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Mineral Specimens with Opal
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4.6 x 3.1 x 2.7 cm. A striking, 3-sided, polished opal specimen from the famous Virgin Valley District of Nevada. The primary side glows with candy-apple green and orange-red flashes and more muted blue tones. The other two sides have beautiful purple tones with flashes of red and the candy-apple green colors. A highly representative and beautiful example of this classic material, now hard to obtain. These formed in petrified wood logs.
6.9 x 6.0 x 2.8 cm. An old-time, very rare, beautiful, two-sided specimen of lustrous, brown, semi-precious opal from Japan. The old label says Bungo. Bungo Province is an obsolete political division sometimes seen on old labels and is actually in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu Island. Opal is extremely uncommon from this area. From the collection of Dr. Stillwell (Stillwellite), circa mid-1900s.
This is a SUBSTANTIAL specimen of gem fire opal, a full centimeter thick and over 3 cm across, worth quite a bit as rough for jewelry, but a superb specimen for a collector in and of itself. The color is the best fiery orange, and the opal is gem-clear! ex Zinn Collection 6.3 x 5.9 x 3.3 cm
Transparent, "jelly opal" formed in red sandstone from this world class opal locality. Here we have a nicely presented opal pocket in matrix, flashign colors at you as you turn it in light. It is extremely gemmy and transparent! 5.6 x 4.5 x 3.2 cm
This is a large chunk of solid opal, the most important part of the specimen being the transparent "jelly opal" with a glowing internal light (the white part of the specimen is also opal, but is not particularly colorful or fiery). This "jelly opal" part of the specimen measures around 3 cm across and 1.5 cm thick, so it is a rich piece for the collector or the lapidary! Worth? i dont know, as it came in a collection and i am not an opal expert, but i suspect its very good! 4.3 x 3.5 x 3.1cm
These opalized clams are sometimes polished to show the flashy colors all over the specimen, which is certainly an option with this specimen. It is actually rather lucky that there are a couple of dings on this fossil clam, because they allow you to see that the inside has been entirely replaced solidly with OPAL without polishign the whole thing. This is quite large for one of these, weighing 25 grams. That is a lot of opal! Ex. Richard Hauck Collection. 4.5 x 3.8 x 2.0cm
Though it does not have the iridescence associated with the commonly-known forms of opal, this material from Bulgaria is referred to as "wood-opal" for its fine, dense texture and mineralization by silica, replacing the original wood. You can see the very bark-like exterior still intact, and the center has been completely mineralized. This specimen came out of an Eastern European museum collection, as you can see from the label. Rare in this quality! 12.1 x 10.8 x 5.9cm
A rich seam of wonderfully irridescent opal, flashing gold and blue fire, encased in matrix! This is a very large and striking opal specimen. The layer of precious opal is a good 0.5 cm thick, and under it is a thick layer of common opal. Its from the central Queensland opalfield, perhaps the Quilpie or Yowah area. How do we know? Thanks to a friend over there who provided the following details: The matrix is an brown iron-stone or jasper-like rock, which is characteristic of the Queensland stuff. Coober Pedy opal is always hosted in white to greyish clay rich sandstone (usually quite fragile), kaolin or very rarely pale white/grey cherts. You just do not get those brown jasperoid nodules in Coober Pedy. In the Yowah area of Queenland that they are called Yowah Nuts and they are more like a septarian nodule with the cracks filled with precious opal. Also the opal has a characteristic blue background which you do not really get at Coober Pedy. 11.0 x 7.2 x 4.8cm
A sizeable specimen of solid Virgin Valley opal, weighing 44 grams. It is not fiery all over, but here and there you see brilliant flashes of purples, blues and greens. 5.7 x 3.6 x 2.5cm
A BEAUTIFUL, oval section of opalized tree limb with glassy, intense black color and a thin rind of blue opal. One end has been sawed and polished, while the other end shows the bright, conchoidal fracture surface. A fine piece from the famous Virgin Valley of Nevada. Ex John Sinkankas Collection, which is a nice bonus! But, it is good on its own merits. 5.3 x 4.8 x 3.3 cm
A BEAUTIFUL, lustrous, translucent and colorless hyalite opal specimen with "city-scape" architecture and OUTSTANDING lime-green fluorescence from a VERY UNCOMMON North Carolina locality, Mitchell County. 3.3 x 1.9 x 1.8 cm
An excellent, undamaged, completely opalized mollusc from the famous Coober Pedy area of Australia. Colors range from a very nice light lavender to light pink. Ex Richard Hauck Collection. 4.1 x 2.8 x 1.8 cm
This is complete and perfect all around! When I bought this, I was amazed at the surrealistic, artistic form of the piece. It is complete all around and looks like nothing I have seen in nature. In fact, I was so unsure of it that I emailed Bolivian expert and dealer Alfredo Petrov. This information following is from him, reprinted with thanks: Huanuni used to have enormous cassiterite-pyrite veins traversing shale/hornfels country rock. The pyrite decomposed, liberating H2SO4, the loose cassiterite collapsed to the floor of the veins forming meters-thick masses of pure cassiterite breccia, and leaving big caves in the top of the veins. The sulfuric acid attacked the surrounding shales... hence the opal stalactites and stalagmites in the caves. I sold this to Marty. The one I sold Marty was by far the best one I ever saw (most are more like wavy broken curtains on the walls rather than aesthetic stalactites). 8 x 3.8 x 3.3 cm
A CLASSIC and AESTHETIC specimen of three stacks of water-clear, botryoidal hyalite opal beautifully set atop basalt matrix from Valec, Czech Republic. EXCELLENT GREEN fluorescence under UV light 4.9 x 4.9 x 3.0 cm
A very unusual old piece from South Australia, with what seems to be hyalite opal (fluorescent, too!) perched atop malachite. The malachite matrix is massive, with some veins of azurite. But, the malachite on top is crystalline, and velvety crystals of malachite contrast with the rounded white hyalite atop. Very old specimen for this locality!
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Rob Lavinsky, rob@irocks.com
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share specimen![Opal from Virgin Valley District, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-278379a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-278379a.jpg)
![Opal from Virgin Valley District, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-278379b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-278379b.jpg)
![Opal from Virgin Valley District, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-278379c.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-278379c.jpg)
![Opal from Oita prefecture, Kyushu Region, Japan [db_pics/mdpics/MD-280576a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-280576a.jpg)
![Opal from Oita prefecture, Kyushu Region, Japan [db_pics/mdpics/MD-280576b.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-280576b.jpg)
![Opal from Chihuahua, Mexico [db_pics/mdpics/MD-38409a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-38409a.jpg)
![Opal from Lightning Ridge, Finch Co., New South Wales, Australia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-39563a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-39563a.jpg)
![Opal from Virgin Valley District, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-41395a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-41395a.jpg)
![Opal from Coober Pedy, Coober Pedy - Everard Range Regions, South Australia, Australia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-44351a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-44351a.jpg)
![Opal (Var: Wood Opal) from Rhodope Mts, Haskovo Oblast (Khaskovo Oblast), Bulgaria [db_pics/mdpics/MD-44685a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-44685a.jpg)
![Opal (Var: Precious Opal) from Queensland, Australia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-53714a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-53714a.jpg)
![Opal from Virgin Valley District, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-53818a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-53818a.jpg)
![Opal from Virgin Valley District, Humboldt Co., Nevada, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-54553a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-54553a.jpg)
![Opal (Var: Opal-AN) from Mitchell Co., North Carolina, USA [db_pics/mdpics/MD-54893a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-54893a.jpg)
![Opal from Coober Pedy, Coober Pedy - Everard Range Regions, South Australia, Australia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-57276a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-57276a.jpg)
![Opal from Huanuni mine, Huanuni, Dalence Province, Oruro Department, Bolivia [db_pics/mdpics/MD-61087a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-61087a.jpg)
![Opal (Var: Opal-AN), Opal from Valeč (Waltsch), Doupov (Duppau), Karlovy Vary Region, Bohemia (Böhmen; Boehmen), Czech Republic [db_pics/mdpics/MD-70912a.jpg]](db_pics/mdpics/MD-70912a.jpg)
![Malachite with Hyalite Opal from Burra Burra Mine, Burra, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Australia [db_pics/pics/oldeuro-75a.jpg]](db_pics/pics/oldeuro-75a.jpg)
![Malachite with Hyalite Opal from Burra Burra Mine, Burra, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Australia [db_pics/pics/oldeuro-75b.jpg]](db_pics/pics/oldeuro-75b.jpg)
![Malachite with Hyalite Opal from Burra Burra Mine, Burra, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Australia [db_pics/pics/oldeuro-75c.jpg]](db_pics/pics/oldeuro-75c.jpg)
![Malachite with Hyalite Opal from Burra Burra Mine, Burra, Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Australia [db_pics/pics/oldeuro-75d.jpg]](db_pics/pics/oldeuro-75d.jpg)