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Okay, all! On my way back home!
I did not get the plaque as it turned out my competitors arrived an hour before me. So, I was only 3rd in line.
Worse yet, as the #1 person entered the house and ran to buy it, they removed from the sale claiming it was sold prior to the sale.
Looking at it, it did appear of early 20th c quality, but they wouldn’t let me snap a photo.
The house/mansion is an amazing historical brick home in Richmond, Virginia… 11,000 square feet!
Property owner is a renown collector, but his wife passed away and he’s downsizing.
So, while I missed the plaque, I snagged perhaps the most valuable piece in the house … an 18th(I believe Qianlong period) huanghuali desk with inset dali stone!!!
And, I treated myself to buying an amazing and massive black opal pendant (not for me to wear) as an early birthday gift to myself (October 5 baby!)
I’ll post again pics of the desk - quite an amazingly no find, honestly, and totally unexpected.
@sharonp Well, it might be a few days before I can post the HH desk, but here’s the pendant in bright sunlight!
Estimated at around 18 carat weight… 18k yellow& white gold with about 5o little diamonds.
@greeno107 Lovely, turn it to see flashes of red? She's a beauty, many happy returns.
@sharonp Thank you! I really know nothing about opals, but I heard black opal is extremely rare, it’s my birthstone, it is the largest opal I’ve seen it life, and I was on a spending spree …couldn’t stop myself!
Anyway…I don’t see red flashes, but I just read there is a black opal with blue fire that also has green flashes.
Nice opal pendant/brooch. Looks to be in the 70's style. Very popular atm.
It looks to be a solid black opal and a decent weight. You have to check for cracks. If it's cracked it's worth nothing! I used to deal extensively with opals directly from miners from Cooper Pedy and Lightning Ridge back in the early 2000's.
Of all black opals blue and green are the most common.
How much did you pay for this if I may ask?
Only asking because you don't normally buy jewelry/gemstones.
Looking forward to viewing the HH desk.
Mark
@imperialfinegems Glad you responded… I figured you would have some great personal experience to share.
I paid $1400 USD including sales tax.
They provided an appraisal, but not from an opal specialist, and I suspect that A) They had limited knowledge of opal, and B) did not view the opal in good light.
However, they took very accurate measurements of the cabochon and the overall weight of the broach, plus stated the total carat weight of the small diamonds (about 1ct).
So, I plugged the measurements into an online carat calculator and figured out the approximate stone weight.
I think based on the numbers, there’s about $250-300 of gold (melt), the diamonds might be another $300-500 (just a guess), so I feel like I paid $600-850 for the opal.
QUESTION: Should I have a jeweler remove the podge from the back of the stone?
I’m not 100% sure if this term is used widely, but I read it is the part of the rough stone without color on an opal.
And if I read correct, jewelers leave podge on the back of the cabochon to prove a stone is genuine.
But, I wonder if there would be more fire/color if I had the podge removed.
I’m sure there is far less than a mm in thickness covering the back of the opal, so it shouldn’t effect the carat weight, but it won’t allow any light to pass through the back of the stone.
What do you think?
Here’s a shot that shows some green…just depends on the position of the stone and sunlight.
Hi Tim,
I sent you a article about black opals rather than explain it here.
Potch is very important with black opals. If it's black/grey then it's highly probable to be from lighting Ridge. White potch is seen on lighter opals from Cooper Pedy for instance.
I have some concern though here. Is this a crack?
Carefully under a strong light examine the whole stone using a loupe. If it's a crack it will become evident quickly. Turn it around and view it from all angles. Does the colour stagnate or does it move or flash across the stone?
Do not think about removing the potch. It's a important part of the stone.
Do you have a image of the back?
You can send me the valuation if you wish. I can then make a better informed submission. If it's uncracked then I think overall based purely on the information you have provided its a good deal. I would have to check for you on its current value as I have not dealt with opals for a number of years. All my stock was stolen and I never got back into it!
The opal looks much heavier than one carat!
Mark
@imperialfinegems Thanks, Mark!
I checked the stone carefully before buying…no cracks or chips, and dynamic color change when the stone is moved.
I locked the opal up in my truck while I’m here at a hotel for the night. I’ll take a photo of the back in the morning.
One interesting observation I’ve noticed is while the stone seems black in low light, on occasion the opal catches some ambient light, and the whole stone seems to briefly glow like the color of a UV black light, or flashes a deep electric blue. It’s really fascinating.
The look is entirely different in direct sunlight (shown in photos).
I’ll send you the report by email later tomorrow.
Best,
Tim
Here’s another photo that I believe shows the area you red circled… I don’t see a crack… I think it’s some weird reflection.
@greeno107 When you get it home you may wish to take a photo inside or have your wife wear it into a jewelry store, if you really want to see it sparkle and have it appraised for insurance. Strange how jewelry always looks its best in a jewelry store, coincidence, I don't think so, I went to a bridal fair with one of my daughters-in-law and they had an area in the convention hall that had a sign saying, "look down at your engagement ring," my old ring looked good too. Opals look their best on black cloth.
Nice opal. What looks like cracks in some of the pics is probably potch lines. I also collect opal myself but not much at at the moment. Some years ago there were some very high quality opal from Brazil sold at eBay and other paltforms like opalauctions. Much cheaper priced than similar Australian material and higher quality also. I like the turquoise neon-effect of your opal but to be really valuable it should have red in it. I have pictures of some Chinese seal carved in fossilized wood-opal (opalized wood) on my phone sold at auction. I wish I had bought them.
Opals are fragile, which is why they make better pendants than rings. They are lighter in weight than other comparably sized gemstones. Never emerse it in any liquid to clean. It may photograph better in a light box, worlds within worlds. Fascinating stones.
DON'T remove the potch from the stone! Your opal is seam-type and almost certainly from lightning ridge. The opal dealers from that field claim that you find the strongest only in seam-type opals as the black potch increases the intentisity of the color-play and in their world only seam-type opals are truly black opals. It also makes the stone easier to identify as natural.
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