9.85 Ct. Cabochon Boulder Opal from Australia

This 9.85 carat oval Boulder Opal from Australia carries with it the quiet authority of a stone that has been admired across centuries, a gem of ancient geology and enduring style. Measuring 21.54 x 11.55 x 5.59 mm, this opaque multi color opal has been shaped into a classic cabochon, a cut favored since antiquity for its ability to showcase the inner life of the stone. The cabochon dome enhances the opal s natural play of color by creating a gentle curvature that captures and redirects light across the surface, encouraging broad viewing angles and a continual shift of color as the gem moves. With intense color intensity and an excellent polish, the stone s surface acts like a finely burnished lens, minimizing surface scattering and allowing the internal diffraction of light through the microscopic silica layers to appear as vibrant flashes of green, red and blue. As a doublet, this piece has been carefully assembled to preserve and intensify the precious color layer, providing visual depth and greater resilience compared with a thin loose slice, while honoring the raw character unique to Boulder Opal specimens.

The history embodied in this opal makes it particularly well suited to classic, heritage designs, pieces that are meant to be worn and then passed down for generations. Cabinetmakers of jewelry and lapidaries through the ages understood that the cabochon is not merely a shape but a way to present a gem s story, and here the cut enhances the opal s inherent optical properties, allowing light to enter, scatter within the silica structure, and return to the eye as play of color that seems to move and breathe. The excellent polish ensures each hue is rendered with clarity, while the oval profile provides a balanced silhouette for settings that favor tradition over trend. At The Natural Gemstone Company we source and present this Australian Boulder Opal with full transparency about its enhancement as a doublet, and with the assurance that its craftsmanship highlights both the geological legacy of its origin and the time honored beauty that makes opal a symbol of continuity. For those who value history, depth of color, and the subtle science of light embodied in classic cuts, this stone offers a luminous connection to the earth and to traditions of refined taste.