Lately I have received questions, comments about the availability of precious opal. Well, there are lots of rumors but the fact is that the availability of opal has diminished in the last year or so. There are two reasons. One is because of the massive flooding in Australia a couple of years ago. It put many Australian Opal miners out of business, thus the supply has greatly diminished. Hopefully, the miners will get back on their feet, resulting in an uptick in the supply coming out of the opal fields.
Another reason is Ethiopia. Ethiopia has become the other major opal supplier to the world but the Ethiopian government recently banned the export of rough opal. The stated reasons are economic but seem more political from the conversations I have had with Ethiopian miners and opal dealers. What long term affect will that have on opal supply? Tough to say right now. Nobody seems to agree on that question. All I can say is that it will not affect the prices of my opal arrowhead jewelry in the near future, as I still have a supply of rough opal.
I am hoping, like many folks who buy and work precious opal, that the supply shortage will be a short term problem and will not cause a serious spike in the price of opal jewelry. When I return from the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show this coming winter I will have a much clearer picture of the situation. I will be sure to give an update then. Stay tuned.