Learn Opal Cutting and become a Master Opal Cutter

Learn opal cutting to gain a skill that is the closest you could get to giving life to an inanimate precious stone. Opals are the most fascinating amongst the various types of precious stones. But it is an awe-inspiring experience to bring out the brilliance and the beauty of the opal with every cut you make into the raw cold stone. This process of learning to cut opal will require a lot of patience, experience and skill.

Benefit by experienced opal cutting Mentors

Master this amazing skill and learn opal cutting from experienced mentors or from a vocational school. If you are a student, please use the blog page below to ask questions or make comments. We will offer as much help as possible in getting you on the road to being an expert. If you are attending a lapidary or opal cutting class, please mention this site to your teach and ask him or her to contribute towards the discussion so that all can benefit.  Below is a brief synopsis of the different stages involved in cutting a opal.

Learn opal cutting – The first stage

The first thing an opal cutter has to learn is to take a look at the parcel of raw opal stones to be cut and polished. Usually this is done under water for a start so that dust and grime can first be washed away. After selecting the stones that look the best, you can use a diamond saw to slice away any rubbish and a diamond wheel (or carborundum wheel) to rub the stone and give the opal a rough shape. Sometimes you use the grinder first before using the diamond blade. Both these machines work with one another to start off the opal cutting process. As you are doing this, the colorless opal is cut or ground off and the basic shape of the opal emerges.

The second stage – how to learn opal cutting

The rubbed stones are then mounted on ‘dop’ sticks so that the stone can be held easily in your hand and taken to the next opal cutting steps which is to shape it further into either ovals, squares, rectangles, or free forms.  This is done first with a diamond or carborundum grinding wheel, then to various sandpaper stages, and finally to a leather lap primed with cerium oxide or tin oxide to polish the opal to perfection. You can also use rubberized diamond wheels for this process but many old cutters like myself prefer the old system which is cheaper and (some feel) gives a better result.

Opal is not so difficult to cut and polish

Opal is not a difficult stone to cut when you get used to it and use the right opal cutting equipment.. The main thing is to look for the very best way that the color can be exposed, taking into consideration imperfections and crazes (cracks) that are often there. The only thing you have to be careful of in the finishing process is that you don’t overheat the stone or you can cause it to become pitted and even crack. You will get to learn all these and many more facts when you learn opal cutting.

Compare cutting opal with other gemstones

It’s fascinating to learn all types of gemstone cutting but in the case of faceting stones, it’s a bit more difficult for the student because it often requires a lot more skill and some of the machinery required takes a lot more time to master with fewer quick results.  Faceting is a long drawn out process. One stone can take hours to produce and you only have to make one false step and the results can be disappointing. Also, if you are thinking of eventually turning it in to a business, keep in mind that large experienced companies have pretty much taken control of this niche in the gemstone industry.

Why opal cutting is different

It’s because cutting cabochons (round or dome shaped stones) is not so complicated and can be done on relatively cheap machinery that is not so difficult with a bit of guidance to make yourself. How to do this is discussed in detail in our CD ‘The ordinary bloke’s guide to opal” which is a good point to start at.  The fact is too that it’s still possible to produce opal stones which are unique and in demand in various parts of the world and with a bit of initiative and advice from experienced dealers, you can turn it into a little business eventually or at worst, you can use your productions as personalized gifts that can save you a lot of money during gift giving times.

Setting your opals into pendants and other jewelry items

It’s also not so difficult to go to the next step and set your opals into jewelry pieces that can either be sold or given to your loved ones and friends. These details are also discussed in our CD and if you search this site more you will find lots of little suggestions that will help you in this process.

Opal Cutting Satisfaction

There is nothing more satisfying and fascinating than skilfully revealing the hidden beauty of the raw precious opal stone. We have our own CDROM “The Ordinary Blokes Guide to Opal” which gives you thirty years of opal cutting, mining, setting and selling experience . Why don’t you learn opal cutting and become a skilled master opal cutter?  If you are a part of an opal cutting class, you can purchase this cd for $35.  Feel free to make copies of it and pass it out to all your friends in the class and tell them about this site.

Join in discussing opal cutting at this blog

You can all join in the discussion to the benefit of everyone. If some can afford it, you can order $120 worth of rough opal and get the cd for free. That way the rough opal can be tried out by you and your friends. We can also include some opal potch for free so that you can experiment with the cheaper material without the risk of damaging something valuable just to make your efforts to learn opal cutting pay for itself.

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