In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II was going to make her first visit to Australia. The South Australian government wished to present her with the finest opal in all Australia as a gift, and set in motion an extensive search for such a gemstone.
The firm of Altmann & Cherny submitted a piece of rough opal which had been mined at Andamooka, and it was this piece that the government selected as the best quality gemstone to give to the English queen.
The opal was cut to 203 carats, and polished by John Altmann, and displayed a magnificent array of colours including red, blue and green. It was set with diamonds into an 18 carat palladium necklet.
What’s palladium? Palladium ihas been used as a precious metal in jewelry since 1939, as an alternative to platinum or white gold. It is slightly whiter, much lighter and around 10% harder than platinum.
It is one of the three most popular metals used to make white gold alloys.