Australian Opal Prices in Pakistan: How Black, Boulder and White Opal Compare

An Australian opal is priced first on its type and body tone, then on how bright its play-of-colour is and what pattern it makes, and only after that on size. At the top sits a dark, solid black opal with bright, broad flashes. Near the bottom sits a pale white opal with faint pinpoint colour. Doublets and triplets, which are thin slices of opal glued onto a backing, cost a small fraction of solid stones. On its own, the word "Australian" tells you very little about what a stone is worth.

Below we explain how each factor moves the price, how opal gets quoted per carat and per ratti in Pakistan, and how to compare offers honestly. We don't type price figures into the article. Instead, the table below is built from our own opal listings and updated every month. To see stones photographed one at a time, browse our opal collection.

Opal prices from our own listings

The table gives the lowest, typical and highest price per stone across our opal listings, plus the same figures per carat and per ratti.

Our opal category holds stones from more than one source, so read the table as the range for natural opal in general. Each listing names the origin when we know it. The rest of this page explains why Australian opal behaves differently on price, and how to work out where a particular stone ought to sit. For prices across everything we sell, see the monthly gemstone price guide.

Why Australian opal has a name of its own

Australia has long been the most famous source of precious opal. Its opal forms in sedimentary rock and is, on the whole, more stable than some newer sources. It holds less water and is less likely to craze (develop fine surface cracks) or to change its look when it gets wet. That stability, along with the long history of the dark black opal, is why people walk into Pakistani shops asking for "Australian opal" by name.

Ethiopian opal, the other source you see a lot of in Pakistan, is often very bright and much cheaper for its size. Much of it is hydrophane, meaning it can soak up water and turn clear for a while, or lose its colour play until it dries out. Looked after properly it is a lovely stone, but it is a different product. Our guide to Ethiopian opal prices covers that side of things.

The four kinds of Australian opal, from top to bottom

Black opal

Black opal has a dark body, anywhere from dark grey to black, which makes the play-of-colour leap out. Lightning Ridge in New South Wales is the place most linked with it. Fine solid black opal is the most valuable opal of all.

Boulder opal

Boulder opal forms in thin veins inside ironstone and is cut with the brown ironstone left on the back as a natural backing. Good boulder opal can be extremely bright. Because the opal layer is thin and the shapes are often freeform, it is priced differently from black opal, and a solid boulder opal should never be mixed up with a man-made doublet.

Crystal opal

Crystal opal is transparent to semi-transparent, so you see colour deep inside the stone. It can come from any of the fields and sits between black and white opal in value, depending on how bright it is.

White or light opal

White opal has a milky, pale body. It is the most common type and the cheapest in solid form, and Coober Pedy in South Australia is well known for it. A bright white opal with a strong pattern is still a beautiful stone, at a much gentler price than black.

What moves the price within each kind

Body tone

The trade grades body tone on a numbered scale running from black to light. A darker body raises the value, because it makes the colours look more intense. Lay the stone face-up on a white sheet of paper. If the body looks grey to black, it is a darker tone; if it looks milky, it is light.

Brightness

Within a type, brightness matters more than anything. A bright stone shows its colour clearly in ordinary room light. A dull stone only lights up under a spotlight or in direct sun. Always ask for a video in normal indoor light as well as daylight.

Range of colours

Red flashes are the rarest and lift the price the most, then orange, then green, then blue. A stone showing the full range is valued above one showing only blue and green.

Pattern

Pattern is how the colour is arranged. Broad flashes and rare patterns like harlequin, a patchwork of angular blocks, are prized. Small pinpoint flashes, called pinfire, are common and cost less. The pattern should cover the face, not just one edge.

Solid, doublet or triplet

After type, this is the biggest single price factor. A doublet is a thin slice of opal glued onto a dark backing. A triplet adds a clear quartz or glass dome on top. Both are perfectly legitimate when sold for what they are, and they give you the black-opal look affordably, but they should cost far less than solid opal of the same appearance. They also must never be soaked, because water can lift the glue. Look at the side: a straight join line, or a backing in a different colour, gives them away.

Faults, shape and size

Cracks, crazing, sand spots and potch (common opal with no colour play) on the face all lower the price. A nicely domed oval with an even outline is worth more than a lumpy freeform of the same weight. Size then multiplies everything else, because a large stone with good brightness and pattern is much scarcer than a small one.

How opal is quoted in Pakistan

Opal bought for astrological rings is often quoted per ratti here, while many importers quote per carat. Before you compare:

• Check which ratti. The standard gemstone ratti is 0.91 carat, about 0.182 g. The jeweller's sunari ratti is smaller, about 0.1215 g or 0.61 carat, so a per-ratti rate on the smaller ratti buys you less stone. Convert with our carat to ratti converter.
• Check that the weight is the stone's alone. A doublet's weight includes its backing, and a boulder opal's includes its ironstone. Neither equals the weight of a solid opal.
• Don't compare across types by weight alone. A white opal and a black opal of the same weight are different products. Compare type, brightness and pattern first.

Comparing two quotes

1. Get the type in writing: black, boulder, crystal or white, and solid or assembled.
2. Get the origin in writing too, while accepting that origin is hard to prove without a lab.
3. Ask for a short video in daylight and in ordinary room light, turning the stone slowly.
4. Look at the side view for a join line.
5. Compare body tone and brightness before anything else.
6. Then compare pattern, colour range and faults, and only then weight.

If one seller's "Australian black opal" is far cheaper than another's, the usual reasons are a doublet or triplet, a dyed or smoke-treated stone, or opal from somewhere else labelled Australian. Our guide to real versus fake opal explains the checks, and the Australian opal buying guide helps you choose a first stone.

Shopping by budget

You can browse the shop by price. These filters show every stone, so narrow them down to opal on the page that opens.

• Under 5,000 rupees: small opals, mostly with a light body, and a sensible place to start learning how opal looks in real light.
• 5,000 to 20,000 rupees: compare brightness carefully here, since this is where strong colour play starts to set stones apart.
• 20,000 to 50,000 rupees: bigger stones and brighter patterns; make sure the stone is solid before you pay.
• Over 50,000 rupees: the band for the scarcer combinations of size, brightness and darker body tone.

Two stones from our opal listings, both Ethiopian, show how size and brightness compare: a 1.50 carat natural opal and a 1.90 carat natural opal. Put them next to an Australian stone of similar size and you can see the difference between body types for yourself.

Is a certificate worth it for opal?

For an expensive opal, yes. A lab can confirm that the stone is natural, whether it is solid or assembled, and whether it has been dyed or treated. An opinion on origin is sometimes possible for opal, but not always. You are welcome to have any opal you buy from us tested independently; see lab-certified opal.

Protecting your opal after you buy

Opal is about 5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale and has water locked inside it. Keep it away from heat, from a car dashboard in the sun (a real danger in a Karachi summer) and from sudden temperature changes, and never put it in an ultrasonic cleaner. A bezel or other protective setting suits a ring, and a pendant is safer still. Our opal guide covers wearing it and the traditions around it, including its link with Venus in Vedic astrology, and opal is also an October birthstone.

Buying opal from Authentic Gems

Every opal we list is photographed on its own, with origin and treatment stated where we know them. Pay Cash on Delivery anywhere in Pakistan after opening the parcel in front of the rider and checking the stone, and return it within 7 days if it isn't right. Karachi orders usually arrive in 1–2 working days, other major cities in 2–4. Send us any quote you have been given on WhatsApp and we will help you compare like with like.

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