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 I was about ten years of age when I first set eyes on an opal. It was
in a ring on my grandmother's finger. It was love at first sight.
The next time I encountered opals was when I was about 30 years of age.
I was staying with a friend who was an opal cutter. This time I looked
at them through different eyes.
I remarked to my friend that a stone with such variety of unbelievable colours would be easy to sell.
My friend smiled and offered to let me take some of his opals on consignment and have a go at selling them. I think he asked $600 for a parcel of opal triplets (laminates), which was a lot of money in 1972. I decided to have a go at selling them, so I agreed on his price, took the opals, separated them carefully and priced them individually. I didn't know a thing about selling opal...but I just felt that such beautiful stones would have to be easy to sell. Maybe it was my initial enthusiasm...but I sold the lot in just a few days..by just calling in to businesse as I traveled into the countryside. Not long after this I decided to learn how to cut them myself...and that was the beginning of my opal business.
The
belt buckle shown here was one of the first opals I cut. Needless to
say, this particular piece is not for sale! The stone is a boulder opal
from the Queensland fields. I was selling boulder opals at a time when
people still thought they were doublets. Many valuable gems slipped
through my fingers at that time because of a lack of knowledge on my
part and a lack of appreciation from the public. Boulder opal now ranks
with black opal in terms of value and demand.
 My next step took me directly to the source. I acquired a claim at the opal fields in Lightning Ridge, home to some of the most beautiful opals in the world. It was exciting working this claim, but eventually, responsibilities at the coast forced me to sell the mine. Experience has shown me, that to be successful as a miner you really have to be dedicated and live on the job. My specialty is cutting and dealing and so I have stuck to that most of the time. I decided to focus on opal cutting and promotion, and that decision has brought me to this point. www.opalmine.com, is arguably the largest and most educational opal site on the internet, and my CD ROM "Opal for the Ordinary Bloke" continues to be well received internationally.
The Unlucky Stone
Some people say that Opal is an
unlucky stone. One thing I have found in life is that, if a person
really believes something, it's pretty useless trying to talk them out
of it, so I usually agree while adding, "It's true that opal is
unlucky...unlucky that none of us had the foresight to buy a few kilos
of it back in 1970 when you could have bought high quality crystal for
about $500 per troy oz." Today you would pay a few thousand dollars
per oz for the same material.
In the past 30 years, I have made many
friends in the opal industry. It is a pretty small community, and if
someone does not act honestly, it gets around pretty quick. Having a
good name in this industry is very useful, considering that at times,
large parcels of precious stones have to be handled, and dishonest people could easily cheat. But they usually get found out and are
avoided.
 "Des" the opal miner...by artist Graham Lees.
In recent years, my nephew, Peter Youngson, who specializes in Australian Sheepskin, has taken over the Opal Miner's Hut, and sadly the old building was demolished a few years ago, but Peter has a new shop in Tweed Heads which he calls 'the Sheepskin Hut'. His sister Malvie, who has been working there since the mid 70's, now cares for the Opals. Malvie was about to retire a few years ago but we just couldn't do without her, and she now works on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Try to turn up on those days if you want to meet her. If you are in Australia, you can ring the shop on 0755364907 to get directions. This has given Peter more time to concentrate on exporting through opalmine.com. The internet has meant he can give more personalized attention to the tens of thousands of customers we have dealt with over the years, over 8000 of whom have signed our visitors book.
I've also displayed and dealt with
business associates in the Holidome at the famous Tucson Arizona Gem
Show, where I sold about $30,000 worth of opal in four days. For a
while I enjoyed displaying at the International Fossil and Mineral show
in Tokyo. It. s amazing as you go from one international show to the
other, how many people turn up that you. ve seen before.
After many years dealing in opals, my eyes still sparkle when I see a
beautiful stone--just the way they did when I saw my first opal in my
grandmother's ring 50 years ago. Now I hope you'll let me put a sparkle
in your eyes as you gaze on that unique stone, created just for you.
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