If you are looking for opals you need a Long Wave (365nm) filtered torch. WE SPECIALISE IN TORCHES FOR OPAL HUNTERS.
The more powerful your torch, the more likely you are to find opals. Opal glows bright blueish-white under Long Wave (365nm) UV. Short (254nm) and Mid Wave (310nm) are of no use when hunting for opal because opal does not respond to them. 395nm and any unfiltered torches are also useless.
Our torches are being used by many opal hunters at Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy, White Cliffs, Andamooka etc. Note that most Boulder Opal does not fluoresce and we do not recommend you get a UV torch for Boulder Opal hunting.
All our LW torches (except for FL0) are suitable for Opal hunting. The more powerful your torch, the more likely you are to find opals. FL20 and FL9 are our most powerful. FL20 has a narrow beam and will reach much further than all the others. FL9 has a wide beam which lights up a much greater area, but therefore doesn’t reach as far as FL20. FL9 is preferred by opal miners who have a mine. Some open cut miners have bought both FL9 and FL20.
NOTE: Opal fluorescence has nothing to do with the daylight colours of the opal. Opal fluoresces a bluish-white colour regardless of how the opal looks in sunlight. You shine the UV torch on the ground at night and if you see a bright blue-white spot you pick up an opal. UV does NOT affect or enhance the beautiful white-light colours of opal. UV will not make those colours brighter or more intense. Only white light will do that. UV light is for looking FOR opals, bright white light is for looking at them.
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