Boulder opal is a rock that contains a disk of opal attached to the normal host rock. Cutting of the rock gets planned whenever a boulder opal is discovered. It gets cut into a certain orientation that the thin disk of opal comes off of the rock. Opal is a hydrated form of silica and has a water content of up to 21%. It is not in a crystalline form, but it is mineralized.
The colors of the boulder opal can be many such as black, green, blue, white, pink, yellow, purple, brown and red, etc. it is also called the “Opal with mother rock.” Most opal stones fracture their host rock by forming themselves into the voids of the host rock. The contrast between the color opal stone and the host stone is striking.
The base rock helps enhance the colors and patterns of the opal stone. Their natural appearance is what makes them beautiful, and they don’t need any more enhancing. These stones are the epitome of beauty and are majestic. They require preserving and handling with care.
To get the best benefits of boulder opal, it is usually a good idea to wear it. The boulder opal ring is the most popular choice.
This post is all about what you want ever to know pertaining to Boulder Opal. If you find it useful, don’t forget to do share. Let’s get it started!
Meaning
This rock is not a normal stone that can be just adored to look at. It is a talisman that has been cherished to shine hopes and dreams. It has much meaning to it according to the generations it has been passed up to. These meanings fall into many categories and bring out the great worth of the boulder opal stone for centuries. The following meanings are:
Boulder opal has been said to create a better future for an individual using it.
It can bring strong faith to a person and give them the power to achieve everything they ever dreamt of.
It has also been believed that boulder opal can purify the heart of the owner of this gemstone.
The meaning also includes the joy of life as it is filled with positive and mystical energies to drive you towards happiness.
It is also said to be an evil eye slayer and to fight any evil coming to the owner.
Last but not least, it is a great charm for a person who wants a good relationship.
It also means that you can have a full life of charm.
The boulder opal stone is also said to help find true love and alleviate depression. The rays of different colors show balancing abilities that can help relieve pain. It is also said to be believed to cure sufferings associated with the abdomen, intestinal organs, and lower back, etc. symptoms caused by common flu and influenza have also been said to be cured by this stone. Then it is also said to give you good eyesight and fight any disease.
The boulder opal stone is said to be a boost up for inner energies and emotional security. It can also bring inner beauty to a person due to its mystical and emotional energies.
It is good for the aura, prophecy, spiritual development, and past-life recall. The chakras are part of your spirit, and the boulder opal has energies that can guide you to find your inner chakras and help you meditate. So it has a great influence on your spirit too.
Properties
The boulder opal stone is comprising of many features and has distinct properties that make it a dense and great stone. There are two main types of properties: Physical Properties and Metaphysical Properties:
Physical Properties
Delicate and soft stone.
Hardness ranges from 5.5 to 6.5 on the hardness scale.
It is a milky and translucent stone.
The boulder opal is a silica gel containing water up to 21%.
The boulder opal gemstones are porous.
It has no crystal structure, so it has amorphous properties.
The color of the gemstone comes from the scattering of light, which is packed into the silica spheres of the stone. The arrangement of the sphere is in patterns that are the reason for different hybrid colors.
The boulder opal stone does not only have these specific physical properties, but they also possess a charisma of inner fire, a purple spark of the amethyst, the sea-green of the emerald, and an incredible array of lights. It is a very special stone that enchants anyone who laid their eyes on it. They have a very positive effect on the human soul.
Metaphysical Healing Properties
The boulder opal has mystical energy in it.
It clears and builds up strength in the aura.
It brings clarity and purity of thoughts.
It also has the property of decluttering a confused mind.
It is said to heal calm your nerves and is used for meditational purposes as well.
It can facilitate counseling with guides.
It can also help reveal inner truths about someone and their desires.
It can also help you heal your inner chakras.
The boulder opal stone has more metaphysical properties such as the strengthening of desires, erotism, and sexuality. It makes people emotional and seductive. It makes you in love with life and enhances optimism. You can find solace in this stone. The high water content of this stone assists you in shifting your emotions through self-awareness.
This stone also protects you from too easily absorbing energies and feelings from other people’s feelings and thoughts. Through interference and diffraction, the boulder opal allows you to encounter new challenges, places, or people. It stimulates original and dynamic creativity, as well. The users of this stone need to be aware of their emotional needs before using it.
Boulder Opal in jewelry uses
Boulder opals are very natural gemstones. People usually like to wear them as pendants or rings, earrings, bracelets, etc. Causal use of stones is preferred, as well. The jewelry is worth choosing for as it has a variety of options there.
If you are hoping to get an opal ring or pendant, then better to choose a larger-sized stone. In that case, you should opt for an opal triplet or doublet, which will get you a bigger stone and be cost-effective at the same time. Opal jewelry should be chosen based on its patterns, colors, and how they suit you according to your taste. For example, you can get a white milky opal pendant to make into a necklace and wear it with a black gown to an evening dinner or a blue dusky opal ring with a day-to-day outfit.
Boulder earrings are made of splits that are a split of the opal, and it exposes color on both sides of the boulder opal. You can also go for a bracelet with doublets or triplets of the gemstone combined in the bracelet at a fair price. Jewelry items can be worn anytime anywhere, so they are of great importance, and worth investing in such a stone is a great choice for jewelry.
Boulder opal jewelry set with untreated solid stones: Australian boulder opal jewelry and Ethiopian jewelry in handcrafted opal pendants, opal rings, and opal necklaces are already made and available.
The boulder opal can be naturally fixed as a pendant into a necklace. The genuine opal pendant is made of the natural gemstone of opal. It has not been heated or treated in any way. These opal stones are hand ground and semi-polished.
Boulder opal stones can be handcrafted in sterling silver and set with a natural gem in a natural design. There are areas with natural blue and purple flashes of color in the gemstone.
Boulder stones can also be handcrafted into bronze and other types of metal wires as well to make charms and necklaces.
Where does Boulder Opal come from
The boulder opals originated in the state of Queensland, Australia. The major fields where the stones are found are Quilpie and Winton. The opal field mining towns are 4 in number. With household names such as Coober Pedy, Andamooka, White Cliffs, and Lightning ridge. They are wild and unruly places surrounded by a moonscape. Over there, people fight with bad climate conditions to mine out these precious boulder opal stones.
How much is Boulder Opal worth
The value of a boulder opal per carat is generally not accepted in the industry of gemstones. However, a rough indication of the value of a good quality boulder opal stone can range up to 3000 AUD per carat. Clean faced stone with no ironstone spots will have much greater value.
Where to buy Boulder Opal
Usually Etsy or Amazon is a good idea. Etsy is the leading online global marketplace of handmade, vintage, and creative goods. Amazon is one of the largest global online marketplaces. Both of them are reliable and easy to find your favorite items there.
How to identify Boulder Opal
A boulder opal stone is easily distinguished by its solid brown ironstone matrix. The ironstone is dark and plays enhancing color. The thin layer of precious opal is easily identified by its distinct amorphous and optical features. Opal exhibits “opalescence,” which is caused by the reflection of lights. This typically appears in a milky bluish color and effect.
Other stones do not have this property, so you can easily identify the boulder opals. Close observance can distinguish the difference between an original gemstone and a fake one. Such stones cannot be faked because their identification is really easy for even common people. You can easily search for how an opal stone looks and see the areas of identification.
How to wear and use Boulder Opal
You can wear and use boulder stones by the following tips:
Wearing an opal stone is easy, especially a boulder opal stone. You can use it in jewelry, such as rings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, earrings, etc. And you can hang it in your home too as it will not only increase the beauty of your wall but also protect you from evil eyes.
Boulder opal sets and collections can be made to wear them in different forms all the time. You can use them in any jewelry.
Opal boulder stones have also been used in dresses of royal families to enhance the beauty and worth of their outfits.
Mystical properties of boulder opal stones make it easier for people to wear them in many types of forms, such as in clothes, ornaments, decorations, etc.
How to cleanse Boulder Opal
The boulder opal stones are extremely fragile and need a lot of care. Cleaning of the stones is an essential part of their care. They can crack and fade if not taken care of properly. They are extremely vulnerable to scratches as they are soft stones with really less hardness. They are durable stones but need a lot of care.
The steps to cleanse the opal stones should be followed with focus and care, never forget to miss out any step or else you will ruin the whole process. Here are the steps for cleansing of boulder opal gemstones:
- Place a knife sharpening block onto a hard surface. The rough side should be facing up.
- Spray some water on to the block and now start rubbing the opal stone on the surface to form an approximate shape to put on a dop-stick. You need a good size and be patient about the process as it takes time and focuses.
- Heat a wax on the dop-stick now. Place your stone on the hot wax. Also, make sure before getting on with this step that your fingers are wet, so you avoid burning them. Get your stone also dry before applying wax on it, so it sticks to the wax; otherwise, it won’t. Turn off your heat source now.
- Rub the opal stone on sandpaper with different roughness levels. Put the sandpaper on a hand towel, so it gets cushioned up. Rub the stone now on sandpaper from 400 to 1200 grit.
- Now you need to pour some cerium oxide onto the leather and then wet it.
- Rub the opal stone on the dop-stick on the cerium oxide paste in a circular motion. This is the last step of cleansing the boulder opal stone. The polishing of the stone is also done.
- Wipe it clean.
Tips for care:
Clean them using warm and soapy water.
Use a soft brush while cleaning them.
Boulder opals are really rare, so for them, you need to keep them in water to avoid cracking.
Areas, where you find the environment harsh, is where you need to avoid wearing boulder opal jewelry.
When you are washing dishes, it is advised to take off all types of jewelry, especially boulder opal jewelry.
Wear them with care, making sure that they’re properly fixed into the base material, so they don’t fall off.
They are fragile and can easily get scratches, so polish them on and off.
Never miss the cleaning session of your stones at least do them once a month.
Difference between Boulder Opal and Black Opal
We will start with the differences without any further ado:
1. Stone shape:
The boulder opal can’t be cut or shaped into anything. As they only have a thin layer of opal. That is the reason they are always freeform and cut into irregular shapes, so the maximum size of the stone is achieved.
The black opal gemstone is oval and has perfect symmetry to it. Its shape is the reason it is most popular in jewelry items. But there can be a freeform as well to ensure the maximum weight of the stone.
2. Body tone:
Black opal has a dark body tone and varies from black to dark grey color. Due to the dark body tone, the black opal displays colors in more vibrant ways as compared to boulder opals. The stone has a natural layer of a patch at the back of the stone that plays a role in captivating the dark body tone.
The boulder opal also has a dark body tone as compared to the black opal, but given the fact that it is formed in thin veins of ironstone boulders and the back of the stone shows the host rock. So the back of the opal stone is a brown layer of rock. Overall, the body tone is dark of the boulder opal.
3. Color and pattern:
Black opal is known for displaying brilliant colors and patterns. The plays of colors are immensely pretty, and there is a rainbow of them on it. It displays many pattern types such as floral, straw, harlequin, rolling flash, and ribbon, etc.
The spectrums of colors in the boulder opal are greatly displayed. The colors are the same as the black opal, but patterns are quite different in the boulder opals.
4. Strength:
The black opal on a scale of hardness has 5.5 to 6.5 rigidity. Diamond has a hardness of 10, so we can say the black opal is sensitive and fragile.
The boulder opal gains power and strength from the back rock, and the back stone also provides an edge to it over the black opal. So it can handle extra pressure and impact as compared to the black opal.
5. Rarity:
Black opal tops the list of rarity. As it is found only in the Lightning ridge, a town of Australia within a 70km radius. It is found nowhere else in the whole world.
They are also rare stones but not as rare as the black opals. They are readily obtainable as the area that yields boulder opals stretch along a 200-300 km radius, and a small portion of boulder opals has been discovered. So they are not so rare.
6. Value:
Black opal, as discussed earlier, is more expensive than the boulder opal. Because of its status and rarity. That means it has a larger value than the boulder opals.
The boulder opals are magnificent stones, but they lose the game to the black opals as they are much less pricey than the black opals and also not priced “per carat” as compared to the black opals. All because of the brown rock backing, it loses its rarity and price. So its value also decreases.
Best combinations to use with Boulder Opal
There is a full range of opals that can be used as the best combinations with the boulder opals. They can also be really pretty and give a royal touch to them. Base color combinations are of three things color, hue, and saturation. Here are the combinations:
The best boulder opal stone can match the fierceness of a diamond. So you can use a combination of boulder opal stone with firestone such as ruby.
Another combination of opal stone is with sapphires because of patterns.
Opal stones look great with a combination of emeralds as well because of the same color theme.
Opals can be used together too in a combination. You can take a combination of a boulder opal with black opal, Ethiopian opal, fire opal, common opal, crystal opal, and blue opal, etc.
You can also use different types of colorful wirings to make your boulder opal stones look more beautiful.
Final Words
This set of information on “Boulder Opals” can describe everything you need to know about these mystical gemstones. Their properties are just magical, and so is the sight they behold. Nobody can resist not adding them to their stone or jewelry collections.
These gemstones are just amazingly beautiful and have a vast range of metaphysical properties, as well. Using them in any form can reflect royalty. Their combinations with other stones are an epitome of gorgeousness. If you are thinking of getting one, make sure you are ready to maintain their beauty.
