Black Opals from Virgin Valley, Nevada USA

Precious Black Opals in a water filled glass display dome, from the WRT Stonetree/Dominion Opal Mine group in Virgin Valley, Nevada. Opals from the Virgin Valley locality are known to be prone to cracking or crazing when removed from the ground and dehydrate, and therefore most that you see will be kept like this in a water filled dome or jar for display and to prevent crazing. They are generally not accepted in the gem or jewelry trade for this reason, but occasionally you will get some that cut and hold up as stable stones. Virgin Valley Opal has some of the brightest colors of all opal types in the world, and is best suited for mineral specimens. These were found during the 2013-2014 mining season. We sold off our family's remaining core mining claims between 2018-2022, but kept these for sentimental purposes. Wentzell Trust collection.

References for locality: https://www.mindat.org/loc-238873.html; Nevada — Jackpot! MINERAL Monograph No. 18, at page 59; Lithographie LLC, 2013, ISBN: 978-0-9836323-4-4.