This terminology is meant to be used and understood by everyone. Terms such as “nobbies”, “semi-black”, “white-crystal”, “black-crystal”, “rubs”, “fire”, “solid”, “enhanced”, “treated”, “natural” are not referenced in the categorisation.Īs a result, the nomenclature's objective remains the same: to offer a basic, yet "official" description of the gemstone we all love and call Opal. For years to come, they will have their appropriate position in our gemstone heritage and story-telling. The Opal miner's vocabulary will always include expressive local terminology as well as older historical terminology. Australian vernacular names for Opal, and phrases that have been part of the Australian landscape for hundreds of years have all contributed to the mystery and mythology of daily language used on the Opal mining fields. The nomenclature was not created with the intention of forcing modifications to the many vernacular labels used to characterise Opal in Australia, or even in other countries such as Mexico. The following classification of Opal is reproduced from the Resolutions of the Federal Council of the Gemmological Association of Australia. Today the Australian Gemstone Industry Council and The Gemmological Association of Australia (GAA), the Australian Gem Industry Association (AGIA), the Lightning Ridge Miners Association (LRMA), the Jewellers Association of Australia Ltd, and the Opal Association have all agreed-to, endorsed and published the following standards for the Opal valuation process. It has become vital to agree on certain well-founded principles for how a unique gem like Opal should be defined, and this has prompted the key influences in the Australian Opal business to collaborate more closely to agree on a common approach and methodology for classifying and classifying Opals. The Opal Association, as well as the whole industry, strongly supports the usage of these standards in order to standardise nomenclature across the Opal industry globally.Īs a result of reasons – such as increasing worldwide and local awareness of opal as a key Australian resource – the global emergence of a deep desire to standardise all terms linked to gemstones and the ever-increasing number of synthetics and restrictions that are developing in world markets, opal has become a key Australian resource. Recently the Gemmological Association of Australia (GAA) has worked to develop the defining nomenclature of Opals. For example, when buying a Black Opal Nomenclatures establish confidence that the gemstone is indeed “black” and not a lesser stone such as White or crystal Opal. The use of standardised descriptions or “Nomenclature” for OpaIs is considered a key in establishing the correct value for any type of Opal. The process that is used by Australian Opal Cutters to place value on Opal has been developed through many years using the Opal valuation software known as "Smart Chart" and uses principles that have been developed by Industry representatives (Gemmological Association of Australia GAA) and associations (The Opal Association) over past decades. Unfortunately, there are numerous anecdotal instances where international valuers have called a "Solid Opal" a "Doublet Opal" and valued the gemstone accordingly (to the detriment of the owner). A small difference in (say) the body-tone (N scale) can have a big difference in the final value. To accurately define the value of an Opal it is important to work out the definitive characteristics that establish value.
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