Crystal Boulder Opal is a unique type of sandstone-based opal, unlike the regular, more well-known ironstone-based. Sandstone is more fragile, brittle, and lighter in comparison to ironstone. The precious opal is lighter in color and crystalized, unlike boulder opal, which is not. Crystal opal is transparent, meaning that without sandstone backing on the precious opal, you can see light filtering all through. If you shine a light behind the crystal, you should know a difference in the color and pattern change. Compare that to ironstone boulder opal; you will not see any difference should light shine on one side of the opal; it is a non-transparent type of opal.
It is primarily originates from Winton, Northern Queensland, where 99% of discoveries have occurred. In Winton, 95% of mines are open pit, which involves bringing the rock to the surface for sorting. Winton is a very famous town for boulder opals. To date, it is the most significant discovery of Boulder Opal. Some gorgeous boulder opals have been discovered in Winton, which include nice bright blues, deep ocean blues, and multi-colored pieces that are sought after by collectors around the world.
Unique Features and Uses
Crystal Boulder Opal is both a fashionable and high-demand type of opal within the youth market of jewelry today, in 2019. They are cut and polished into wearable-size pieces to suit necklaces, rings, and earrings. It is in high demand worldwide and has a meager supply. The opal fluctuates with discoveries; in some years, the mines can discover good-sized pockets of crystal, while not much has been found in other years. In some crystal mining areas, miners have found crystallized dinosaur fossils, tree roots, wood fossils, and other miscellaneous objects.
Crystal Boulder Opal earns its name from its formation in Earth’s pockets. Imagine an ant nest with various cavities and more oversized pockets underground; this mirrors its formation process. Miners extract chunks of large rock containing crystal flecks, selling them to cutters. These cutters then break them into sizeable pieces for polishing. Additionally, crystal shards, raw offcuts of crystal, are popular among buyers for souvenirs making raw jewelry or polishing and using them in smaller pieces.
Opalgalaxy.com is one of the few rough crystal boulder opal suppliers. We sell to gem polishers who polish and sell to jewelers and end users worldwide. They have solid connections and relations with the people of the Winton mining industry.
