Brightness and Pattern, The brightness of the colour and how vivid and intense they appear is a major factor. Brighter opals are significantly more valuable. Patterns like harlequin, pinfire, and rolling flash are highly prized. Rare and well-defined patterns increase value.
Color Range, The more colors visible, the better. High value opals often display a full spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). Red is the rarest and most valuable play of color, followed by orange, yellow, and green and blue.
Color Placement and Distribution, Even widespread color across the surface is more valuable than patchy or dull areas. Stones with color that moves or shifts with light (known as "rolling flash") are especially desirable.
Body Tone, A dark or black body tone creates a stark contrast that makes the play-of-color pop more vivid. These opals (like black and boulder opals) are the most valuable. Lighter or white body tones tend to soften the color, making them generally less valuable.
In short, an opal is most valuable when it shows bright, rare colors (especially reds and oranges), has vivid patterns, full-spectrum color, and a dark background that amplifies its fiery display.
Now with a brief introduction into the world of opals and what "play of colour" entails, how do this translate into men's opals rings.
Men's rings tend to have deep, bold tones usually featuring opals with darker body tones (like those in boulder or black opal) that bring out intense flashes of blue, green, red, or gold.
Earthy contrast, Boulder opals naturally offer a mix of vibrant color and earthy ironstone backing, giving the ring a masculine and grounded aesthetic.
Understated fire, For a more subtle look, opals with controlled, less flashy color play (like darker blues and greens) are often preferred.
Blue is one of the most common colours of opals yet is also one of the most desired and in demand colours.
When it comes to jewellery the main question to ask yourself is, does it look good!