It holds all the colors of the most important gems in the world: the red of the Ruby, the blue of the Sapphire, the green of the Emerald, and the yellows of the Canary Yellow Diamond. Opal is Mother Nature's painting on a gemstone, and its value is correspondingly high: Don Kogen has paid $200,000 for a single deposit of Opal before. Listen to this episode about the exciting Lightning Ridge Black Opal, a rare variety of Black Opal found only in Lightning Ridge, Australia. Don Kogen also touches on the Indonesian Opal, Ethiopian Opal, Welo Opal, and Harlequin Black Opal as he traces the lifespan of this rare gemstone.

You can find the podcast transcript and bonus features at https://www.katflorence.com/pages/journey-to-the-stone-lightning-ridge-black-opal

One in a hundred million Sapphires will be a Padparadscha, sporting a unique pink-orange color. Beloved by the Maharajas of ancient India, this rare stone gets its unique color through an uncommon, perfect mix of Iron and Chromium. Listen to Don Kogen talk about the sunrise and sunset Padparadscha, the California Gold Rush-style discoveries of the Ilakaka and Didy deposits in Madagascar, and the source of the name Padparadscha, which means “lotus.”

You can find the podcast transcript and bonus features at https://www.katflorence.com/pages/journey-to-the-stone-padparadsha-sapphire

Cleopatra and Elizabeth Taylor, Spanish royalty and Russian czars: Emerald has an illustrious history of admirers. Our Gem Hunter Don Kogen takes us through it all. Originating in Colombia’s Boyacá Highlands, Emerald was sacred in the religion of the indigenous Muzo people. Born of magma and Chromium, which gives the finest-quality Colombian and Russian Takovaya Emeralds their signature neon color, Emerald has caused obsessions so intense that they erupted into war—sometimes lasting for 50 years. Don Kogen has worked with churches to locate and evaluate the rarest and most historical Emeralds. And he has much to say about this otherworldly gemstone, which has times demanded over $200,000 a carat.

You can find the podcast transcript and bonus features at https://www.katflorence.com/pages/journey-to-the-stone-emerald