Where can I find opals in Coober Pedy?

Where can I find opals in Coober Pedy?

The opal mining fields of Coober Pedy lie in the outback of South Australia, Stuart Range, 750 km north of Adelaide. Many of the locals in Coober Pedy prefer to live underground in dugouts where it is cool in summer and warm in winter.

How much is a small piece of opal worth?

Once categorized, opals are sold in price per carat, or weight. Because there are so many opal fields in Australia, there really is no singular form of opal. This means that opal costs can vary from about $10 per carat to approximately $6,000 per carat.

Where can I dig for opals in Australia?

The important opal mining areas in Australian opal production over the last century have been White Cliffs, The Queensland Fields, Lightning Ridge, Grawin & Glengarry, Coober Pedy, Andamooka, Mintabie and Lambina.

What is the biggest opal found in Coober Pedy?

Olympic Australis
The “Olympic Australis” is reported to be the largest and most valuable gem opal ever found. It was found in 1956 at the famous “Eight Mile” opal field in Coober Pedy, South Australia. A miner working his claim found the opal at a depth of 30 feet.

How can you tell a real opal?

Most genuine solid opals have an irregularity in this area – curved or bumpy due to their natural formation – whereas a man-made stone will be perfectly flat because the two sections are flattened so they can be glued together. Be especially wary if the opal is set in jewellery and you cannot see its back or side.

Are opals worth more than diamonds?

Getting your hands on opal is easy, but finding gem-quality opal is another story. Diamonds, on the other hand, fetch a high price even for the most low-quality diamonds. Because the value of most diamonds will be higher than opals, while high-quality opals are rarer than diamonds.

Where is the best place to find opals?

It’s clear that Nevada is the best place to find opal in the US, thanks to the world-famous Virgin Valley opal, a remote, fruitful mining district supplying some of the world’s finest black opals.

Which opal is the best?

Some of the finest, most-valuable opals in the world include:

• Fire of Australia. Considered the finest uncut opal, it is valued at close to $900,000.
• The Virgin Rainbow. This $1 million opal is the world’s most expensive.
• Aurora Australis.
• The Queen.
• Pride of Australia/Red Emperor.
• The Flame Queen.