Huge opal sells for nearly $144,000 at Alaska auction.
This photo provided by Alaska Premier Auctions and Appraisals shows an opal specimen, Dec. 20, 2021. One of the largest opals in the world was sold for nearly $144,000 at auction in Alaska on Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022.
Most recently, it was kept in a linen closet in a home in Big Lake, north of Anchorage, by Fred von Brandt, who mines for gold in Alaska and whose family has deep roots in the gem and rock business. Von Brandt said the opal for decades was in the care of his father, Guy von Brandt, who decided it had been “locked up long enough, that it’s time to put it back out in the world and see what interest it can generate.”
The family, with roots in California, exhibited the stone at gem shows for years, until the early 1980s, he said. His father then branched out into furniture and displayed it at his shop. Guy von Brandt eventually moved to Oregon and kept the stone “kind of tucked away” for many years, von Brandt said.
“I with 100% certainty know that their provenance information is 100% accurate” because it lines up with information she has, she said.
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Huge opal sells for nearly $144,000 at Alaska auctionA gemstone, billed as one of the largest gem-quality opals in existence, has been sold for nearly $144,000 at auction in Alaska on Sunday
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Huge opal sells for nearly $144,000 at Alaska auctionA gemstone, billed as one of the largest gem-quality opals in existence, was sold for $143,750 at auction in Alaska on Sunday.
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Huge opal sells for nearly $144,000 at Alaska auctionA gemstone, billed as one of the largest gem-quality opals in existence, has been sold for nearly $144,000 at auction in Alaska on Sunday.
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Huge opal sells for nearly $144,000 at Alaska auctionJUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A gemstone, billed as one of the largest gem-quality opals in existence, was sold for $143,750 at auction in Alaska on Sunday.
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