The price of opals varies greatly depending on their color and geographical origin. Seen from France, such a difference does not always seem justified.

Here is my (very personal) analysis of the market, after visiting many mineral shows over the past few years.

Black opals from Australia are supported by a strong lobby

According tothe website Planet.fr, the opal worth more than a million dollars is called the "Virgin Rainbow". It seems fascinating by its size as well as the sharpness of the colors. Its play of colors, related to the spectrum visible to humans, stands out better in our field of vision on a black background.

This curiosity of nature amazes the specialists.

• First of all, the stone is formed over a very long period of time, going back to the era of the dinosaurs.
• Then, the randomness of the visual pattern is achieved by a mixture of silica and water, as detailed in the Futura sciences article.

In addition to the beauty of the colors of the rainbow and the rarity of the phenomenon of creation, the organization of the opal market in Australia has been strongly structured throughout the twentieth century.

The heavy financial investments required to exploit a single deposit explain in part the price of Australian opals.

Transparent fire opals from Mexico and Oregon

The noble opal refers to an optical phenomenon called, in the terminology of gemology, "the fires" ie when the stone is turned to face the rays of the sun, we speak of "dispersion".

• Thus we can "see" the play of color some or all of the colors of the visible spectrum from violet to red, which appear and disappear, as flashes through the spheres of silica more or less large that compose the stone (diffraction).
• The play of color and the lights are two close but distinct concepts.

Opals from Mexico and the United States, especially from the Oregon mine, have a white to red background. The transparent red color lined with fire will be the rarest sought after.

Ethiopian white opal coastline on the rise

This is what I was getting at!

• Ten years ago, when visiting the Sainte Marie Aux Mines show, we found Ethiopian opals in bulk, arranged in plastic tubs filled with water, while Australian opals were presented at the prestige show level.
• However, last week I held in my hand a white opal from the Walo site of more than 20 carats for less than 3 000 €.
• A beautiful piece for a jewelry creation that you can find on my Instagram profile.
• The public's approach has shifted the mindset.

Since the discovery of these deposits in Africa, jewelry designers such as Marc Alexandre have reappropriated this stone. In her article dedicated to the jeweler, Marie Chabrol details the delicate steps of the cut. It is true that its fragility gives it an even more delicate character when the stone is set.

In conclusion, the prices are still affordable according to the professionals and are rising.

Finally, in my opinion, it does not matter whether the background is red, white or black, because it seems impossible to me to rank these colors.

Let's let our tastes speak for themselves!

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