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2.98 Ct. Multi Color Cabochon Boulder Opal (Ironstone Opal) from Australia
This loose stone is available to ship now
Item ID: | K20740 |
|---|---|
Dimensions (MM): help | Length: 15.9 Width: 11.4 Height: 2.8 |
Weight: | 2.98 Ct. |
Color: help | Multi Color |
Color intensity: help | Intense |
Clarity: help | Not Applicable |
Shape: help | Pear |
Cut: | Cabochon |
Cutting style: | Cabochon |
Enhancements: help | No Enhancement |
Origin: help | Australia |
Per carat price: help | $1,200 |
The Natural Gemstone Company is pleased to offer a beautiful opaque Boulder Opal, weighing 2.98 carat, cut into an elegant pear shape and polished as a cabochon to maximize its intense color intensity. This multi color opal measures 15.90 x 11.40 x 2.80 mm, and displays a vivid spectrum of reds, greens, and blues across a warm ironstone backing, a hallmark of genuine Australian Boulder Opal. The stone has an excellent polish that enhances surface luster and optical depth, and it is presented in its natural state with no enhancements. For a discerning buyer who values verifiable origin and integrity, the combination of Australian provenance, natural state, and skilful cabochon cutting increases both aesthetic and collector value.
From a gemological perspective this Boulder Opal exhibits attributes that educated buyers seek, including a strong play of color, pronounced brightness, and a stable ironstone host that improves durability compared with thin freeform opal slices. Opal clarity is described here as opaque, which is typical for Boulder Opal, yet the display of color is clear and uninterrupted across the crown, indicating minimal internal potch and no filler treatment. The pear shape cabochon has been cut and polished to present the color pattern symmetrically, allowing the stone to read larger than its 2.98 carat weight might suggest, and making it ideal for a striking pendant or a statement ring.
The narrative of formation for this Boulder Opal reaches back millions of years, into a landscape of shifting sediments and weathered sandstone in what is now Australia. Silica rich waters seeped into fractures and cavities in ironstone and sandstone during cycles of wetting and drying, depositing microscopic silica spheres that, over geological time, packed and solidified into the opaline structure that diffracts light into vivid play of color. The ironstone matrix that remained provided both contrast and support, turning fragile silica infill into durable opal seams set against a dark host. This long natural history, combined with precise lapidary work and documented Australian origin, is why collectors and connoisseurs value this Boulder Opal, and why The Natural Gemstone Company recommends this piece for anyone seeking a natural, untreated gemstone with both scientific interest and lasting aesthetic appeal.
