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| Down Under |
| The black-opal hunters of outback Australia |
| 2022-07-17 |
| [Aljazeera] Sebastian Deisenberger leaned over the table in his garden, at his home on the edge of the Australian outback, his eyes glistening. He was explaining his obsession with rare black opals and why he uprooted his life in Germany to mine them. Finding opals is "one of the best feelings you can get," he said. "It took a hundred million years to form and come to that stage and then you’re the first one who sees that." Deisenberger is one of a few hundred full-time miners in Lightning Ridge, Australia, home to the black opal, one of the most sought-after gemstones in the world. They are only found in two places: this remote corner of the world and Ethiopia. And they can fetch a lot of money. The most valuable one ever found, the Aurora Australis discovered in 1938, is worth about $1m today. But even less famous black opals have a spell-binding allure. Some stones contain just a few of the gem's potential colours - peacock blue, soft, feathery white, shards of green or deep blood-red. Others ripple with all the hues of the rainbow, and all against a jet-black base. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #1 I don't wear jewelry. Just a good wristwatch (not a smart watch, a Breitling, Omega or Hamilton) I'd wear a black opal, for sure. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2022-07-17 07:52 |