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Opal Jewelry comes of age

Opal Jewelry is everywhere nowadays.  Years ago people hardly knew what an opal was, let along own a piece of the jewelry itself.  Keep in mind of course that the term ‘jewelry’ has a different spelling if you are from the U.K. or Australia, where the spelling is JEWELLERY, but thankfully ‘opal’ is pretty well international. Even the Europeans who insist on ‘opale’ are now more likely to type ‘opal’ into Google.

Opal Jewelry Size Increase

And the size of some of this opal jewelry is astounding.  Imagine wearing opal pendants the size of a small saucer?  Well that seems to be the trend among the fashion conscious and thankfully silver is still affordable enough to create very large settings without costing an arm and a leg.

Opal Jewelry – Pendants and Rings

Not just large opal pendants!  Opal rings are not to be forgotten either, and some of them are so large as to cover two or three female fingers.  Some of them could double as scarf rings. Fortunately, even though opal sources are beginning to run out in Australia, Boulder opal has come to the rescue and this material is often quite large, being boulder opal ironstone mixed with precious color.  Some of these pieces are amazing talking points as they are often viewed as ‘picture stones.’  That is, the precious opal combined with fascinating patterns of nature, produce pictures both similar to an item of nature of abstract like an oil painting.

Opal jewelry has indeed come of age. Often some of the more ambiguous opal mines are on the tip of the tongues of people living thousands of miles away from their source. And gorgeous pieces of opal are being displayed on the fingers and necks of people throughout the world.

Opal Earrings in the fashion world

Of all the varying types of jewelry worn, mainly by the ladies, it would have to be said that opal Earrings are second only to opal rings and opal pendants in popularity. Why would that be? Well it’s obvious that one of the main reasons why people wear things, whether it is clothes, shoes, or jewelry is not just for self esteem, but to impress others. It just so happens that the ears are quite prominent and are generally, apart from the neck perhaps, seen by more people. And if you like to keep up with appearances, earrings are certainly a consideration.  But in this case, not just ANY Earrings.  We are talking aboutOpal Earrings

Opal Earring designs

Just about every shape and size of opal has been used in rings.  All kinds of metals including copper, brass, stainless steel, platinum, palladium, gold and silver have been tried, along with coconut shells and wood. By far the most popular Opal Earring metal of course is gold and increasingly, because of the crazy price of the yellow metal, silver, and silver with gold plating.  Opal shapes can be round, oval, square, rectangular, triangular, octagonal, spherical; to name some of the main shapes, but increasingly opal is being cut in a free form shape, meaning that it can be any shape or size.  These shapes create quite a challenge for the manufacturer who usually can’t use a casting machine to make the finding(setting) but has to manufacture it by hand, which takes considerable time and expense.

Opal Earrings made from calibrated triplets

Opal triplets are very popular for to be used in Opal Earrings They are manufactured in many popular sizes, for example, 8×6, 9×7, 10×8, 14×10, 18×13. At www.opalmine.com there is a wide variety of these interesting designs in gold or silver metal to choose from. Of course with the price of Gold nowadays, it’s outside what a lot of people can afford, so silver is a great option, and it can be plated with pure gold to give the gold effect if desired, or left in it’s silver state and plated with rhodium to stop it tarnishing.

Opal Earrings, the perfect Ear decoration

Opal Earrings tend to dance about and flash here and there as the fingers and the hand moves about. It catches the eye of observers very quickly and makes a really interesting talking point. Size is the big factor in Opal Earrings because at least with opal, you can actually SEE what you are wearing instead of having to glare at it with a magnifying glass to see what the stone is.  You can have opal ring stones from just a few mms to really large ones that cover two and even three fingers, and the price does not have to be exorbitant because there are so many variations to the types of opal.  You can read more about this here

Gems from Land Down Under

Australia has many Gems but Opal is King

The following article from http://www.opalmine.com/blog/australian-opal/ doesn’t tell it all but gives a good summary

What is it about Australian opal that makes it any different to any other opal found in the world?  Yes, its true, even though the name Australia seems to be synonimous with opal, there are lots of places in the world that have opal in its various forms.  Historically, opal was first mined in Czechoslovakia (formerly Hungary) and for thousands of years, this was pretty well the only source of this amazing Gem.  However opal is found in places such as Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, Nevada in the USA, and many other places

So what is different about Australian Opal?

Small selection of black,boulder,and crystal opal

The small parcel to the left is a selection of unfinished black and crystal opals from the Lightning Ridge field. This parcel has sold but you can inquire about rough opal here if you want to learn to buy and cut your own rough opal. We make regular trips to the opal fields to make sure there is a constant supply of material to either make into jewelry or to onsell to manufacturing jewelers or opal cutters.

Its a fact that over 90% of the world’s opal is found here.  The opal fields stretch out over areas of the Australian outback as large as the whole of Europe and a day’s trip can span a distance of around 1500kms. Australia is such a large dry continent and the ancient inland sea combined with the right climate has produced a gem that is more secure than most other opals. Along with this, the variety of opals found in Australia can be spread into at least three categories, along with sub categories.  They are:

close-up of the patterns in Koroit boulder opal

Black Boulder Opal from Queensland

Australian Black Boulder opal is a gem found in sometimes very large, sometimes very small boulder ironstone concretions. The opal color is usually found in thin veins which are cut out using diamond saws. The face of the stone is determined by the opal cutter, and the ironstone carefully removed, exposing the opal color which remains on a dark brown ironstone backing. Thus giving the opal its dark or black appearance. These particular opals are becoming increasingly popular because they appeal to a very broad section of the community. From rich people who can afford to spend 5 to $10,000 and more dollars on a clean faced gem, to average people who might be able to afford $500 to $1000, and most of us who need to limit it to around $100 or so.  These opals are amazing in that they are often featured with all sorts of interesting patterns, shapes, and shades of color which are not always opal itself.  It can be various bands of two or three tone ironstone, along with cream or brown or green potch.  These stones are really appealing to people who love variety and natural looking jewelry right from the earth, not from a laboratory.

Black Opal from Lightning Ridge, New South Wales,Australia

Black Opal featuring orange green color

This magnificent gem is found in material called ‘black potch’ and is cut in much the same way as black boulder opal, the material actually being unformed opal, not ironstone. It is not uncommon for these stones to reach prices in the $20,000 and more, but of course there are many stones much cheaper. Usually more grey in appearance rather than black in the background. Black Opals are found in small lumps often called ‘Nobbies’ mainly at Lightning Ridge but black opal can be found in all the fields as seam and pipe opal, both in Queensland and in South Australia at the Coober Pedy and Mintabee mines.  Also Andamooka which produces crystal and black opal.

Crystal and White Opal from Coober Pedy, South Australia

Crystal opal free-form shape

Chrystal opal is more traditional in that historically speaking as far as we know; all opals were once a more delicate light, often translucent color. The stone again is delightful from a different point of view. Some folks prefer a less dramatic piece of jewelry and crystal, light, or white opal is more subdued but equally as fiery and amazing as the gem is rotated either on the finger as a ring or as a pendant around the neck.  If you would like to see any of these varieties as they look set as rings or pendants, please click here rings   pendants   Please note that you can select from the cheapest to the highest price in the dropdown at this link, or you can start with the most expensive if you prefer.

Australian opal has certainly come of age and has been mined in this area for over 100 years.

Attention has turned to Queensland since the black opal fields at Lightning Ridge have stalled in production of this rare Gem. Take a look at some of the amazing pieces coming out of the Yowah and Cunnamulla regions here

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Opal Rings For Sale

Example of delightful rectangular opal ring

Just imagine the amount of time, expense and overheads there are to setting up a retail store. Believe me, i should know, after having owned and managed the Opal Miner’s Hut in Tweed Heads for around 25 years. So the idea if you like opal, particularly opal jewelry, is to buy opal rings for sale direct and save a heap of money.  Here at the opalmine online store, you will find one of the largest collections of opal rings for sale, and because we spend practically nothing on advertising, we can afford to offer prices that will not only save you a lot of money, but a lot of time as well.  All the Opal rings for sale on this site are genuine Australian gemstones, not synthetic man made stones.

Opal Rings For Sale Buy direct and save

Not only money but enjoy the convenience of online shopping from the comforts of your office, your laptop, or from your mobile phone. And feel safe in the knowledge that all your orders are processed through paypal by means of a registered secure site.  If there should be any difficulties or misunderstandings, your refund is only a few clicks away.  You don’t have to tromp down to some retail shop and wait in a line with a piece of paper in your hand, and then be embarrassed to ask for your money back. It’s all done in total comfort and security.   Just take a look at the hosts of comments from our happy customers here.

Black Opal Ring set in yellow gold

Opal rings for sale online are numerous and varied and www.opalmine.com  gives you an extra more convenient shopping option. Take a look here for customers comments about shopping with us.

Good Jewelers are not always easy to find

Most people don’t realize but there are several specialized areas within the jewelry manufacturing process that are sometimes not known by all jewelers.  In some cases you will find that a jeweler can create a nice jewellery piece but you will find out that he often has to send it to another specialist to actually set the stone.  However some jewelers such as John, pictured below, have an all round skill permitting him to tackle just about anything.  John actually worked for a firm in England who did jewelry for the Royal family, so his experience was extensive.

John the Jeweler (or ‘jeweller’ as the say in Australia)

John, one of those jewelers with a heap of skill and patience

John unfortunately (for us) has retired now but when I think of jewelers, I always think of John.  You see, to be a jeweler (or ‘jeweller’ as we spell it in Australia and the U.K.) you have to have a number of skills, and not all of them have to do with being a master craftsman as John was (and is).  If you have ever had a go at making jewelry yourself as I, being an opal cutter, have done, you will realize that working with gold and silver, creating miniature things is a real challenge.  So you don’t just have to have years of experience, you also need patience, which John has, and I don’t have much of. Opal Cutting is a much more straight forward occupation.  I actually taught John how to sand and polish opals.  He learnt that very quickly and was able to make minor repairs without having to send the opals to a separate factory.

What different processes do jewelers use to create the jewelry?

Well, the traditional way of making jewelry is to take a piece of metal, either gold, silver, platinum, or Palladian (or indeed high quality stainless steel which is being used a lot more nowadays because of its enduring qualities), mill it (put it through a set of steel rollers which flatten the metal and make it into something you can cut and bend) and then start to saw, shape, weld and create a masterpiece by hand.  This is the old way of doing it that stretches back through history to the very beginnings of the human race.  It’s actually still the most sought after process.  It’s really nice to have something original, made by hand. However, unfortunately, not everyone can afford to pay for the time involved in this process, so other methods have been developed.

Other methods the jeweler uses to create masterpieces.

Jewelers can also apply the system that is called ‘lost wax casting.’ It must be said that while its true, modern innovative machines have been developed to perfect this process, the method itself is by no means new.  Casting too stretches back into history. All sorts of mediums have been used to make copies of things such as cuttle fish, sand (sand again) and clay. This involves the creating of a shape in the material to form the basis for the casting.  In the case of lost wax casting, the shape which is first carved in wax, is installed in a cylinder over which a creamy texture of special clay is poured.  It is  put into a furnace which hardens the clay and melts the wax (hence the term ‘lost wax’)  The hardened clay is then removed from the furnace and allowed to cool and the molten metal is poured into the cylinder down through a connecting tunnel called the ‘sprew.’  When the clay cylinder is split apart, the shape created by the wax is now replaced with the metal, leaving you with the basis for a fine jewelry piece. You can then copy and duplicate this casting with this method.

The Jewelers then finish the castings

Its now a matter of filing, sanding, and polishing to bring the jewelry piece to a finishing stage. If there are stones to be set, claws or bezels have to be filed and shaped to make them fit perfectly.  The jeweler has now completed the process.  There are other methods that jewelers can use as well but these will be discussed in another article.

Boulder Opal Rings are becoming more popular

The Boulder Opal Rings in the pictures below are examples of what are available from time to time at the opalmine site.  You can take a look in the opal shop to see what is available and leave a message on the blog below if you want to know how to order them. They come in and out of stock quite quickly because they are sold in job lots to dealers throughout Australia. Please note, some of these have already sold but there are new lines available.

Large Boulder Opal Rings -heavy sterling silver settings
1. 5584-28x22mm $195	2. 5585-28x22mm $195	3. 5600-28x22mm $170
4. 5586-28x22mm $150	5.5587-28x22mm $195	6. 5588-28x22mm $170

Boulder opal rings are made from stones found in very large boulder ironstone concretions in the western Queensland Opal fields.  The opal at the high end has full color across the surface of the gem but it can also be cut leaving the ironstone ‘mother’ as a part of the finished stone. This makes the stone much cheaper and at times more interesting, particularly for folks who prefer a more ‘natural’ look in their jewelry. Boulder opal rings certainly provide the right choice if this is the case with you.

Boulder Opal Rings being worn by both ladies and Gents.

Traditionally, the guys wore the larger rings but in recent times this is all changing.  The boulder opal rings are becoming so large that at times the feature stone spreads across more than one finger.  Such designs are possible if you are interested, so please leave your comments in the blog on this page.

One reason being that the fashion industry is turning in the direction of very large finger jewelry and boulder opal rings fit this category because they are just about the only opal that still comes in large chunks.

Jewelers and GOLD JEWELRY, as old as the human race itself

Never did the archaeologists expect to find amazing evidence of ancient jewelers and gold jewelry in the ruins of this ancient city. The anticipation was building. In the 1920’s Leonard Woolley had been given an assignment from the Pennsylvania Museum to do a thorough investigation of the newly discovered ruins of one of the most ancient cities in the world. Ur in Chaldea, modern Iraq, about 70kms south of Baghdad on the Tigris River. To his disappointment, most of the ancient ruins had been ransacked by thieves. In the words of Woolley from the book: Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. Woolley gives a summary of the tomb of Queen Puabi.

Evidence of Jewelers and Gold Jewelry in Ur of the Chaldees (modern Iraq)

“In the largest of all the stone-built royal tombs, which had been entered by robbers and most thoroughly plundered, there remained only one corner of the last chamber to be cleared, and we had given up expectation of any ‘finds’ when suddenly a loose bit of shell inlay turned up, and the next minute the foreman’s hand, carefully brushing away the earth, laid bare the corner of a mosaic in lapis lazuli and shell.” Evidence of jewelers and Gold Jewelry was staring them in the face.

Gold Jewelry dripping from the skeleton of the Princess of Ur

Six hundred burial places were uncovered. One of them was an immensely rich tomb that was dripping with gold jewelry. A woman’s handbag made from gold, containing gold makeup implements. A gold and silver dagger was also found made from electrum, a mixture of gold and silver alloys. The dagger had a handle made of a blue stone called lapis lazuli, not unlike the color of blue boulder opal seen at www.opalmine.com an intricate Gold Sheath was also discovered.

Precious stones with gold and silver jewelry

23 Servants lost their lives when the princess was buried and signs of their remains were in the tomb. There was a fortune in precious stones such as lapis and carnelian. The Queen had a gold band wrapped around her head and attached to it was a frontlet band of lapis lazuli with beads of carnelian and pendants made from gold bands.  There was another layer of Gold jewelry consisting of gold beaten into the shape of leaves and inlayed with lapis and a white paste.  She also had a comb made of gold and small gold roses and a pair of double Crescent shaped (‘Lunate’ or resembling the new moon) gold earrings.

Jewelers and Gold jewelry using beads as fillers, along with other gold implements

Her upper body and headdress had multitudes of small lapis and carnelian beads around her neck and as part of the diadem.  Other pottery items had been resting near the walls of the chamber for thousands of years, made of gold and other metals. A gold drinking stray was found as well.

Ancient Jewelers and gold jewelry from that time would not look out of place today

The amazing part about this selection of gold jewelry is that it would not look out of place in the window of a modern ladies department store. Styles of jewelry come and go, but the metals remain and go on and on, taking different shapes throughout the centuries of time but fitting basically into the same framework of pendants, rings, headdresses, bracelets and various types of clothing and hair attachments.

Abraham’s home town. Dripping with gold jewelry

Ur was the hometown of the famous patriarch, Abraham, and his wife Sarah, who were asked by God to leave the city and travel up through the Mesopotamian valley in the direction of the Jordon River, which they did, after spending time with relatives in Aram to the north. Thousands of clay tablets have been found, outlining the life and times of people who lived in this era and it has been said that in some cases what happened then has been better documented than other more recent periods of history. Its certainly true that those amazingingly artistic jewelers and gold jewelry they created is on a par with what is still being made today. Take a look here to see some of the modern creations from modern jewelers and gold jewelry using gold as well as silver.

Koroit Opal Mine, west of Cunnamulla, south west Queensland

I visited Koroit opal field back in 1973. It was on a property called Boobora station. What attracted me most of all as we rattled along the old corrugated road between Cunnamulla and Charleville, western Queensland, was the beautiful streams of hot crystal clear water gushing from bore heads. We stopped and drank in the scene more than the water, to see the contrast between this glassy pool of reflective fluid, and the dried out terrain of the Australian outback.

Example of what a bore drain can do. This one is in Yowah, not far from Koroit opal mine.

Of course back in those years, Renate and I knew very little about the history of the bore drains, installed by the old station owners to water their sheep and cattle. Even less about the amazing opal stones that were cleaved from the harsh ground.

Somewhere I have a photo of myself, glaring down one of these holes dug by old opal miners dating back to the 19^th century. They must have been on to something, judging by the amount of work they did. We didn’t find any opal during that visit, and it wasn’t until the mid eighties that we returned for further investigation.

My Mate Roger and I at Koroit opal mine

My mate Roger and I decided to take our families on a little vacation to the Queensland opal mines. We were invited to stay in an old shearer’s camp for a couple of weeks. The kids had a wonderful time gathering wood for fires during the day and lighting up the old wood burning fire at night. The food was good and in between potato throwing fights at night and lots of fossicking in the old opal dumps during the day, it gave them an experience that they have never forgotten.

Anita, Cindy, Sally, and Darin, heading for the opal fields.

At the opal show at Yowah, west of Koroit opal mine

Opal Hut Koroit opal mine

When we first starting digging opal at Koroit, we were looking for full color stones without any ironstone inclusions. We acted in ignorance, not realizing that various people have different opinions about what looks better in opal. Many people, particularly Europeans and Scandinavians in particular really like the interesting patterns, shapes and often ‘pictures’ seen in these beautiful pieces containing precious opal and ironstone mixed.

All sorts of attempts have been used to describe this combination of earth’s materials. Expressions such as ‘Matrix‘, meaning ‘A situation or surrounding substance within which something else originates, develops, or is contained’. Or in feminine terms ‘womb’ from which the word ‘maternal’ or ‘mother’ originates. This word was applied to this special stone to describe small precious flecks of opal captivated or held by mother ironstone. The varieties of this matrix are endless. I have coined the expression ‘Abstract’ opal to describe interesting patterns and shapes within the stone which have no   recognizable similarity, but like an abstract oil painting, can be so fascinating to observe.                                                                  Jumbo and Maggie at Eulo, near Yowah

Other types gems of the Koroit opal mine, similar to Yowah and boulder opal from further north, can be described as picture stones in that they present a pattern or shape that has a similarity to something known in nature, be it clouds, animals, heavenly bodies, sea creatures, etc.

The Koroit Opal Mine diggings have become much more extensive in recent years. I visited there back in the 60′s when they were still digging with picks and shovels. At the time there was no one there. The field had been abandoned.  But the whole area is

opening

up again.

An Opal Hut at Lightning Ridge South of Koroit

Pair of Marino sheep

Pair of Birds. Quipie.

The Tree

The Snake. Koroit.

The Swan from Koroit.

Bullrushes

The Prawn or Shrimp

My Old friend Dot Connerly of Mt Isa north of the Qld Opal fields

Opalmines of Australia

Opalmines of Australia were discovered  back in the mid nineteenth century. Often they were discovered by chance while various outback men were going about duties far removed from the idea of looking for precious gems, in this case opals. Here is a government report on these opal fields.

Queensland Opalmines of Australia

There are many stories about how opalmines were first worked but one that seems pretty accurate is that it was first begun by a geologist from Germany by the name of Johannes Menge who apparently found common opal of a green color at Angaston in South Australia. In 1868, at Listowel Downs near Blackall in Western Queensland, opal was found in thin veins inside large ironstone boulders. Hence the name ‘Boulder opal’ Later, in 1871 the first lease allowing digging to be done was recorded in the Quilpie area. I first caught site of Boulder opal at Quilpie in the shop of a local chemist, Des Burton, who gradually gave up medical practice in favor of opal mining. Des, who has now passed away, became one of the biggest boulder opal miners in Australia. He was a kind man who gave work to a lot of guys who had problems with alcohol and the hard work often kept them off the grog. Des’ company is still mining and is being administered by his son.

Working in the Opalmines of Australia is one of those pastimes that is not for the faint hearted or the city dweller who enjoys all of life’s comforts. It’s often associated with heat, flies, and hard work, but the rewards are really amazing. Some opal miners say that, when their mine produces precious opal, it makes their heart skip a beat and the feeling is far superior to other life’s pleasures.   (Picture to the left is Dennis Su Fong who has accompanied me in the opal industry for the last 30 years or so. Note the aircraft seats in the bush setting. this is typical of what you find in the opalmines of Australia. You never know what will turn up way outback.

Mining Opals at white Cliffs one of the Opalmines Of Australia

The first commercially viable opal field was discovered at White Cliffs in NSW in 1894. This field produced large volumes of crystal opal and if you look at a picture of this field from the air, you are really amazed at the amount of work that has been put in to this field. The surface looks like the craters of the moon and all of the digging was done until recently with a pic and shovel and a hand driven windlass.

White cliffs opal mining ended about the time the First World War began in 1914. It was not until the mid seventies that other opal miners brought Caldwell drill equipment from Coober Pedy, that a brief new field started with some excellent finds.

Coober Pedy, one of the largest Opalmines of Australia

When White Cliffs closed down, the focus of opal mining shifted states to South Australia when a young boy by the name of Willie Hutchinson discovered a piece of opal on top of the ground in a place later called ‘Coober Pedy’ which is an aboriginal name meaning ‘white man in a hole.’ This opal field became the capital of opal in the world being the largest field ever discovered. Opalmining in Coober Pedy continues to this day, although some say it’s starting to run out. Here are some examples of white and crystal opal from these fields.

Opals mining activities spread to Mintabie and Lambina

Later, north of Coober Pedy toward Alice Springs, central Australia, the opalmines of Mintabie was discovered and became a major field in itself. Mintabie opal was often very dark, similar to Lightning Ridge and some say the color was as good. Another field called ‘Lambina’ was also discovered to the east of Mintabie which also produced some magnificent opal.

Other Opalmines of Australia in Queensland

In the meantime, the boulder opal fields in Queensland continued to expand and opal was discovered as far north as Opalton, down through Winton, then to Blackall, then Quilpie region where lots of other opalmines were producing including Jundah, Eromanga, Bull Creek, to name a few. Very important to mention as well are the smaller opal fields down near the NSW border, Yowah, Black Gate, and further east toward Cunnamulla, the Koroit opal field.

Opals in Australia take on a different aspect. Lightning Ridge

Opals of Australia took on a different aspect and Lightning Ridge opal field of course, cannot be left out of this story, being as it is, one of the fields that stand out from the others because of the discovery of what came to be known as black opal, the prince of all opals. That was reportedly in 1873 when the manager of Muggarie Station (later Angledool station) discovered the stone while prospecting in the Nebea area. In 1887 more opal was found in a gravel pit, nine miles from the town. In 1890 a rabbit trapper named Jack Murray found opal when setting a trap. Since then, the rest is history. Many opalmines have been found in this area. Sheepyards, Grawin, Coocoran, and heaps of other opalmines in the direct area of Lightning Ridge.  This is a typical scene of opal machinery amongst the mullock heaps.

Tourism at the opalmines of Australia

Many tourists make their way to these outback places today. Folks from all over the world, particularly Europeans from Germany, France, Spain. Americans and Englishmen and women are fascinated with these opal fields so far from civilization. Some never go home again. The town of Lightning Ridge must have around 50 different cultures and languages including aboriginals who are probably some of the most successful opal miners.

stove-heater made from a 44 gal drum. typical of the initiative shown by opal miners.

So the Opalmines of Australia, whether they be in Queensland, South Australia, NSW, or anywhere else, are fascinating places to visit whether you are actually mining opals yourself, or just fossicking and visiting. If you do want to get into the excitement of this lovely stone, keep in mind that you can buy rough opal from sites like this, learn how to cut and polish it, and set it into jewelry. Please leave your details on this site if you want to know more about this, or if not, make some comments below for the benefit of all readers.

The easiest ‘pics’ to use for opal mining

At www.opalmine.com you are sure to find opals and believe me, it’s cheaper to spend a few dollars on them than try to dig for them. Paper picks are far more effective than the steel variety, if you know what I mean. But you will find much more at Opalmine.com. You can bury your head in the opal encyclopaedia. You can tour the Australian outback. You can obtain your own collection of opal books. You can become an opal expert yourself with the CD ‘OPAL BLOKE’ which records 30 years of opal experience from the author, Peter Brusaschi. and if that’s not enough you can as questions about opal and talk to your opal friends from all over the world in the opalmine chat forum. A visit to opalmine.com is a smooth ride. You don’t need a 4WD. You don’t even need a car, or a pushbike. just click on www.opalmine.com and enjoy the experience.

Best wishes from the land down under. The home of Kangaroos, Crocodiles, Emus, Auzzie rules football. and Opalmines of Australia.

10 Questions You Should Ask When Buying Boulder Opal

1. What IS Boulder opal? Well, boulder opal is a variety of black opal. The actual terms were defined in the current opal nomenclature and a correction was made from a previous understanding that the term black opal only applied to Black Opals from Lightning Ridge, which is the traditional source of supply. However it has become known that Boulder opals can also be described as a black opals because of their dark background.
2. But I thought that Boulder Opal had a brown background, not black! Yes, it’s true that boulder opal comes from a ‘mother’ or ‘matrix’ of boulder ironstone. The stone is cut in such a way that the ironstone is left in the background to give the thin veins of color a base . However, the brown ironstone is so dark at times that it creates the same effect as black opal potch does in opals from Lightning Ridge. Hence it can be described as a variety of black opal
3. What is the color of Boulder opal? The answer is ANY color. Black opals can be blue, green, yellow, red, orange, purple and of course, a combination of all these colors. Remember, a good quality black opal is not black. It has the ability if you could call it that, to suck all the colors from the rainbow and display them in all their variations.
4. How do you know a good quality Boulder opal? The main thing is to allow your eye to perceive what is brighter and more dramatic. The blacker the background, and the brighter and more stunning the foreground, is the best indicator of a good black boulder opal.
5. What is the difference between a black Boulder opal and a dark Boulder opal? Well, they are really from the same family. All black opals are dark opals but an opal with a background that is greyer is called a dark opal, not black. For the purpose of identification, often dark opals will be listed as black opals because not many people know the technicality, but the fact is that a good quality black opal is always very dark in the background.
6. How come some Boulder opals with creamy or lighter colored sandstone backs are still called black opals? This is a very good question, and the answer is that sometimes there is a strip of really black potch or dark ironstone directly under the foreground color, giving the stone a really dark background. But then under that strip of dark material, there is a strip of lighter colored sandstone. This doesn’t matter because the important part is that the background of the color is still black if the color is sitting directly on the dark area.
7. Why do boulder opals from Australia have such a good reputation? Because Australia, being a very old dry continent, has opals that have dried out over a very long period of time and are less prone to cracking or crazing. There are some very beautiful stones from Africa and the USA and South America, to name a few of the countries but generally they are only appropriate for specimen purposes, not to be set in jewellery. This is only a general comment because there are opals from these countries that have not cracked but you have to be very careful because they may in time. In the case of Boulder opal, the ironstone gives the opal very good support and so it is very unusual for a boulder opal to crack or craze.
8. Are all Australian Boulder opals free from the problems of cracking or crazing? Generally yes. If a boulder opal is going to crack or break, it always happens in the cutting process. Having said that, only deal with reputable opal merchants with many years of experience because unscrupulous dealers will try to sell you an insecure opal for a top price. Opal cracking is not a big problem but it does exist.
9. Is there any particular shape that is preferable in Boulder opal? The traditional shape for black opal is oval with a high dome, and this has resulted in a lot of good quality opal being wasted because cutting an oval out of a piece of rough opal is not very economical. In recent years the public has woken up to the fact that free form black opals are just as, if not more interesting to look at as the ovals. Black boulder opals have never succumbed to the tradition of only cutting ovals. Most boulder opals are cut as free forms.
10. What is a Boulder Opal undulate? Well, you won’t hear that expression used anywhere else but from this writer as it was more or less invented by myself to cover an area of opal finishing that has not been addressed, as far as I know. In recent years to save wastage of a gemstone that is fast becoming extinct, the practice has been to use dental drills to clean up the surface of the black opal by removing any imperfections, thus creating a stone with ‘hills’ and ‘valleys’ or ‘undulations. These pieces are really magnificent and I have applied this term to describe them.

More things to keep in mind when buying Boulder Opal

Where can I find out more about boulder opals? You can access the opal encyclopaedia at www.opalmine.com where you will find a discussion of all the other types of opal too, as well as the industry, the people, the surroundings, the mines that are associated with them. Boulder opal is certainly a must see gem. When combined with either gold or silver jewelry, (second pendant from the top left) the results are stunning.

Make sure you check all of the Ten things to keep in mind when buying boulder opal.

as this will help you avoid the trap of getting something that you thought was a solid boulder opal when in actual fact was an opal doublet that looked like a real boulder opal. If you have any comments about this article, please list them below in this blog.  Maybe you can add one or more to the ten things to keep in mind when buying boulder opal, and this will be to everyone’s benefit.

10 Questions You Should Ask When Buying Black Opal

1. What IS black opal? Well, for a start, it’s NOT BLACK and that’s why it can be confusing to the novice wanting to buy one. The term Black Opal was first coined to fill a need to define its difference from previously known opals which were always of a pale or clear color. Black opal is an opal with a dark background.
2. What is the color of black opal? The answer is ANY color. Black opals can be blue, green, yellow, red, orange, purple and of course, a combination of all these colors. Remember, a good quality black opal is not black. It has the ability if you could call it that, to suck all the colors from the rainbow and display them in all their variations.
3. How do you know a good quality black opal? The main thing is to allow your eye to perceive what is brighter and more dramatic. The blacker the background, and the brighter and more stunning the foreground, is the best indicator of a good black opal.
4. What is the difference between a black opal and a dark opal? Well, they are really from the same family. All black opals are dark opals but an opal with a background that is greyer is called a dark opal, not black. For the purpose of identification, often dark opals will be listed as black opals because not many people know the technicality, but the fact is that a good quality black opal is always very dark in the background.
5. How come some black opals with grey potch (even light grey potch) are still called black opals? This is a very good question, and the answer is that sometimes there is a strip of really black potch directly under the foreground color, giving the stone a really dark background. But then under that strip of black potch, there is a strip of lighter colored potch, even grey to white. This doesn’t matter because the important part is that the background of the color is still black.
6. Why do black opals from Australia have such a good reputation? Because Australia, being a very old dry continent, has opals that have dried out over a very long period of time and are less prone to cracking or crazing. There are some very beautiful stones from Africa and the USA and South America, to name a few of the countries but generally they are only appropriate for specimen purposes, not to be set in jewellery. This is only a general comment because there are opals from these countries that have not cracked but you have to be very careful because they may in time.
7. Are all Australian black opals free from the problems of cracking or crazing? No, just because the opal is from Australia, even from Lightning Ridge which has the best reputation for secure opals, there are some mines that produce opal that is not secure. Only deal with reputable opal merchants with many years of experience because unscrupulous dealers will try to sell you an insecure opal for a top price. Opal cracking is not a big problem but it does exist.
8. Is there any particular shape that is preferable in black opal? Well, the traditional shape for black opal is oval with a high dome, and this has resulted in a lot of good quality opal being wasted because cutting an oval out of a piece of rough opal is not very economical. In recent years the public has woken up to the fact that free form black opals are just as, if not more interesting to look at as the ovals.
9. What is an opal undulate? Well, you won’t hear that expression used anywhere else but from this writer as it was more or less invented by myself to cover an area of opal finishing that has not been addressed, as far as I know. In recent years to save wastage of a gemstone that is fast becoming extinct, the practice has been to use dental drills to clean up the surface of the black opal by removing any imperfections, thus creating a stone with ‘hills’ and ‘valleys’ or ‘undulations. These pieces are really magnificent and I have applied this term to describe them.
10. Where can I find out more about black opals? You can access the opal encyclopaedia at www.opalmine.com where you will find, not just a discussion of black opals but of all the other types of opal too, as well as the industry, the people, the surroundings, the mines that are associated with them. You might even find inspiration to visit these places and search for black opal yourself.

If you don’t have any machinery, you can do it by hand this way:

1. You have to find a piece of opal that is not too large so that it can be handled easily and has a fairly flat or domed surface.
2. Buy yourself some wet and dry sandpaper from the hardware store. If you need to take a lot of material off to get to the color or to shape it a bit, you will need to get some 220 grit sandpaper. You can attach the sandpaper to a small block of wood by wrapping it around the block and stapling it or nailing it to the back
3. You can make another block of wood using 320 grit sandpaper, then 600 grit, and finally 1200 grit.
4. You can then stick some split chrome leather (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather) to another block of wood. You might have to ask someone in a shop that repairs leather goods to find out what this is. It’s usually green tough leather, rough on one side.
5. You have to get some cerium or tin oxide for the final polish. You can get it from a lapidary (stone cutting) supplier, or someone who has to polish scratches out of glass. People who make headstones for graves also use it and maybe people who do terrazzo polishing of tiles.
6. If you want to get a bit more sophisticated you can buy one of those dremmel machines from the hardware store which gives you a whole bunch of little wheels. In this way you can cut the sandpaper and the leather into little discs, and stick them on to rubberised mini discs that come with the machine. You can use the rubber from old bike or tyre tubes for this.
7. Get some contact cement from the hardware store for all your sticking needs but if you are using a mini disc, first you cement the rubber on to the disc with contact cement, then stick the sandpaper onto the rubber using disc cement which is like contact cement but remains sticky.  Remember to allow the contact cement to dry overnight before putting the sandpaper on or it will be too tacky.
8. When sticking with contact cement, you put the cement on both sides of whatever you are sticking together and let it dry for about fifteen minutes before pressing the two surfaces together.
9. You will have to do it this way when you cement the leather on to the rubber. Then you make slurry with water and cerium oxide and put some on the leather. You can also put some on the opal you are polishing.
10. Just experiment until you get the hang of it. Just make sure all fine scratches are out of the opal before you attempt to polish it with cerium. So this is a method you can use to polish an opal with little or no equipment. Of course, if you want to learn how to do it properly, using opal cutting machinery that you can either make yourself, or purchase, please go to http://www.opalmine.com/opal-encyclopedia/buyer-and-lapidary-hints-and-tips/ for some advice and a short video. You can also get a cd called ‘Opals for the Ordinary Bloke’ for $35 or free with a parcel of rough opal. This gives you over 30 years of experience in mining, cutting, setting, and marketing opal.  If you don’t understand some of the comments made here, just leave a message on the blog at opalmine.

There are about 1000 opals for sale at OpalMine

Opal Jewelry For Sale

You can get opals for sale that are already set in jewelry, (or jewellery if you come from the United Kingdom.) Opal rings, pendants, necklaces, brooches, earrings, bracelets, tie tacks, tie bars, cuff links. Opal jewelry for girls and boys, ladies and gents. Opals set in 9k, 14k,18k yellow and white gold. Opals set in 925 sterling silver either with silver finish or coated in 24k gold. Special pendant and earring matching sets are available for under $100 set in pure sterling.

Unset Opals For Sale

Unset opal makes a great choice when looking for opals for sale that you can buy to have set yourself. Maybe you have a favourite jeweler who can design and set opals for you, or you can take advantage of our free design service at here at OpalMine. Feel free to leave a comment at the end of this page if you want some help in this direction. Even if you have dreamed up some design or shape and you don’t like drawing. Just scan in a rough sketch of your idea and we can help you finish it.

Rough Opals For Sale For Lapidarists & Opal Cutters

Rough opal from all the major fields of Australia starting from:

• Coober Pedy Rough Opal for Sale. The South Australian Opal fields produce the most popular type of rough opal, particularly for beginners because it’s less of a challenge to cut. Opal from these mines is parcels of opal like this for sale here, along with special instructions as to how to process it called White, Milk, or Crystal opal. You can find out all about these terms if you go to the encyclopaedia at www.opalmine.com You can also get information about how to cut and polish these stones, particularly if you are introducing a young person to this interesting hobby that easily converts into a business.
  
• Rough Lightning Ridge Opal For Sale from Western New South Wales Opal fields which produces opal similar to Coober Pedy except that it is usually black or dark in the background instead of white, but these mines also produce a percentage of crystal opal. There are heaps of little parcels of Lightning Ridge Opal for sale on this site
  
• Queensland Rough Boulder Opal For Sale. This is an entirely different kind of opal that is cut out of very large boulder ironstones and the only way to buy this without risk is to make sure it has been cleanout out of the mother rock so that you can see where the color is. There are lots of little parcel not so expensive to start off with.
  

Opal cutting ebooks and CD for sale

‘How to’ books and CDs make a great gift, particularly when they give you full instructions (also see Buyer and Lapidary Hints and Tips) about processing opal and how to manage it and taking opal from the rough and end up with your own opals for sale.

Pretty,… Good Jewelry

‘Pretty good jewelry‘ well, that’s an expression that has taken on a meaning that is completely at odds to what it says. Let’s take the expression apart. It says that the jewelry is pretty. Then it says that it’s ‘good’. What does that mean? It means that the jewelry is pretty, and it’s good. So why do we think when we read that expression that the jewelry is just a bit good or even a bit ordinary. Dunno! Haa that’s the English language I guess. In any case, that’s what you want when you are buying jewelry. Something that is REALLY PRETTY and REALLY GOOD at the same time. So good jewelry that you will be proud to give it to your loved one or yourself, if you love yourself more than your loved one (L.O.L again)

Wholesale Jewelry

Of course, you might be a reseller of jewelry, and you are looking for Pretty Jewelry that you can buy for re sale, in other words Wholesale Jewelry.

What about if you say “I’m poor, can I buy good jewelry cheap?”

Well, if you are in this category you are not alone. Quite apart from the recent international economic downturn, there have always been heaps of poor people who have to count their pennies every time they buy a loaf of bread. This is often not of their doing. They could be really industrious people who because of circumstances, perhaps marriage breakups, or being owed a lot of money, or just in a very difficult social situation where most folks are really poor, have no spare cash to spend on luxuries like jewelry.

Does this mean if you are poor, you can’t enjoy some of life’s little jewelry luxuries

Not at all. Fine and good jewelry can be interpreted a lot of ways nowadays. In old times you had to be rich to own anything that looked pretty but with the onslaught of all sorts of laboratory produced stones, practically everyone can afford something to brighten up their lives. In the case of diamonds for example, the laboratory produced stones are so good that some jewelers without special equipment would find it very difficult to tell the difference, and guess what? Some of these synthetics shine brighter than the real thing and are just as hardy. Like diamond, a lot of them are near impossible to scratch, so you don’t have to worry about wearing them in the garden except that you could dislodge them from the setting. This applies equally to real gems as well as lab produced ones.

Real gemstones are possible too even if you are poor.

But it IS nice to own some good jewelry that is natural even if it’s only to flash them in front of your friends and make them a bit jealous. Take Opals for example. Opal is one of the only gemstones which cater for all types of pockets. Opal can be manufactured in such a way that you can have a stone that is not expensive but is still a real, natural, gem. This is because opal comes in such a large variety of colors, shades, depths, and values. For example, solid white opal from Coober Pedy in South Australia is a stone that is quite opaque, that is the color sits on the surface of the stone. This makes it a much cheaper gemstone in the eyes of the opal merchants, and yet a very large proportion of people just love the more delicate features of this cheaper opal gem.

7x5mm opals set in pure 925 sterling silver including snake chains from under $60 to under $100

Black opal is often not for the poor

And yet, the same features of a black opal can be duplicated by merely cutting the white or crystal opal thinner and setting it in a black background with a crystal cap to protect it.(as illustrated in the pics) Some of these much cheaper stones, even really large ones can be purchase already set in precious silver for under $100 and they look like something worth $5000 and more.

Good Jewelry can ad “sparkle” to life

So you can see that Good Jewelry, particularly good OPAL jewelry is not always the possession of the rich. Most folks can enjoy it’s beauty and add a little more “sparkle” to life. Take a look at www.opalmine.com. Particularly the section specializing in lower priced good jewelry.

Jewelry Australia Manufactures

‘Jewelry’ or as we spell it here ‘Jewellery’ (U.K. Spelling)

When it comes to jewelry Australia is very much influenced by our national gemstone, Opal. In the past it has been a challenge for designers to come up with ideas that will enhance the opal and get away from tired old designs with a swirl of gold here and there without much imagination.

Problem with designing jewelry Australia style, when setting opals

The opal stone itself seems to dominate just about any style you come up with and the fascination lies in the fact that nature has allowed the opal to take on the colors of many different gemstones and this tends to dominate over the style of the setting. Pliny The Elder, Roman naturalist (AD23-79) CE put it this way:

Pliny’s intriguing description of opal (colour in U.K.)color

“The opal is made of the glories of the most precious gems, which places it beyond description, for amongst them is the fire of the ruby, the rich purple of the amethyst, the sea green of the emerald, the blue of the sapphire, all glittering together in union indescribable. Some by the intensity of their hues, equal all the painters colors, others the flame of burning brimstone, or of fire quickened by oil. ”

The Jewelry Australia produces has international flavour

On a recent trip to Sydney I tried to find a traditional Australian to ask directions. I couldn’t find one in a large shopping centre. This illustrates that Australia is very much a cosmopolitan country today made up, not of traditional Europeans from England and Ireland as was once the case, but rather people from many other countries. Each of them have brought their own traditions, cuisines, fashions, and yes, the jewelry Australia now produces, design wise, is a mixture of all these varieties.

Australia produces a large quantity of the world’s precious stones

The jewelry Australia produces has been influenced a lot by the precious stones available in this country. Of course, much of our country’s sapphires and opals are exported to the rest of the world and a lot of Australian production is done using the skills of overseas jewelry manufacturers as well but having said that, the higher grade investment opal jewelry is mostly produced in Australia.

Australia produces a variety of jewelry types

Opal pendants, opal earrings, opal rings, opal bracelets and gent’s jewelry as well, but out of all these types of jewelry, Rings and Pendants are the most popular. In recent years the emphasis has gone away from complicated designs to plainer, bezel set styles. This influence has come mainly from Germany where people’s tastes are more straightforward than complicated. A few years ago when Japan started buying Australian Opal in a big way, the designs were mainly very small and dainty. Nowadays with European design influence, the opal pendants and opal rings have been getting larger and larger.

Take a look at the designs in the shop on this site to see all the varieties of jewelry Australia has on offer.

Australian Opal Jewellery at the old Opal Miner's Hut at Tweed Heads, Australia

Australian Opal Jewellery Today

Australian opal jewellery has finally come of age. In the past decade or so, the Australian government has seen fit to create a national gemstone and even though many other gemstones are found in this large continent, most of them are also found extensively in other countries. Not so with opal. Even though of course there are opals in a number of other countries, over 90% of the worlds opals come from Australia and opal jewellery has been a by product of this industry

This is where it starts at the opal mines – Peter and Jim at Lightning Ridge

Why Australian Opal Jewellery is arguably the best in the world

Well, I guess, this statement coming from Australian could be perceived as being a bit prejudiced, but having said that, opal cutters like myself have certainly experimented with opals from other countries and the results have been extremely disappointing. You see, opal, being a hydrated silica, has a certain percentage of water in it and this has the effect of making some opals insecure. You can successfully cut opals from countries which have high water content in the opal, if you do the cutting process under water and keep the opal as cool as possible. However, when the stone comes into everyday use, even experiencing hotter or dryer climates, they easily shatter, and this can be a disastrous experience if you have payed a lot of money for the opal.

Australian Opal Cutter & designer at work

John the Jeweler doing work for opalmine

Australian opal is more secure for jewellery purposes

Because Australia is such an old dry continent, the opal that is found in the Australian deserts have had many thousands of years to dry out gradually and become very secure. Because of this, the Australian opal cutting process does not have to be so carefully kept under water. The opal cutter can more easily define scratches and imperfections when combining water with the dry sanding process. So Australian opal jewellery is far more secure and holds very little risk of crazing or cracking. Not so say that there are not some opal fields in Australia that produce insecure opal, but these are well known to experienced cutters who avoid them.

Advice when buying Australian Opal Jewellery

Try to buy from experienced opal dealers who have been doing it for a very long time. These cutters such as the resident cutter, Peter Brusaschi at opalmine has been processing opal for nearly 40 years and have large stocks of beautiful opals that have been out of the ground for a long time and have proved to be very secure.

Opal Jewellery itself

Opal Jewellery of course is set in a variety of different metals. For the fashion industry it can be presented in base metal, gold, silver, and rhodium or silver plated. With the crazy price of gold in 2010, the metal is pricing itself out of the average person’s pocket so much attention in recent years has been given to its less expensive sister, silver. Actually the pundants will tell you that the price of silver has a greater percentage potential to increase in value than gold in time and opal jewellers know that the white colored metal really makes opal stand out, even more so than gold. So with good reason. www.opalmine.com designers and opal jewellers have been emphasising the less expensive precious metal.

Australian opal jewellery set in silver

Another appealing part about using silver as the design medium in opal jewellery is the fact that, because it is not so expensive, the jeweller does not have to be as careful of the weight factor. Because of the price of gold, the jeweler is constantly trying to cut down on the amount of metal to keep the price down. Unfortunately, this sometimes makes for a less solid and secure setting, particularly when it comes to opal rings.

Weight of metal in Australian Opal Jewellery

The dollar value is not the only thing to keep in mind in regard to Australian opal jewellery design. The weight of the metal has a large bearing on the design potential. Much of the design at least at this point in history encourages rather large jewellery. Pendants and even rings are becoming huge in the fashion houses of the USA and Europe and a similar thing is happening with Australian opal jewellery. So with silver, the opal jewellery designer and the opal manufacturer can do “crazy” as it were, with imaginative creations that use lots of silver metal.

Boulder Opal Pendant. Modern heavy silver setting

Another Boulder Opal Pendant. Modern heavy silver setting

Beautiful Boulder Opal Pendant. More traditional swirl setting

Australian Opal jewellery at Opalmine

Take a look at the jewellery shop and get an idea of what is being done with opal jewellery here in Australia. And for all you folks in England, we apologise for the USA spelling of the word jewelry throughout the site. We in Australia also use the British spelling but have ended up using the American spelling for… ahem financial reasons

At least this article on Australian opal jewellery caters for the rest of the english speaking world.

How do i set up my computer – for Viewing opals online

This page will help you set a white point and balance your brightness and contrast settings to get the most of of the opal images displayed on www.opalmine.com. If you are not familiar with your monitor’s controls and set-up process, now is a good time to get your owner’s manual, then just follow the steps below.

Adjust Brightness and Contrast

When your monitor is properly adjusted, you will see 11 distinct zones in the image below, from pure black to pure white. If you do not see all 11 zones, use your monitors contrast and brightness controls to make any necessary adjustments.

Set White Point

The grayscale below presents 24 shades of gray from pure white to solid black. The pure white block at the far left should merge with the pure white bar along the top, while the second block of very light gray should display a bit darker than pure white. The solid black block at the far right should merge with the solid black bar along the bottom, while the block just to the left should display a bit lighter than solid black.

In the 2×2 table below, are four colors. One should be absolute black. Nothing on your monitor should be darker than the black square. Look at the black border around your monitor. It should be as black as this square. Next check the white square. Nothing should be lighter than it. The gray boxes and the white box should have no tints of other colors in them. No pink or blue!

Examine the graph below. Under the 0% column, there should be NO color, just plain bright white. If it is gray or dingy or has a color cast, adjust your monitor until that area is plain white. Under the 100% column, the colors should be recognizable, with a full rich representation. If they appear washed out, your monitor is probably
set too bright.

The best way to set this is to adjust your gamma curve up or down until the 10% shade difference between the 90% bars and the 100% bars can just be seen. If you adjust it too dark, you will not be able to see a difference between 90% and 100%. As you lighten them up, just at the moment you start to see the difference between the 90% bars and the 100% bars, STOP. The cyan bar will always appear correct first, but keep going until you start to see the 90% tint in the magenta and black bars as well. The yellow bar may never come in correctly, but don’t worry about it. The magenta and black bars are the most important. Once your white point is set and your tint bars look correct, you should be ready to view the opal images on www.opalmine.com, with the assurance
you are seeing them as the photographer Peter intended them to be seen.

My Hobby opal – Helpful Hints from an Enthusiast

My hobby opal. Working from home is the dream of many a hobbyist and with today’s revolutionary communication systems, there’s no reason why your hard work and fun in the garage cannot be turned into cash.  Cash that can not only pay bills but also buy more sophisticated equipment to make your hobby even more interesting.

After cutting opals for about 30 years, one day an old bloke walked into the Opal Miner’s Hut and said:  “How do you “dop” an opal?”  After a lengthy description of the traditional heated sealing wax method, he said “That’s a bit of a long winded way of doing it!!”  I swallowed my pride and listened to his simple suggestion.  His idea revolutionized my thinking of this procedure and caused me to create new, easier, and inexpensive methods of cutting opals.’  Excerpt, pages 1 and 2 of  ‘the ordinary blokes guide to opal‘.
- by Peter Brusaschi

My Hobby opal rough buying

I have been buying rough opal for 30 years, and every time I do so I remember a very successsful Japanese buyer who absolutely refused to buy anything that was not completely finished, even if he payed three times the price for it.  The reason he did this was that he was able to see exactly what risk he was taking and always made sure that his customers would pay him some profit.

However there are a bred of people out there, like me who for the sheer joy and excitement of attempting the unknown like to start from scratch to fashion our own future. For those few brave souls, rough opal  is a challenge waiting to happen. But you have to get it right if you are going to learn my hobby-opal and opal cutting.

Having said that, unless you have limitless supplies of money and have a gambling problem, may I suggest that you buy opal that has been brought to the next processing step. Rather than buying piles of stones that are often miners rejects hoping that you will find something the miner missed and paying excessive freight for goods that will just be put aside in your workshop, take advantage of what are called ‘rubs’ not, ‘rough’ opal. Rubs have had all the rubbish cleaned off them. They are usually left with all blemishes and imperfections, thus allowing you to use your skill in producing a perfect gem, but they take the risk out of buying rough opal.

On top of this, if you find you have bought a parcel of rubs and do not do well on the investment, you only have to complain to us and we will make it good on the next deal, if you show us the results of your cutting and it is determined that the value is not there.

So, study the rough being offered on this CD, keeping in mind that it is selling all the time and sometimes what you like has already gone. Still if you give me an indication of your needs, I can usually come up with something similar in time. Let me know if you want me to inform you of special bulk buys as they come up. (see p.s. below)

Good Cutting,   Peter

How can I decide which rough opal to buy to develop my hobby opal?

(1)  If you are a new cutter, just experimenting, I suggest you save up and spend $500(including freight) and get ‘the ordinary blokes guide to opal‘ thrown in for free. This will give you something to practice on and you will always cut some stones double the value of your cost. Of course you can buy as little as you like but you always get a much better deal if you can afford at least $500
(2) If you have some experience, please give me an idea of the type of material you like. If you let me know the type of stones you prefer to cut. i.e. for carving, free forms, ovals, specimens, doublets, triplets, inlays, etc, or a few of each, and I will arrange the parcel accordingly.
(3) If you are ordering boulder opal for cutting or carving, remember that polishing the ironstone in the boulder is a tricky experience. If you have not done it before, you will need some help.
(4) The photographs in the data base don’t show the full picture because of the shifting patterns of opal. Please ask for more details of any parcel.
(5) Of course, if the rough is not to your liking, you are able to return it, no questions asked, less the freight and insurance component.($20) But to cover you for this too, we will include an extra $20 parcel worth of rough that you may keep.
More information on buying rough opal

Everyone has a different viewpoint as to what is good value and what is not, depending on your market and your experience as a cutter. Hopefully, the following will assist all to get as close to expectations as possible. If ever you are disappointed with a parcel, please let me know, and I will make every effort to make you happy. I want you to buy again and again, so, even if I loose money at times, I will make it up in the long run by good service. However because of the amount of inquiries I get, and the difficulty of locating the right parcel, I cannot always give the service I would like to. I apologize in advance for this, but of course this is the nature of the business. Opals don’t grow on trees.

The last couple of years have been very difficult for the opal industry because of the running out of traditional fields and the failure to find new ones. You will be pleased to know that I have formed a partnership with a number of miners who have found some new fields and have come through with some new stock. Hopefully this will continue. If any of you are still interested, after being neglected, please let me know. Please take a look at the following points designed to help you make the right decision.

(1) Are you a new cutter, needing inexpensive parcels that you can practice on before venturing into the more expensive material? If so, give me an indication of your budget so that I can arrange the right parcel. This can be from $50 up, but keep in mind that if the parcel is heavy, the freight can cost around $30 or more. $100 parcels are usually the least you would want to order…but if the material is light, I’m happy to fit your budget as much as possible.

(2) If you need experience in cutting, keep in mind the CD “The ordinary bloke’s guide to opal” The cost of this CD covering 30 years of experience in the opal industry is just $35 plus freight and insurance, but it can be had freely if you order over $500 (including freight) worth of rough opal.

(3) If you are a professional cutter already, please give me an idea of the type of material you like. If you let me know the type of stones you prefer cutting. i.e. for carving, free forms, ovals, specimens, doublets, triplets, inlays, etc. Or a few of both. Of course each parcel will provide stones for various categories, but if you let me know this detail I can send a parcel which features your main preference. Sometimes customers have ordered parcels that do not fit their preferences and have been disappointed. I would like to avoid this as much as possible..

(4) If you are ordering boulder opal for cutting or carving, remember that polishing the ironstone in the boulder is a tricky experience. You can experiment with it but it is different to polishing opal and can produce disappointing results. The CD discusses these details.

(5) Please indicate if you prefer to buy rough as it comes out of the ground so that you can enjoy the “challenge” of exposing the color. Keep in mind that this can be very risky. You can do very well, or you can loose money. If you like gambling, this is the way to go. But don’t blame me if you loose your money. Usually I take the risk for you, expose the color, take a photograph, and either send you the graphic by email attachment, or post it on the net. I can then give you a commentary on the parcel as well to give you more details.

(6) Please indicate if you are used to buying opal by troy oz , by gram, by parcel lot, or by piece. I will try to give you these details. We hope that you too can say’ my hobby opal ‘ is a very satisfying passtime.