CANADA OKANAGAN NATURAL OPAL DISPLAY SPECIMEN #2 (03/15/2011)

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CANADA OKANAGAN NATURAL OPAL DISPLAY SPECIMEN #2

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CANADA OKANAGAN NATURAL OPAL DISPLAY SPECIMEN #2

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Sold Date: 03/15/2011
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Natural History

You are buying a natural/unpolished precious Okanagan Opal specimen (measures 2.25" long by about 1.5" wide and about 1.5" thick) embedded in matrix and ready to be displayed or polished further from near Vernon, British Columbia, Canada.

This is specimen #2 and it has rough natural precious opal located throughout and also has veins of unpolished precious opal within the matrix.

OKANAGAN OPALS

"Canada's first "commercial grade" precious opal deposit, the "Klinker Opal Deposit" was found near Vernon, BC on Thanksgiving Day in October 1991. The precious opal from this site was given the name "Okanagan Opal" by the prospectors who found the deposit.

This deposit has already attracted significant local and international attention through the publication of several articles written by opal expert Paul Downing, through a government paper published in 1997 and through numerous other newspaper/magazine articles.

The Klinker Opal deposit has been undergoing exploration and development since the summer of 1993. The size and full economic potential of the deposit is as yet undetermined however the development which has taken place over the past four years has indicated that this is a significant discovery; not just a "flash of color".

The precious opal occurrences are controlled by fracturing, stratigraphy and rock porosity and occur in mid-Miocene aged shallow dipping ash/lapilli tuff and matrix supported lahar volcanic rock sequences.

Opal from the Klinker Deposit (and opal seen from other more recently discovered opal occurrences in B.C.) would be generally classified as "boulder opal". This material exhibits variable base colours ranging from transparent, water clear to clear amber to translucent/opaque white to dark brown and exhibiting a variable intensity "play of colour" in a flash to broad flash pattern. The brightness and pattern of the play of colour in Okanagan Opal is second to none; often covering the full spectrum and covering the full brightness scale.

Yes, there is "solid" opaque to translucent, white base colored opal on the Klinker property; similar in appearance to Australian white opal. The Okanagan Opal found on the Klinker Property has a variable play and intensity "play of colour" and it generally exhibits "flash to broad flash fire patterns" rather than the more typical pinfire pattern found in much of the Australian white opal. In fact, on the Klinker Property there is solid opaque, solid semi-crystal and solid crystal opal; all with broad ranging base colours and broad ranging pattern and intensity of colour play. However, the economic potential of the Klinker deposit is at this stage reliant on the development of the "boulder opal" segment of the market because to date the volume of "solid" opal is not sufficient to justify commercial production on its own.

Perhaps this should be considered a blessing, because when comparing different types of opal, boulder opal is generally more highly valued than opaque white base colored opal. Although the Australians are still producing considerable quantities of white base colored opal it would appear that they are no longer producing the historic quantities of high quality solid black and crystal opal because it is becoming more rare. As an alternative, the Australians appear to be increasingly involved in marketing boulder opal to take up the slack. This should result in the increased awareness and value of boulder opal in the marketplace which as a consequence will result in increased acceptance of precious opal from British Columbia."

A beautiful piece to have for your Canadian Precious Opal, natural mineral display or gem/mineral collection/hobby!

Lucky winning bidder agrees to pay within 5 days after the closeout date of the purchase and $3.01 for shipping within the U.S. and $10.01 postage world-wide.

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