Museum exhibit features ‘exceptional collection of opals’
Museum exhibit features ‘exceptional collection of opals’
Opals are a vision of beauty. And that beauty is what drew Katherine Jetter to be a fan. It was during the trips back to Australia from England while she was growing up.
Jetter was approached by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs last year to help curate an exhibit.
The result is “The Wonderful World of Opals,” which is on display at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
“It’s a dream come true,” she says. “I’ve been very passionate about promoting the opal business.”
“The Wonderful World of Opals” features cut and uncut stones from Australia, Mexico, Ethiopia and Peru, as well as some set opal jewels from Jetter’s own collection.
A one-of-a-kind rough opal specimen from Australia that weighs over 160 pounds is part of the show.
Jetter says she worked with some of the world’s foremost opal miners in curating the project. In total, she produced a collection of over 50 specimens, some of the finest in the world, one of which is encased in a fossilized dinosaur bone.
“There were a lot of people contributing to the exhibit,” she says. “Some of the opals were in private collections and are on loan. Everybody wanted to share the beauty.”
Jetter says the majority of opal comes from Australia, which is where she developed her love for it.
“There is some black opal, which is very rare,” she says. “It’s amazing to have all these pieces in the same exhibit.”
Jetter was recently selected by jewelry historian Olivier Dupon as one of his top picks of 35 contemporary jewelers in the world, featured in his newly launched book, “Fine Jewelry Couture: Contemporary Heirlooms.”
“This is an exceptional collection of opals curated by a leader in the opal industry,” says Margie Marino, director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. “The museum is very proud to be able to work with worldwide partners to bring this exhibition to the people of New Mexico. This is a rare opportunity for visitors to the museum to see a whole opal in its raw state and examine how it is formed.”
Jetter has been working on rasing the profile of opals worldwide.
“When I was 24, I wrote a business plan on the way opals were seen on the world market,” she says. “I’m trying to bring the industry into the 21st century.”