Advice on Opals
 

My wife and I leave on Monday for 3 weeks in Australia. We will be in Sydney, Adelaide, Cairns and Townsville. My wife would like to buy some opals. Both clear and black. Does anyone have recomendations on where to shop, best bargins and quality. And most important, how not to get ripped off.

Thanks

The only clear opals that I know of a crystal opals and one type of those is a black crystal opal. Unless you are after the latter the rest are rubbish in terms of opals. I think you need to either buy from a reputable distributor OR find an opal miner who will sell you something.

LizzyF thanks for the info, so we need to look for a black crystal opal. Could you suggest reputable distributors or opel miners. I searched on this formun and didnt find any informaiton. Anything you could offer would be very helpful

There is a place in Cairns which sells opals and shows them as well but I would leave it to the locals to tell you if it is any good or not.
You do not have to buy a black crystal opal at all - any black opal or any opal with colour and lots of it is fine. I personally like the ones they get in Quilpie in Queensland but I also like the blacks which come from Lightening Ridge in NSW. The Coober Pedy opals are also lovely as well. What I was trying to say about clear ones is that the clearer they are the lesser quality they are with the exception of the black crystal. So not buy a doublet or a triplet which have a clear layer over the thin slice of opal underneath as that will always get moisture under the clear layer and make the stone worthless. Also they are more likely to crack and chip.
Adelaide should be another good place I would think to try and buy wholesale.

My initial advice would be: Stay well away from any opal shop with Japanese writing or staff,or in a "tourist" location.

I use Sherman Opals, 2nd Floor, 67 Castlereagh St., Sydney (02) 92336355.
I would suggest calling them first if you're intending to visit - am not sure if they generally sell to the public.

They are an old & reputable family firm, buying from the gemfields direct, do their own cutting etc.
They will give you good advice and a reasonable price for a genuine article.


Opal is sourced from 3 main regions in Australia; http://www.opalstrike.com.au/about_opals.asp


Here's a useful link to a Lightning Ridge (North West NSW) mining co. Good info here about the various types of opal etc. http://www.opalshed.com.au/products.html

This link will give you some info on solids, doublets & triplets.

As you would expect, solid opals will cost more than the other two; all have their place and it may well be that a triplet will be the one that takes your eye. Care requirements differ, too.

I often give boulder opal as gifts - both in paper weight size pieces or larger as ornaments and in pendants.

Once you have done some initial research, you'll at least know what questions to ask and what you're looking at.

Sorry - here's the link to info on solids,doublets, triplets & care requirements.
http://www.opalsdownunder.com.au/articles/care.php

I know this will be a dumb question, but any ideas of how much these things cost?

Errr ...how long is a piece of string??????. You can buy a little triplet for a couple of dollars at a market, or you can spend $000's on a seriously good piece.

Lots of options in the middle as some of the info on the links I gave you indicate. I think there were some links to retail prices on one or two of those links, so that might give you some starting points.

Sorry - but bit difficult to say without having the slightest idea of what you're interested in. ;)

When in Australia I bought both a semi-black opal (Sydney) and a boulder opal (Cairns). I would endorse the advise to avoid the Japanese owned shops. They give discounts, but are still expensive. I suggest that your wife takes a general look and decides on the colour she likes best - the range is enormous. There is a very good book on Australian Opals which shows most types and colours. In some shops they can then show you the stones of a particular colour within a price range. However I should point out that the best(and cheapest) black opals that I have bought have been back here in the UK at antiques fairs. On one visit to Australia I took one ring with to look for earrings to find that the price there was triple what I paid!