Shipping Info

OPALMINE DECLARATION

DEAR VISITORS. PLEASE READ THIS STATEMENT BEFORE PROCEEDING

The main goal of www.opalmine.com is to serve the interests of our valued visitors. This is primarily an information site dedicated to the love of opals and to people who wear them and collect them. It is designed to inform you fully about the stone, introduce you to the opal fields, instruct you about how to shop for them, to care for them, and if you want, to learn how to process them yourself for your own pleasure and profit.

Any sales that result from this site are secondary to this main goal. Please don't hesitate to ask Peter, our opal expert, any questions in regard to this subject. Even if you want an opinion about a stone you are considering purchasing from anywhere else, Peter is pleased to offer an honest unbiased opinion, whether you are purchasing from this site or not. Remember. Our main interest is YOUR interest. We are pleased to offer the best service possible.

Delivery times and insurance:

Questions about delivery times and tracking numbers are the most asked because most items purchased are gifts to be presented on special occasions. Keep in mind that most of our customers are from the USA, Canada, and Europe and we are located on the other side of the planet. Not just that, but we are located 1000kms from the city in the middle of the opal mines. [Not that this is a major difficulty because our postal system is very efficient] However, here are some of the problems we face in our effort to deliver on time.

1.    We must keep the delivery costs to a minimum
2.    We must keep the delivery time to a minimum
3.    We must use the most secure delivery system possible.

To achieve this, the only economic system available is the post office, using registered international mail. All freight and insurance is covered in the price of each item, so you don't have to worry about extra costs. Please note that this does not include a courier tracking number, only the parcel registration number and the date of dispatch.

Please note that some post offices do not accept insurance. If this is the case, we will inform you at the time of the order, in case you want to make other arrangements for the delivery.

The post office does have a courier system called EMS [cost $60] which has a tracking number that tells you the last dispatch location of the parcel but is not comprehensive. It is claimed that the goods will arrive in approximately 3 days with this system, but this often depends on the efficiency of your customs.

If you want goods sent by UPS, DHL, FedEx, which includes tracking numbers please let This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it know and he will arrange that. The costs are around $100.00

For orders in excess of $5000, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss special insurance procedures.

Standard orders from our database-with deadline information should get to you between one to two weeks, but keep in mind that during busy times, there may be some delays so allow yourself as much time as possible for deadlines.

Special orders that involve design and manufacturing-with deadline limitations, please allow up to 2 months to deliver. Sometimes they can be fulfilled in a week or so, but keep in mind the following details:

We don't want to rush a job. We want to make sure that the quality of the item is second to none. This sometimes involves re cutting stones, making special wax carvings for models, casting certain components. Setting diamonds and sizing shanks.

Opalmine employs about ten different jewelers to manufacture under the 'Brusacci' label. Each one of these jewelers are experts in different fields of the industry. At times, particularly toward the end of the year, they get so busy that they cannot fulfill orders in time for deadlines. So if you have a gift in mind to be delivered at a certain date, please plan a couple of months ahead if possible.

We know that this is not always possible and we will always do our very best to keep deadlines, but please understand our situation if the deadline cannot be reached. One idea is to write a little card for the occasion, explaining that a very special gift is on its way from the other side of the earth. Sometimes this anticipation is even better than having the gift. Here are some more details about this:

If an item does turn up late, the best advice we can offer is for you to present the person with a nice card with wording along these lines:

Dear []

I have a special gift coming to you from Australia, the land down under, which as you know, is on the other side of the earth. It is taking longer than we thought to arrive, but this little card is to say to you that I have not forgotten our special day and to encourage you to expect something really special from a long way away that I expect will arrive soon. So, please start getting excited about it.

Suggested conclusions:

All my love
Thanks so much for being my friend
Happy anniversary
Thanks for your kindness and generosity
Sorry that I have upset you
I have not forgotten your friendship
Hope you have a wonderful day
Memories of you flood my mind
I really value your friendship/love/kindness

There are times we can rush things through by paying double the costs to put other jobs aside, but this of course is not appealing.

Keep in mind that we will always need your finger size if you are getting a ring made.