Opal Sources: Where the Finest Opals Come From
Opal knowledge · Origin
Desert dust, ironstone and a place where people live underground
Where opals come from, explains more about a stone than any description. A black opal from Lightning Ridge looks different from a pale one out of Coober Pedy, and neither has much in common with an Ethiopian Welo. The place of origin determines body tone, play of colour and price. Which regions count and how to spot them on the stone is below.
Three fields, three signatures: Australia has been the most important opal country for over a hundred years. Lightning Ridge stands for black opals, Coober Pedy for pale ones, Queensland for boulder opals with ironstone. Since 2008 a great deal of material has come from Ethiopia (Welo), and Mexico supplies the fire opal.
Why do opals form in only a few places?
Opal needs a rare combination: silica rich water, cavities in the rock and a great deal of time with little movement underground. If the solution dries out slowly enough, tiny silica gel spheres arrange themselves into a regular lattice. It is precisely this lattice that later creates the play of colour.
If the process is disturbed, by earth movement or by drying out too fast, only common opal without fire is formed. That is why precious opal is rare although silica occurs everywhere. The detail is in the article how opals form.
Which fields are there in Australia?
Lightning Ridge, New South Wales
The black opal
The best known opal field in the world and practically the only source of genuine black opals. The dark body tone comes from trace elements in the rock. On this dark base the play colours look stronger than anywhere else, which is why the most expensive stones are found here.
Coober Pedy, South Australia
The pale opal
The place where many residents live underground because it gets too hot above ground in summer. Most of the pale and milky opals come from here. Their play of colour lies on the stone like a shimmer rather than a fire.
Queensland
The boulder opal
In Queensland the opal grows in cracks of ironstone. Because the veins are thin, the mother rock is not separated off but stays on the stone as its back. That makes boulder opal sturdier than a free standing solid opal.
What does Ethiopia do differently?
Since the deposits in the Welo region were discovered in 2008, a considerable share of the opal traded worldwide has come from Ethiopia. These stones are often very lively and considerably more affordable than Australian material of comparable effect.
What you should know
Many Ethiopian opals are hydrophane: they can absorb water and temporarily turn transparent or lose their play of colour. Once dry it usually returns. That is not a flaw, but it is a reason not to put such stones in water.
Everything on the Welo opal and how it differs from Australian stones.
Where else do opals come from?
Mexico
Home of the fire opal. Here orange is not the play of colour but the body tone itself. Many Mexican stones are transparent and show no fire at all.
Brazil
Above all from the region around Pedro II. The stones resemble pale Australian opals, but the deposit is considerably smaller.
Peru
Source of the Andean opal, mostly blue or pink and opaque. As a rule it shows no play of colour and is valued for its body colour.
Slovakia
Historically important: the mines of Dubník supplied the European market into the 19th century, before the Australian finds changed everything.
Can you spot the origin on the stone?
Only a laboratory can determine origin reliably. But four pointers already help when looking.
| Feature | Points to |
|---|---|
| Dark to black body tone | Lightning Ridge, Australia |
| Brown ironstone on the back | Queensland, boulder opal |
| Pale, milky base tone | Coober Pedy, Australia |
| Very lively, often honeycomb pattern | Welo, Ethiopia |
| Transparent orange to red, without fire | Mexico, fire opal |
Anyone wanting certainty looks not at claims but at proof for the specific stone. How to tell genuine goods from imitations is in how to spot a real opal.
Our range by colour world: pale opal and crystal opal, blue opal, or the whole opal jewellery range.
What a dealer has to be able to tell you
Ask about the origin, and about the specific stone, not the range. Anyone speaking only in general terms of Australian goods is dodging. What is sound is a statement that fits the stone: a dark body and fine sandstone remains point to Lightning Ridge, a light brown back to boulder from Queensland. If you get no clear answer, buy elsewhere.
Are there opals in Germany?
Yes, opal also occurs in Germany, but almost only as common opal without play of colour. Precious opal of jewellery quality, meaning with the fire that turns a stone into a gemstone in the first place, has never been found here in any significant quantity. The German deposits are interesting from a mineralogical point of view and appealing to collectors, but economically they play no role.
Opal is found mainly where there used to be volcanic activity. Silica-rich solutions need cavities in the rock, and these are provided by cooled lavas and their weathering zones. The Vogelsberg in Hesse and sites in the Ore Mountains are regularly mentioned, along with other low mountain ranges shaped by volcanism.
Hyalite
Glass-clear opal that sits on volcanic rock as a thin crust or in droplet form. It is transparent to milky and shows no play of colour. Under UV light it often glows greenish, which makes it popular with collectors.
Wood opal
Silicified wood in which silica has replaced the cell structure. Growth rings and grain remain visible, and the colours range from beige through brown to grey. Here, too, there is no play of colour.
What you can realistically find
Specimens for a collection, not a ring. If you search field stones or an old outcrop, with luck you will find a crust of hyalite or a piece of silicified wood. A stone with play of colour that could be cut into jewellery is practically never among them.
Before you set off: collecting is not allowed everywhere. In nature reserves, active quarries and on private land you need permission, and protected outcrops are subject to state regulations. A call to the responsible authority will clear this up faster than any search on site.
Australian opal: why it is the benchmark
Australian opal is the reference against which the market measures every other origin. Estimates suggest that around 90 percent of the precious opal traded worldwide comes from there, and has done for more than a hundred years. Which fields these are in detail is covered above under Which fields are there in Australia?. Here the question is why the origin is regarded as a mark of quality at all.
| Field | What it stands for |
|---|---|
| Lightning Ridge | Black opal with a dark body tone, the most expensive stones |
| Coober Pedy | White opal and crystal opal, light base tone |
| Andamooka | light stones and matrix opal, smaller deposit |
| Mintabie | darker crystal opals, mining greatly reduced today |
| Queensland | Boulder opal on ironstone, robust construction |
The reason for its reputation lies in how it formed. Australian opal is sedimentary opal: it formed in the sedimentary rock of a long-dried-up inland sea, slowly and under steady conditions. The result is a dense, stable stone that comes through brief contact with water when you wash your hands unharmed, and does not temporarily turn milky like many hydrophane stones. If you are looking for an opal for everyday wear, this is the safest choice.
More on the two best-known types is in Black opal and Boulder opal. How to read the origin from the stone is covered further down under Can you spot the origin on the stone?, and what Australian stones look like once set is shown in the opal jewellery collection.
Common questions about origin
Where do most opals come from?
Historically from Australia, above all from Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy and Queensland. Since 2008 a considerable share has additionally come from the Welo region in Ethiopia.
Where does black opal come from?
Almost exclusively from Lightning Ridge in New South Wales. The dark body tone is created there by trace elements in the surrounding rock.
What is the difference between Australian and Ethiopian opal?
Australian opals usually have a firmer body tone and absorb no water. Many Ethiopian opals are hydrophane, meaning they can absorb water and temporarily change their appearance.
Why do people in Coober Pedy live underground?
Because of the heat. In the Australian summer the underground rooms are considerably cooler, which is why homes, churches and hotels were built into the rock there.
Can you spot an opal's origin?
Only roughly. Body tone, back and pattern give pointers, but only a laboratory can determine it reliably.
Are there opals in Europe?
Yes, historically above all in what is now Slovakia. The mines of Dubník supplied the European market into the 19th century but play no economic role today.
If you are unsure or have questions, you are welcome to contact us at any time, even if you did not buy the opal from us. Contact form, email cs@libertyangels.de or call +49 171 1603048.
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by Liberty Angels
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Written by Anton Kehler
Founder of FAERELLI & Liberty Angels
