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Lot 138
Nevada Opal Pendant
7 December 2016, 10:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$1,500 inc. premium
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Nevada Opal Pendant
Virgin Valley, Nevada
In a remote high desert region, at an elevation of 6,000 feet, lies Virgin Valley, an area which since 1900, has become as famous a locality for opal as Lightning Ridge, N.S.W., Australia. For collectors, the region is renowned for its clear jelly or crystal opal. The location was once a large lake surrounded by forests of sequoia, spruce, hemlock and chestnut. A series of volcanic eruptions buried the region in layers of ash. Over the millennia, silica-rich water from the area's hot springs infiltrated the ash and hydrated silica molecules replaced the buried wood forming precious opal under certain conditions. The present pendant is set with a free-form Nevada opal, weighing approximately 8.0 carats, notable for its brown body color and vivid play-of-fire which predominates in red and orange with flashes of green, mounted in 14K yellow gold. Height 1 1/2 in
In a remote high desert region, at an elevation of 6,000 feet, lies Virgin Valley, an area which since 1900, has become as famous a locality for opal as Lightning Ridge, N.S.W., Australia. For collectors, the region is renowned for its clear jelly or crystal opal. The location was once a large lake surrounded by forests of sequoia, spruce, hemlock and chestnut. A series of volcanic eruptions buried the region in layers of ash. Over the millennia, silica-rich water from the area's hot springs infiltrated the ash and hydrated silica molecules replaced the buried wood forming precious opal under certain conditions. The present pendant is set with a free-form Nevada opal, weighing approximately 8.0 carats, notable for its brown body color and vivid play-of-fire which predominates in red and orange with flashes of green, mounted in 14K yellow gold. Height 1 1/2 in