An Art Deco 9ct Gold Ring with a Large Coober Pedy Opal

This Art Deco ring is made in 9ct rose gold, with white gold engraved shoulders, and a white gold bezel.

This is one of the pieces bought back from Australia in the 1930's, that we recently acquired as one collection.

The opal is big. It's a 17.8 x 9.7mm high domed stone weighing 4.4cts, in what's known as a "confetti" pattern.

The pattern looks like coloured confetti scattered over the stone. If there were two or three colours that alternated regularly and were evenly spaced, you'd have a harlequin pattern.

Being a confetti pattern makes it something special, it's a specimen stone, a show-off ring for an opal lover, and quite a prize to have extracted from the harsh South Australian desert in the 1930's.