Opal mine couple at city jewellers (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Opal mine couple at city jewellers

7:32am Wednesday 1st October 2008 in

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BIRMINGHAM-born John Wheeler was just another expat car dealer until he invested in an opal mine in Australia.

He took over the mining himself after being double crossed and became a wildcat miner, striking it lucky.

Now he and his jewellery designer wife Leisha travel the world showing and selling the gems from their mine in Lightning Ridge, in New South Wales.

They came to Jeremy France Jewellers, in the Upper High Street, Winchester, on Tuesday, September 30 and will be there until Saturday, October 4.

Mr Wheeler was ready to spend his life and last dollar prospecting for the most elusive and exclusive gemstone on earth - black opal.

Years of back-breaking work followed until, in 1994, Mr Wheeler found what he was looking for.

On a small piece of land leased from the Australian government he struck the biggest ever black opal claim extracting millions of dollars worth of beautiful, amazing opals.

The most expensive gem in the Wheeler's collection, costs £36,000 and is a 515 carat black opal called Tempest, the largest carved opal in the world.

There are three types of opal, only to be found in Australia, the white opal, the most common, the boulder opal, found in Queensland, and the rare black opal.

Mr Wheeler, 59, who went to Australia in 1978, said: "I was shown opals initially and I fell in love with the colours and they are all different. I was asked to invest in a mine so I sent money down to a mining group who ripped me off. I never saw an opal. After that I decided to go and see the mine in Lightning Ridge, had words with the people who ripped me off and decided to start doing the physical work myself, that was in 1982."

Mr Wheeler teamed up with a friend and worked solidly for 12 years before they found the high quality, rare, black opals in 1994.

"It was pot luck and when we found them it was like winning the pools," said Mr Wheeler.

Mrs Wheeler, who used to work as a nurse, said: "We are here for the first time. All of my designs are original and unique and are set in 18 carat white or yellow gold. Each gemstone is chosen by me from our mines.

"We have come 10,000 miles to Winchester and I would like the people of Winchester to come and see me before Saturday."

Jeremy France, said: "We have bought a collection from John and Leisha which is ready for Christmas. We invited them for a whole week so everyone can come up and see and experience these wonderful gems. Opals are one of my favourite stones and one of the most beautiful."

Opal facts: Opal is the birth stone for the month of October, along with pink tourmaline. The name opal is derived from the Sanskrit upala, meaning "precious stone," and later the Greek derivative "Opallios" meaning "to see a change of colour."

For years opals have been perceived to be unlucky. This is down to Sir Walter Scott, whose best-selling novel Anne of Geuerstein, written in 1829, was the story of Lady Hermione who is falsely accused of being a demoness and dies shortly after a drop of holy water accidentally falls on her opal and destroys its colour. The public took this to mean that the author was warning of the bad luck the opal can bring and within months of the novel being published, the opal market crashed and prices were down 50 per cent.

50 years later in 1877, an amazing black opal was found in South Wales, Australia, and the opal market recovered. These black opals took the world by storm and the discovery of these opals in Australia led to the decline of European production. Australia is still the principal source of black and white opal.

No monarch loved opal as much as Queen Victoria. She and her daughters created a trend for wearing opal and she was to frequently give opals as wedding presents as a symbol of hope, happiness and truth. Today it is traditionally given on the 12th and 18th anniversaries of marriage.