Apart from white opal necklaces and black opal, there is another special type of opal which is boulder opal. Boulder opals usually display bright and vibrant colours. The natural iron stone base of the boulder opal gives extra stability and adds depth to the colour produced in the gems. The varied and attractive natural shapes where the gems occur create extra interest and unusual jewellery. Boulder opals are a great alternative to the other two main types of opals: black opals and white opals. Boulder opals are mostly sold as free sized pieces of gemstones in opal stores. This means that the stone has its own distinctive shape instead of an oval or a circle or a pear shape which is usually cut into black and white opals.
The shape of the Black Opal Necklace usually does not match the shape of the opal or other gemstones. They are slightly different in shape. A free form shape will not look like any shape you can recognize but will still be pleasing. Another major difference is that boulder opals are often smooth and not domed at the top. We call it cabochon from an old French word that translates to the English word hat. We cut most opals into cabochon because it enhances their colour properties by allowing light to enter and exit the stone for maximum effect. Most of the boulder opals will have a matte surface of opal material sitting on a bed or dark brown ironstone. This means that a jeweller has to create a special setting for the stone because the settings or castings that are created usually come in oval shape which is made for cutting the cabochon of the stone and not the free sized stone. There are two subtypes of boulder opal: seam and matrix. Seam opal is found where opal material attacks cracks in iron ore rocks. If you hit the iron stone with a bulldozer or with a big hammer, the stone will split in two. Opal will be in every part. The matrix opal is where the opal moves randomly across the entire rock. So the original stone is cut and polished with an opal matrix. It makes great opal pendants. Boulder opals are heavier than black opals or white opals because they often carry iron stones with them, making it difficult to make certain types of opal jewelry, such as an opal ring or opal earrings. Of course it is not impossible to make anything but it is ideal for pendants and it also makes large opal pendants.
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18K Yellow gold pendant featuring a magnificent kite shaped tourmaline pendant with an opal drop, and diamonds around.
