During this episode we answer all the tough and confusing questions about matrix boulder opal. Rod explains the differences between
boulder opal, matrix boulder opal and Andamooka boulder opal.
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Every Thursday morning, 8AM EST, we do our best to produce a show that highlights the realities of being in the opal business.
To better explain
matrix boulder opal lets first take a look at what
boulder opal looks like in the rough. Below is an image of blocked down boulder opal in its rough form. Notice the larger seams of opal running through the ironstone?
Now lets compare this boulder opal image above to the image below which is typically how matrix opal comes after being sliced into smaller pieces. Notice the main difference is that matrix opal doesn't come with full seams of opal throughout the ironstone.
To also help better illustrate this lets take a closer look at a blocked down piece of opal boulder once its cut along the opal seam. This video below will clearly demonstrate what happens once its opened. Amazing result isn't it?
Ok, so now we understand why matrix opal is also called matrix boulder opal... because it IS boulder opal but with just less opal across the face and more ironstone. This doesn't mean matrix opal is ugly or worthless, take a look at this amazing matching pair of matrix opal below.
The 2 locations that
matrix opal is famous for coming from is
Koroit and
Yowah. These 2 kinds of opal are known as Koroit Matrix Opal and Yowah Opal. The value is the same and they still display all the colors of opal such as
blue,
green,
orange,
yellow,
pink,
purple as per
boulder opal.
We have prepared a video to show the cutting of a small parcel of Koroit Matrix Opal being cut. It shows the process from start to finish and we hope you can truly appreciate the amount of work that goes into each and every opal you see on our website. This video is filmed over a 7 hour period on a single day in Rod's opal cutting workshop.
