Looking at an opal is like peering into a pool of colours that shift and glow as if lit from within, an ethereal quality that makes the stone a favourite of jewellery designers. Opals are vibrant stars in some of this season’s high jewellery collections. 

Chopard has released a collection of six impressive cocktail rings called Fleurs d’Opales. One features a spectacular 24.3-carat black opal at the centre of a titanium latticework of petals, delicately chiselled and set with purple sapphires and amethysts.

Cartier and Piaget turned to the Meditteranean for inspiration, with Cartier’s Lagon platinum bracelet featuring an 85.42-carat oval black opal framed by emerald and sapphire beads, Paraiba tourmalines and diamonds. Piaget’s Meditteranean Garden cuff comes with a 14.82-carat black opal surrounded by tourmalines, diamonds and emeralds, all set in textured pink gold.

The Aiguebelle necklace by Boucheron is another stunner, with opal cabochons, sapphires, emeralds and rock crystal beads. Emulating the colours of Capri’s Blue Grotto is the black Australian opal Acte V/The Escape earrings, surrounded by diamonds by Louis Vuitton.

Opals look great combined with yellow gold, as seen in the uniquely shaped High Jewellery Gaia ring by Lalique, which features opal triplets, hematites, diamonds, spinels, mother-of-pearl and lacquer, and is based on a sketch of a beetle with spread wings by René Lalique.