Silica is one of the most common minerals on the planet, but precious opal is very rare – far more rare than diamonds. Precious opal is rare because the natural processes that create it rarely occur.
On the whole, opals are rarer than diamonds because there are less high-quality opals available than there are diamonds. The good news is that you can find a gem-quality opal for a great price, especially compared to a diamond.
Opals, unlike diamonds, are genuinely rare – as fast as opals are mined, they are sold. Diamonds are in fact very common, yet prices are kept high by vast stockpiling and strict supply control. Unlike diamonds however (which are incredibly hard 10/10 on the Mohs scale), opals are a relatively soft gemstone.
Tanzanite is a shocking 1000 times more rare than a diamond. Discovered for the first time in 1967 and only found in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, these gemstones go for about $1,500 per carat. Tanzanite has the ability to change color depending on the angle of light it is in.
Opal is an extremely precious gem. Gem Black, Boulder, Crystal and White Opals are the world's #1 most valuable commercially available gemstone, yet they are complex with an exponentially large range of valuation characteristics than Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds, Sapphires or Tanzanites.
Current opal prices depend on the type of opal stone. The most valuable Opal, Black Opal, ranges from $50 per carat to $10,000 per carat. Alternatively, White Opal is relatively common and ranges from $10 per carat to $150. Other opal types, such as fire, red, and blue, fall in the $10 to $500 per carat range.
The Rarest Birthstones
For example, April's diamond, though pricey, is less rare than rubies, emeralds, and alexandrite. While on the topic of alexandrite, this is currently the rarest gemstone on the birthstone list and can come at quite a cost. Black opals are also incredibly rare.
Painite : Not just the rarest gemstone, but also the rarest mineral on earth, Painite holds the Guinness World Record for it. After its discovery in the year 1951, there existed only 2 specimens of Painite for the next many decades.
Musgravite was first discovered in Musgrave Ranges, Australia, and later found in Madagascar and Greenland. Musgravite is a member of the taaffeite family of minerals and the separation between the two is based on magnesium content. What makes it so rare? Musgravite is considered the rarest crystal in the world.
Opal is an invaluable gift, and has been used since ancient times for its spiritual properties as well as its breathtaking colors. A gold or diamond surround serves to enhance the wildfire of colors that live within this stone, making opal a stunning choice as luxury jewelry.
You can wear Opal every-day, it is so versatile!. You can swim in it, shower, do the dishes. Just remember that any gemstone will crack or chip if it comes into contact with a hard surface (even Diamond) so make sure you have a strong setting. This is why bezel settings are great for Opal.
Generally, opals with a black or dark body tone are more valuable than those with a white, light, or crystal body tone, because a stone with a darker body tone tends to display colors more vibrantly. Black opal is the most prized type of opal and may earn prices over $10,000 USD a carat.
How rare is opal? Silica is one of the most common minerals on the planet, but precious opal is very rare – far more rare than diamonds. Precious opal is rare because the natural processes that create it rarely occur.
The Answer
From the many intriguing opal variants available today, black is the rarest. It is found in Lightning Ridge, Australia – a small outback town in north-western New South Wales named after a lightning incident that took place in the 1870s.
Black opal is becoming increasingly scarce, due to the cost of mining and government legislation on small miners. Unlike the abundance of white diamonds found throughout the world, black opals are now considered one of the world's rarest gemstones.
How Rare is Amethyst? Not very rare, it is plentiful, but with all gemstones, the better the color the more rare it is.
Ruby and diamonds are the most expensive gemstones on Earth. Garnet, on the other hand, is the least expensive.
Hydrophane opals have the ability to absorb water or liquids, similar to a sponge, resulting in a change of color that may turn the opal translucent yellow or brown and the play-of-color to disappear temporarily. Don't panic though! The color will return once the opal is fully and naturally air-dried.
Fake opals include those that are made from glass, plastic or resin. An opal imitation will often have an overly shiny appearance, and the colour flashes will be repeated in an organised pattern. Turn it side-on, and a columnar structure will be revealed to you.
There is no single trait that drives Black Opal value — a multitude of factors work hand in hand to collectively determine its market valuation. A Black Opal's price can vary from under $100 per carat - for a very small or relatively low quality stone - to over $10,000 per carat for a truly exquisite piece.