Black opal is one of the rarest and most spectacular gemstones on Earth. Unlike most stones, its colors don’t come from pigments—instead, tiny silica spheres inside the opal bend light into brilliant flashes of red, green, blue, and violet that seem to move as the stone turns.

What makes black opal special is its dark background, which makes these colors appear brighter and more intense, almost like fire against a night sky. The finest black opals come from Lightning Ridge, Australia, the only place in the world known for producing them in significant quantity.

Because opal contains water and formed under very specific conditions, each piece is completely unique—no two ever look the same. This rarity and natural beauty have made black opal one of the most valuable gemstones in the world.

Black opal isn’t actually black—the dark color comes from natural iron-rich rock behind the opal, which makes its colors glow brighter.

The rarest color in black opal is red, and stones showing strong red flashes can be worth more than diamonds.

Almost all of the world’s natural black opal comes from one small town: Lightning Ridge, Australia.