The greatest strength of Divine Lisa Gerrard is his sense of proportion. Never, O never, never will do it too. And her new gem, "The Black Opal", is not going to contradict all of the work felt, emotionally dizzying and musically marked by restraint – Dead Can Dance included. 2009, return of Lisa Gerrard, new masterpiece of our scene gradually mourning Dead Can Dance completed because we have is all that one might have expected from them. Jewel of simplicity, introspective journey into the beauty itself. Need I say more? Well, it did. Centering an oval-shaped black opal within a micro pavé diamond surround and further round brilliant-cut diamond eleven-stone shoulders; opal weighing approximately: 10.00 carats; mounted in platinum; size 5 3/4. Sold for US$68,500. Note: Purchased from the Sherman family, a third generation of opal dealers in Melbourne, Australia, this fine stone, lot 203, was carefully chosen for its spectacular range of colors, and typifies characteristics of those opals found in the Lightning Ridge. Today, Australia provides 95% of the world's supply of precious opals. Precious opals of this quality represent only .25% of the opals mined. Opals are an amorphous mineraloid comprised of tiny hydrated silica spheres. black opal jewelry The play of color results from the interference and diffraction of the light passing through the tightly packed spheres. Because the spheres are not uniform in size, as a precious opal is rotated we see a dynamic and colorful rainbow or opalescence. Throughout history, the vibrant shifting colors unique to each precious opal have captivated collectors. The present stone is an exquisite gem that exhibits strong rolling flashes of reds and oranges against a blackish field. Patches of electric violet and streaks of green and yellow add depth and dimension as they appear and dissolve in a play of colors seen only in the rarest opals. Opals and The carved tortoiseshell comb of ancient Egyptian inspiration with lotus and papyrus motifs, set with opal cabochons, accented by black and green enamel, signed G. Fouquet, numbered 4680. With signed box. We