Chinese Buyers and Government Policies Push Up Black Opal Prices

    GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA, August 20, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The line in the sand has now been crossed according to Wayne Sedawie founder of Opalauctions.com.

We have stated previously that demand will soon overtake supply which will in turn force prices up.

At the recent Lightning Ridge Opal Festival and the Gold Coast Opal Fair, Chinese buyers were highly active and record Opal sales were made compared to recent times.

Chinese buyers have been in the industry for 50 years, mostly buying South Australian Opals and taking the stones back to China to cut and polish. But new breed of savvy Chinese buyers were at these shows and were after quality Black Opals and there were reports of million dollar sales with several Opals selling over $100,000 each.

Opal sellers have reported their best sales in a decade, but many of the sales were quality old stock which will be hard to replace. Miners are hoping that new found mines will continue to produce quality Opal but they are concerned Government policies to control and hinder Opal mining is making life difficult.

China's hundreds of millions of middle class citizens and the few million millionaires are now sourcing higher end products and hopefully Australian Opal is one of them.

Brand name items have already had top sales in China but now many Chinese purchases state that influential buyers now want to own unique items and this is where Australian Opals come in. Each Opal is unique and very rare from Black Opals to Boulder Opals. Especially Black Opals with red fire or dark green Black Opals.

Opalauctions was established in 2004 and has sold over 228,000 opals worldwide. Since August this year it has experience a high demand for Black Opals with over a dozen Opals selling in a range from $1,000 to $4,000 each. Buyers have been located in the USA and Hong Kong. Recent sales include a Black Opal for $5000 and a Black Opal Pendant which was sold to a Caribbean Island buyer for $1,000. So many more new international markets are now opening up for Opal sales.

Recently sales by German buyers have increased and they are enjoying Koroit Boulder Opals. European buyers have also been strong buyers of Boulder Opal. With so many countries now awakening to the pleasure of owning their own stones it is hoped that the Opal industry has an even brighter future.

It is worth noting that sales into Russia have always been problem due to high import duties but as of 22nd August 2014 it will be a member of WTO which will reduce import tariffs and hopefully increase the sales of Opals to their country.

One certainty is that we expect quality Australian Opal prices to increase steadily.

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