Big Red
Price on Request
( scale = approx 1:1 )
This stone is 207 carats of the finest Mintabie 'plate' opal.
It is approximately 5.5 inches long, and as much as 9mm thick.
There are 4 movies of this stone: see the gallery index
This stone is one of those which elude the miner. The spectacular nature
of Big Red was not completely seen when it was first mined, nor was it
noticed when it was purchased on the field. It was only noticed
when it arrived in the hands of the investor/cutter.
Even with a thick layer of potch and sand over the stone, the deep red layer
was evident from the first moment that the rough stone was taken out of
the box. The light of a single lamp caused the deep red flake to glow through
the layers of sand and potch.
The most phenomenal thing about this stone is that there are two layers
which augment each other in the total presentation. The two layers 'amplify' each other and the fire seems to vibrate between them.
The lower layer is a complete edge-to-edge flake of the purest red fire.
The upper layer is most spectacular. It is as much as 3mm thick, and the
pattern is that of 'confetti'. Not truly 'Harlequin', but rather large richly packed
flakes of every color from blinding reds to deep rich blues.
What is most pleasing about this stone is that the pattern is uniform
from edge to edge. Normally, in a stone of such size, the pattern changes
from small flakes to large, or the colors vary from one side to the other.
This often dictates that the stone be cut into pieces that feature each
of the different patterns.
This piece will be in the treasury of great people for many hundreds of years.
Copyright 2007, Australian Opal Mines. All rights reserved.
Last modified: May 30, 2007
Murray Willis
