The
Glorious
Jubilee

The Glorious Jubilee is a freeform carving of natural black opal from the premier fields of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales. At 755.34 carats and measuring 106.00 × 85.00 × 14.00 mm, it is one of the largest and most completely documented specimens of fine black opal ever recorded.

Two independent GIA Identification Reports, issued eight years apart, confirm identical measurements, natural color, and the definitive finding that the stone is one piece, not assembled. A third examination by American Gemological Laboratories in 2024 independently reconfirms natural color, absence of treatment, and Australian origin.

The stone displays a vivid, non-directional play of color of exceptional consistency. Independent examination in 2010 recorded patterns transitioning from flashfire to pinfire to rolling flash, describing the phenomenon as presenting “almost every color of the rainbow.”

Acquired in 2004 by Tibor D. Shelley, the stone has remained in continuous private ownership ever since. It has never been publicly exhibited or offered at auction. Shelley’s standing is anchored by a verifiable institutional landmark: the Dark Jubilee, a 318.44-carat black opal that passed through his hands, was acquired by Zale Corporation, and was donated in 1980 to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where it remains under catalog number NMNH G8827. View the Smithsonian record

Mined at Lightning Ridge. Acquired by Tibor D. Shelley in 2004. Held in continuous private ownership ever since.

In a signed declaration dated 7 June 2010, Shelley confirms the acquisition date and states that he named the stone “Glorious Jubilee.”

The pre-2004 history remains prior to documented record — a standard and disclosed provenance gap.

Shelley’s authority rests on more than four decades at the highest level of the international opal trade and on a verifiable institutional fact: the Dark Jubilee (318.44 ct), which passed through his hands and now resides permanently in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH G8827). View the Smithsonian record

For a stone of this scale and certification, per-carat mathematics is subordinate to singularity.

Reference points include the Royal One (306 ct, offered at US $3 million after long private stewardship), the Dark Jubilee (now in the Smithsonian), the Flame Queen, Aurora Australis, and Pride of Australia. Documented interest in the Glorious Jubilee itself includes a 2010 independent valuation of USD 6.8 million, a 2010 offer of USD 5.5 million, and a 2023 owner asking price of USD 10.35 million.