAL at Lightning Ridge. It did not take long
            years ago. Each stone is unique and individually hand cut.   rare and can be very expensive.                     to catch the OPAL bug, and the experience changed
            They are valued based on:                                                                                        his life forever!
            BRIGHTNESS                                              BOULDER OPAL MATRIX                                      The quintessential Australian entrepreneur and
            This is the most important aspect of OPAL valuation.    Boulder Matrix OPAL is also only found                   adventurer, Nick has set a number of world records,
            The brighter the better!                                in Queensland. This is a more intricate                  including three weeks in both a snake pit and cage
                                                                    mixture of OPAL and ironstone which                      full of deadly spiders, and two weeks in a shark tank.
            COLOUR                                                  results in veins of OPAL running through
            Red is the rarest and most valuable colour, followed    the dark boulder stone. This combination                 Today, Nick and his children Atheka and Jonas love
            by Orange and Green, with Blue the most common.         of OPAL and ironstone produces an                        nothing more than sharing the reasons behind their
                                                                    extraordinary display of unpredictable                   ongoing love a air with OPALS.
            PATTERN                                                 colours and patterns.                                    And they’re all very proud that Lightning Ridge
            Big splashes of colour are better than pinfire, with                                                              OPAL Mines gems and jewellery adorn many local
            Harlequin (checkerboard) being the rarest pattern.      OPAL DOUBLETS                                            and international stars, and a few Princesses too.

                                                                    OPAL doublets are made using a slim   OPAL LAYER
            BLACK OPAL                                              piece of White OPAL adhered to a black
            Black OPAL is the world’s rarest type                   backing. This is done to imitate nature’s   BLACK GLUE   WILDLIFE
            of OPAL and is only found at Lightning                  solid Black OPAL. The dark base enhances                 DISPLAY
            Ridge in New South Wales. Black OPAL                    the naturally occurring colour and pattern.   BACKING
            is not actually black, it has a naturally               These OPALs can still be quite valuable   MATERIAL       The Le Souëf family
            occurring dark background.                              depending on the brightness.                             was responsible for
                                                                                                                             the establishment of
                                                                                                                             the Melbourne Zoo
            SOLID WHITE OPAL                                        OPAL TRIPLETS                                            in 1870, so in keeping
            White OPAL is the most common type                      OPAL Triplets are made by adhering a   OPAL SLICE        with tradition we have
            of OPAL, found mostly in Coober Pedy,                   paper-thin slice of White OPAL to a black                a collection of in-store
            South Australia. There are two types of                 backing like a doublet. A quartz crystal   CRYSTAL       pets such as snakes,
                                                                                                         DOME
            White OPAL – milky OPAL which has an                    cap is then adhered to the top of the                    spiders and lizards.
            opaque background, and crystal OPAL                     OPAL – protecting the thin OPAL and   BLACK GLUE         A piece of the Australian
            which is more translucent. Although not                 magnifying its pattern. A triplet can still   BACKING    outback in the heart of
                                                                                                         MATERIAL
            as rare as Black OPAL, they can still be                have considerable value despite using                    Melbourne’s city for all
            very valuable.                                          less OPAL than a doublet.                                the family to experience.
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