The Olympic Australis Opal

If the legendary Olympic Australis opal were cut into polished opal gems, the results may resemble this beautiful opal. Shaped as a large heart, the opal featured here weighs a substantial 29.11 carats. Photo ©2019 EraGem Jewelry.   The Olympic Australis opal is probably the most legendary of all the opals found in the world. Though it no longer holds the Guinness World Record, it remains one of the largest, most exquisite opal specimens in the world.  

Origins of the Olympic Australis

According to Altmann + Cherney, the company that owns the legendary gem, the opal arrived in a bag of rough opal shipped to them from the Eight Mile Opal field in Coober Pedy, South Australia. Recognizing a legend when they saw it, owners John and Rudi decided to maintain it in its rough state rather than cut it. Weighing 17,000 carats, the opal remains intermixed with a minuscule amount of matrix. In fact, it contains only about 1% matrix. The remaining 99% is pure gem-quality opal. If the jewelers decided to cut it, they estimate a yield of 10,000 1-carat gemstones. Although this yield translates to upwards of $1.8 million, they harbor no plans to take such action. Instead, the legendary stone remains on display in the company's showroom in Sydney, Australia.  

The Discovery

In researching this amazing opal, I found several accounts on other websites that make interesting claims about the stone. For example, several sites claim the stone was found by miners at a depth of 30 meters. Although some experts claim that opals lose stability when found deeper than 20 meters (source), I found a first-hand account of the discovery of the Olympic Australis at Opal Shop. According to miner Frank Tethridge, he and Bert Wilson discovered the massive stone in 1956, at a depth of 28 feet. After burning out a crop of saltbush, along with resident saltbush snakes, Frank stepped into the depression in the ground and started sinking. Eventually, he hit "rock" bottom, then soon realized he stood upon a huge, pure opal specimen perched atop two 80-ounce and four 60-ounce stones. He says that after all their work, those few specimens represented the entire find from that claim. Frank and Bert sold the largest opal to Greg Sherman, representative of Altmann + Cherney. The jewelers promptly renamed the stone after the Olympic games, held in Melbourne in 1956. Opal Auctions claims that Greg Sherman named the stone, not only after the Olympic Games, but also after another legendary opal, the Aurora Australis. Either way, Altmann + Cherney registered the stone with the Guinness Book of World Records. For many years, the Olympic Australis held the title of World's Largest Gemstone Opal ever discovered. To this day, it remains uncut, unpolished, nearly untouched. Weighing 143 ounces, it measures 11 inches long, 4.75 inches thick, and 4.5 inches wide. As I mentioned, visitors to the Altmann + Cherney showroom in Sydney, enjoy the opportunity to view this legendary opal up close and in person. For more information, I invite you to visit their website. ~Angela Magnotti Andrews