You might have noticed during the Commonwealth Games that the Australian women’s basketball team is called the Opals.
About 80% of Australian opals (the stones, not the basketballers) come from Coober Pedy in outback South Australia. The name Coober Pedy comes from the Arabana Aboriginal words ”kupa piti” and means ”white man in a hole”. Fourteen year old William Hutchison, the youngest member of an Adelaide gold Prospecting Syndicate discovered Coober Pedy while searching for water in 1915. The prospectors were traveling in the worst drought known in South Australia up to that time and members of the party were forced to go in different directions in search of water while young Willie was left to look after the camp.
Disobeying orders, Willie wandered away from camp to search for water around the foothills of a nearby range. He hadn’t returned by dark.
Finally, he strolled into camp with a grin on his face and half a sugar bag of opal on his shoulder. Not only had he found opal, but a fortnight’s supply of good water. Word of the find spread and within a few months, $34,000 (a huge amount at the time) worth of opal had been produced.
Read more about opals and other jewelry.
Diamond Jewelry News
Filed Under Diamond Jewelry, Jewelry News | 1 Comment
The worldwide diamond jewellery market is worth about $US70 billion ($A96 billion) and this figure is rising as wealth grows in Asia.
Of this $US70B, about one quarter is bought during the gift buying rush at the end of the year, helped by the fact that Christmas Eve just pips Valentine’s Day as the most popular moment to propose.
And the cost of popping the question is going up, as the average price of a diamond engagement ring reached approx. $US2500 in the US in 2004.
If you’re looking to buy a diamond engagement ring, consider the aspects of clarity and color and remember a quality diamond will always hold it’s value.
Clarity
A diamond that is perfect if it is free of inclusions or imperfections. Inclusions are tiny fractures or trace minerals that are present in the stone.
Diamonds are rated for clarity using the following scale:
Clarity Rating & Description
FL Flawless, no internal or external finish flaws.
IF Internally flawless, no internal flaws.
VVS1 Very very slightly included.
VVS2 Very difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification.
VS1 Very slightly included.
VS2 Difficult to see inclusions under 10x magnification. These inclusdions are not typically visible to see inclusions with unaided eye.
SI1 Slightly included.
SI2 Easy to see inclusions under 10x magnification, but they may not be able to see inclusions with unaided eye.
I Inclusions are visible to the unaided eye.
Color
The brilliance of a diamond is affected by the presence or absence of color. Color is rated as follows:
A diamond that is considered colorless or near-colorless is graded “D” through “J”. Diamonds of this grade are considered excellent value. They appear colorless to the naked eye.
Find out more about Diamond Jewelry at www.jewelleryportalonline.com