Australian Boulder Opal Specimen – 0.26kg, Blue-Green Colour Play

This Australian boulder opal specimen is a freeform display piece, polished to a smooth, glassy finish that lets the colour play catch the light from every angle. Blue and green fire threads through a rich brown ironstone matrix, the host rock in which boulder opal forms — visible as branching veins and pooled patches across the surface. At 90 x 55 x 45mm and 0.26kg, it has real presence on a shelf or cabinet. As with all boulder opal, the ironstone backing was never separated from the opal; the two formed together underground, which is part of what makes each piece a genuinely one-of-a-kind slice of the Australian opal fields.

About Boulder Opal

Boulder opal forms as veins of precious opal within ironstone matrix in the opal fields of Queensland — primarily Quilpie, Yowah and Winton. Unlike black opal from Lightning Ridge, the opal cannot be separated from its host rock; it's cut as a single solid piece, with the natural brown ironstone remaining as the stone's backing. This gives boulder opal its distinctive look — vivid colour against rich earth tones — and also makes it physically more durable than other opals, since the ironstone host is harder than the opal layer it carries.

Specifications

• Stone: Natural Australian Boulder Opal
• Weight: 0.26kg
• Dimensions: 90 x 55 x 45mm
• Colour Play: Blue-green
• Matrix: Ironstone
• Form: Freeform display specimen
• Origin: Queensland, Australia
• Availability: One-of-a-kind — 1 piece available

Caring for a Display Specimen

Boulder opal is naturally more robust than solid opal because of its ironstone backing, but it's still a natural stone worth handling with a little care. Pick it up by the matrix rather than gripping the polished face, keep it somewhere stable where it won't be bumped off a shelf, and avoid sitting it in direct sun or right next to a heater — like any opal, sudden swings in temperature aren't ideal. A soft, dry cloth is all it needs to stay clean.

Provenance

Hand-selected by Joseph Bernecki, sourced direct from the Australian opal fields and set in his Sydney workshop. Meet him any weekend at The Rocks Market, stall under the bridge, Sydney. Read Joseph's story →

Common Questions