Welcome to Opal Month (or October to the others).
Do we have an exciting month filled with fun facts and giveaways just for you?
Here’s a quick video below to explain a few things…
Welcome to the opal month party!
Here at Black Opal Direct, we are about celebrating opal all year round — but any excuse for a party!
If ever there is a month to celebrate opal, this is it!
What do we have in store for you all?
Across our social media channels for the month, we will be sharing fun facts, beautiful jewelry, and inspiring opals.
If you watched the video above, you would know that we also have a competition for the month with one winner every week!
How to be in the running to win?
Right, so you’re here because you love opal and who does love a freebie?
How to enter — in the comments section of this blog and this blog only, write your favorite attribute about opals.
What is an opal attribute?
– pattern
– color
– shape
– style/type and so on…
What do you win?
Glad you asked — see below…
So get cracking with your comments and we will choose 1x winner every week for the 4 weeks of October.
We will contact each winner privately via our website to get your t-shirt size and contact details for shipping, woo hoo!!
GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
HOW THE OPAL CAME TO BE
A long time ago in the Dreamtime, one of the most beautiful of all creatures was Pallah-Pallah the butterfly, with her beautiful dazzling multi-coloured wings. She lived happily with her family near the reeds of the Corcoran Lake.
She would often wonder the high mountains they could see a long way away which were covered in white, and the white on the tops of the mountains would shine when the sun shone on them.
Her husband who was named Ballah-Ballah often told her not to leave the safety of the grasses and reeds that grew around their home on the beautiful clear water lake. But one day when her husband went fishing. Pallah-Pallah thought she would go and have a quick look at the white on the mountains.
When she flew up high everyone looked at her beautiful coloured wings and said “she looks like a rainbow”. Pallah-Pallah flew higher and higher, and she could see the mountains covered in white. She was excited and said “ I will go right up there and see this white for myself, then I will return and tell my husband.”
As she reached the high mountains snow began to fall. Snow beat down on the frail and weak Pallah-Pallah. She fell to the ground and the snow-covered her. She didn’t die, but lay quiet and went to sleep while the snow fell and buried her.
She lay under the snow until spring came. As the snow melted away so did Pallah-Pallah’ beautiful colours. The colours just disappeared, melting into the snow. As the snows melted down the mountains and across the plains the colours ran with them to disappear into the ground near the lakes and ridges. Pallah-Pallah looked at her wings and they were no longer beautiful.
She returned to her husband and family and everyone was sad to see that she was no longer a beautiful butterfly but a plain moth, just grey and brown. The beautiful colours that disappeared from Pallah-Pallah’s wings went into the ground at the Morillah* – stone ridges and lakes formed the colours of the rainbow on the dazzling opal stones. That is how the opal came to be.
As told by Aunty June Barker Copyright – 1999.
*Morilla St is the main street in Lightning Ridge.
Thanks for the opportunity to win a prize. I love your work and I love opal of all varieties, colours and patterns. Black opal is my favourite in flagstone or chaff pattern. The depth of colour and the changes in colour as a stone is moved is awe inspiring. Loved that ripper crystal you cut recently.
Thank you for educating us, your audience about everything opal.
That being said my favorite opal attribute is the gems shifting colors. When I was a young man my love had eyes like opals. I am enamored at the blue, green and gold color shifts that all show through at different times the same colors in my first loves eyes. After over 30 years I was blessed with seeing her eyes again. Her eyes still shine as brightly now as they did a lifetime ago. Every time I see the play of color in an opal gem I see another rare gem that my eyes for now are forbidden to hold.
I love opals for the many different colors they have. The reds really are my favorite but all are amazing. Love your work and would really love to win this stone since a granddaughter is turning one next week and needs a necklace.
Hi Justin, it’s really hard to pick any one single attribute about Australian Opal over another yet Color has to win my day.
I’ve always described, (to myself ) anyhow, the way the color in a patch of surface area will do a complete change say from Blue to Red as
( Phasing) or phase shifting.
Here’s the mind blowing kicker though, those phase shifts occur at such tight angles that when you’re showing an Opal to another person, in person, you’re seeing this stunning Red yet they, who may be standing beside you, looking over your shoulder, off to your left or right,
are looking at a lake of neon blue green. No two people are ever really looking at the same Opal in person, simply because of the distance and slightly different angle you’re seeing it from.
And still you’re both saying
“WOW” look at that color, or look at that shape or pattern. And you’re both seeing something that may be completely different.
No other Gemstone gives you that, not for me anyway!!
My favourite is absolutely black flagstone with full flashing colour!! Love watching your videos. The best dad dancer ever!!
Happy Opal Month Everyone! I know I am not posting my comment correctly but I could not find the section to post comments and can only see the Reply box to type in, so hopefully everyone will see this!
Aloha from Hawaii 🌈 I have loved and been drawn to Opals since forever! Yet I have never acquired one.
We dont have anything to mine here in Hawaii. Always wished I could go gem stone hunting!
I don’t think I could choose a favorite….
If I absolutely had to choose, it would be round, floral dark blue-orange. I did truly love the one you did in this video: https://youtu.be/jvHyn4fQsYw so if I had to choose I’d choose one exactly like this! It looks like it has almost EVERY attribute!
Oh and OYYY I’ve always been drawn to Australia too. Maybe I was there in a past life?! Lol
Thank you so much for all you do, say, explaining your videos! Much appreciated! ❤️
Hey Justin!
I love all your stuff. You think you would get bored seeing someone cut opal a couple of dozen times as it seems like the process is always the same, however I just cant stop watching. It’s so satisfying!
Do I go to work, or do I neglect my responsibilities and watch you perform surgery on a tricky stone?
Jokes aside, I’ve always loved opal, however my wallet isn’t quite large enough to buy the real deal so I get crushed stuff and I’ve been mixing it with CA glue to make rings! I think it’s artificial but I mean it looks pretty decent. I hope you don’t find this blasphemous. I just love how it can look so different depending on the type of light that hits it. When I’m inside, it’s red, but when I’m outside it goes blue! And then it’s all the more special when I get a rare green. Haha.
Anyway, I‘ve never seen a real opal. I hope I get to one day! 😉
Thanks so much for your content.
Aidan
Hi Guys, Happy Opal Month to you. The Opal is my birthstone since I am an October baby. My favourite Opal would have to be the beautiful crystal opal with 3D colour on colour – but hey I’m a bit of a sucker for anything Opal. Thanks for the opportunity to win a prize. Love your work.
Hi. It is Hard to answer in english for me since it is not my birth language. I am obsessed with opals so many years. I have many of them at home, still sad there is so little People that can put them properly into a ring or necklace without destroying them. I love Orange ones and turquoise ones the most. I feel like opal is beautiful Stone from another galaxy. When i look into it i see everything fantasy i love but cannot have because in this world it is not Real. But still hidden in those colors of these magical opals.
Opal is my birth stone. How lucky am I? I love the magical colors present in opals. Perhaps I’ll win one…who knows.
Hi all,
Thank you for the opportunity to enter 🙂
All opal is fab, but I especially love bright crystal opal. I am definitely partial to the gold, pink and yellow/orange color spectrums (the fire and colors in all types is just amazing though). I have a vintage Australian opal necklace that I love, passed through family. Ideally one day I will find a big free-form specimen…..like the rock lol.
Hello Justin,
I am from the Netherlands and watch all your lives. That is why I began my opal hobby! Really can tell that I am addicted to opal. It is always a surprise what you can get out of a stone. My favorits are the black opals with flagstone Pattern. Your New website is looking great.
Keep up the good work!!
Hi Black Opal Direct team !
My favorite opals are cristal with green and blu colors. Thanks for the oportunity to win the price.
Color! Opal’s kaleidoscopic nature reveals a bright, deep world, much like people. Some people hide until their colors are revealed in a vibrant flash, but the color is never dull. The arrangement of silica produces the different colors, just as the arrangement of genes produce a different personality. The spectrum of colors is found in a single stone sets it apart.
We have: “Lord of ring” “Lord of dance” and here we are! Lord of Opals! If I was film maker, I would call my film like that – Lord of Opals. Anybody from Hollywood? Its time to make nice film about Australian Opals and people who work hard to prize us with beautiful opals.
Now more serious stuff. Since I have cut small opal “Red on Black“ I can’t imagine any other colours. My prefereble pattern is floral with small dome in oval shape. Thanks for listening all our crazy stuff.
I watch Opal Hunters on Philo streaming. I can see the hard conditions and hard work these miners put in. Very appreciative of their sacrifices for the beautiful stones they bring us.
I love these videos and black is my fav
I definitely love colors.
Justin,
First off I want to say what a pleasure it is to watch your YouTube videos, they have really inspired me. I have been saving for my first set of wheels for the last year and I hope to be able to get some beginner opals to cut soon… as far as the multitude of attributes I enjoy about opal, I would have to say that I love the various patterns of opal and their uniqueness to their individual regions and types.
The soft glow of a white opal. The deep reds, blues and purples of a black opal. The yellows to deep reds of the fire opal. I just love all opals! I love watching the cutting and polishing of the fire opals you share. You come up with some real beauties’
Hi Justin
Favourite attribute of opal would be that every time I look at a stone I see something different.
I have been mining , cutting for few years now , following your blogs religiously and have found them very informative, thanks for sharing your knowledge
Regards Rob
Happy opal month! Usually my favorite shape is an oval, just a classic look, but lately I have really been enjoying the heart shapes Ive seen posted. It adds an extra unique style to an already unique gem.
I love 3D Flagstone type pattern with some chaff
Nothing more exciting than a Chinese writing oval with flashes of orange’ish reds, bring greens and hints of purple. Set in an oval pendant. There really is another stone gem or mineral like opal l, especially from the Black Opal Direct neck of the woods 😉
Have a blessed day to the Going in Team!
Another October baby here. I have always loved the stone, and have learned so much from your site. Had a white opal set handed down to me from my Mother. Unfortunately I was burgled, and only the ring is left. But I live the blue/green stones with flashes of red and orange. Love the way the colors flash with movement. Opals are magical and so full of life. Perfect birth stone for me, as it reminds me to be full of life and color. Thanks for your channel. I truely enjoy all you do.
Love you guys.
Fave opal is black opal, with blue and green but red and yellow as well is a bonus, the script pattern is amazing. Can’t go past a traditional oval shape.
I love jelly opal, any colour or pattern, blue on black, and tribal boulder opal. Fossils have my heart for being untouchable and cherished as display only. I really can’t choose 1 definitively, it’s too hard, like when someone ask’s if you have a favourite child, impossible for me to choose.
My favorite attribute of an opal is the color, the red color it’s just so pretty.
Awesome Thank you Victoria Yes red is the most expensive color too in opal
Yes it is. I don’t know why, but the red in black opals are just so pretty.
My favorite attribute of opal would have to be the color, not many gems reflect light back as brightly as opal does, but none of them can do the full range of color opal can. No matter your favorite colors, there’s an opal to match them.
Hi Mike you are right about opal being one of the only gems to show play of color.
Hi guys! How amazing is this competition I couldn’t have clicked any faster to enter! Thank you so much for this opportunity! Opal is the most beautiful and underrated stone I wanted it to be my engagement ring stone but were I live finding beautiful opals just wasn’t available 🙁 small town. My favourite attribute is a traditional oval either crystal or white opal with rainbow colours in pinfire or floral pattern something really pretty and girlie!
Australian opal, is the best and only opal out there that I truly love. Specially the black opal from lightning ridge. But I also love some beautiful crystal and seam opal from coober pedy. My first style would be chaff. That is some of my favorite material
Hi Justin and the BOD team,
I am loving your videos and watch every chance I get. My grandson and I have become BOD admirers-(groupies). My favourite attribute is the depth of a colour on colour opal. You can look into it forever and never see exactly what someone else sees, which for me is the point. The pure beauty and play of colour are truly something to behold.
Thank you for doing what you do
That opals start as what appears to be a clump of dirty stone and then through the magic of rubbing, cutting, and polishing, become scintillating gems with amazing colors and depth. I’ve been fascinated with opals since I was 5 yrs old, back in 1957!
Yes it is fun rubbing through that dirt to see that amazing color shine through
What a wonderful giveaway! Thank you for the opportunity. I’ve loved opals for a long time and it’s hard to choose favorite attributes when I think every opal is so unique and love them for that reason! I love red, purple, and teal colors in my opals the most. The combination of having all of those colors is truly amazing. As much as I love black opal I do have a special spot for the Crystal opals. Floral pattern is my favorite in opals!
Love how in depth your YouTube videos are! For me my favorite opal attribute would be a broad flash stone with bright greens and blues!
Broadflash is such a nice pattern especially when it shows different colors from different angles
G’day guys I love all 0pal its all beautiful but ya can’t beat a aussie black opal I love chaff and pinfire patterns but my goal is to cut a harlequin that pattern gob smacks me happy opal month to you all lots of love Ed
I’m all about the color! The other attributes certainly are important in the final selection of a stone, but if the color isn’t good then the rest doesn’t matter!
Hi Justin
My favourite attribute of opal is that every time I look at a stone I see something different. I have been mining and cutting opal for a few years now ,following your blogs religiously. I find them very informative, thanks for sharing you knowledge
Regards Rob
Ooooo I’d love to win something, I don’t have any particular colour or patten as a favourite, I did love the script patten if I was to pick something, I just love opals as you never know what you will end up with with some of the “nobbys “
My absolute favorite is the Heart shape Black Opal. Everything about it I love. All of the colors in it clash together perfectly. The reds, blacks, oranges. I have never seen a more beautiful Black Opal in my life.
I am lucky to have my birthday in October and I love working with Opal albeit on the low end value stones. I love rolling flash for the surprise it presents when you hit the right angle. Keep up the entertaining content. You are all good ambassadors for Australia.
Ever since my grandmother left me her Mexican fire Opal pendant I’ve been absolutely in love with opals! I came across your videos a couple of years ago and I’m constantly in awe of what comes to be in a cutting, especially the wide array of colours and flashes of colour. Blues and greens are my favourite!
Opals colors are my favorite attribute. Of course I love the Reds. But the blues and the greens are my absolute favorite!
Not sure I could really pick 1 attribute as it’s the combination of all of them that make opal so unique but if I had to say one it would be the clarity of colour
What an awesome chance! Thanks Justin! I am 17 and have been fascinated by gems and minerals ever since I can remember. I recently freeformed a Ethiopian opal and now I’ve got the fever. There’s just something about putting in your own time and getting the best out of the stone your working with.
I think my favourite attribute would have to be the play of colour that every stone had to offer depending on the way you shape, polish and finish the opal. It also determines the outcome of the pattern and colour of play
Thanks again for an awesome opportunity. I love watching your videos I’ve recently been in and out of hospital and they keep me entertained. Love what you do keep up the awesome work! 🤍
Black opal with pinfire and or the much desired and loved harlequin opal. The way the black transforms the colours in opal is truly mesmerising!
My favourite attribute of Australian opal is the uniqueness of each stone. Put diamonds next to each other and they can look excatly the same, never with beautiful Australian opal.
Hey Justin and team! My favourite opal is crystal with any combination of broad-flash. The crystal you cut recently was unreal. Thank you for the great content and knowledge you continue to share.
I like the white opals with rainbow speckles.
I love everything about opals!! But especially the variation in color and shifts in color as the light hits the stone. So magical and beautiful!!
Thanks for the opportunity to win I absolutely love the colour, moving it around in the light seeing all the different colours come through
I like fun stones, not necessarily the brightest, the rarest or even the biggest. Asteria stones are quite interesting, for example, you wouldn’t find a lot of gems or minerals exhibiting that type of patern.
Howdy from Texas! I am obsessed with opals (my birthstone) and have learned so much from watching your videos and opal descriptions. So great! My favorite opals are black opals (oval or square) with broadflash or moss patterns. I love all the myriad of opal colors! I also understand that opals symbolize hope, purity, and truth. Who wouldn’t benefit from that these days?!? Thanks, Mate!
How exciting to be able to have the opportunity to win a prize I have opal fever so bad can’t wait to visit in may I love all opal black opal is my favourite I love the brightness of the colours and and free form shapes nothing lights my smile like an opal 😍🌈
I find your videos fascinating. My favorite opals are predominately green and blue with other colors in smaller amounts. My favorite types are black and boulder opals.
I love opals because they’re so unique. My grandmother and I share opal as our birthstone, she gave me her opal ring before she passed away. I now share my birthday with my niece too. So I am able to share our grandmothers opal with her so opals are very sentimental for our family.
This is so exciting! I’ve been following Black Opal Direct since my husband gifted me my custom engagement ring with a black opal back in 2018! The opal was stunning. Red & green & orange chunks throughout but one side had fire striations that had ALL of the colors. That stone was broken by the jeweler when trying to reset BUT I became addicted to all opals now. Black opals are still my favorite but admiring any opal makes me feel like I’m finding treasure with every flash of light.
I love the huge array of colours and find it incredible that the little silica balls which make up the opal act like teeny tiny prisms casting rainbows of colour. It’s like capturing a rainbow in a stone!
P.s thanks for all the videos- the kids love watching them and so do we!
I love that each opal is not the same with the different colour combinations, how the colours can change with the movement of the stone and the different patterns that occur, all of which I am learning about slowly watching your videos. I am in wonder at what is hidden underneath the sand, knobby just mind blowing when you expose the colours.
Hi Justin,
Thanks for the opportunity to win cool stuff.
As you already know, I am a true oppal addict as all opal lovers and cutters are. No surprises there. It is the amazing colors that grab me but the unique opal patterns are what make opal so incredibly addicting to me as well as the thrill of the hunt for color when cutting opal. Every stone is a true treasure hunt. I cannot get enough of it. Every stone is unique and a problem solving challenge. As a math teacher by trade, I am all about the problem solving. Which was will it face best and at what angle? It is especially thrilling when I have to completely adjust the angle that the stone is facing up at to get the best flash and movement with as little angling of the gem as possible. When you get a particularly challenging stone to truly pop there is absolutely nothing better.
Thanks again for giving us this opportunity and for teaching me practically everything I know about cutting opal. I would not be an opal cutter without your help.
My favorite thing about opal is how unique it is.
Thank you for a great show
You guys are so cool! I’m 63, lost my wife in 2011. I met Michele in 2019 fly fishing. We have traveled the world fishing since then. In may of this year, we found the Spencer opal mine 56 miles from our home. Michele’s birthday is October 6!(we’re getting married 10/7) I’ve emailed you for recommendations on machines and gratefully received your input. We’re turning a portion of our garage into a studio for faceting sapphires and cabbing opals. So needless to say opals and October are a life changer!! Thanks for all your videos and hopefully we can see you in Australia someday
Hello and greetings from Sweden! I got obsessed with your channel during the pandemic and I always had your cutting videos in the background when working from home. I inherited a opal necklace from my grandmother when she passed many years ago, and since then I’ve always had a big love for opals. It is a drop cut pinfire opal with mostly red, blue & green flashes, and its my favourite for sure!
All the best!
Love your attitude even when it doesn’t go perfect. Crystal opals are my favorite especially when they are double sided
Thank you for bringing the mystery, fire, and scintillating beauty of Australian opals to us via YouTube. My favorite opals are the crystals with layers of iridescent colors in pinfire to floral to flagstaff patterns hanging in midair throughout the transparent matrix. Your recent find and cutting of a crystal opal, like the one your Dad gave to you, was extraordinary. My favorite attribute is the purity, brilliance, sparkle, and ever changing range of colors possible from refraction by the layers of tiny silica spheres. A single opal can be an entire universe in the palm of one’s hand. And each is unique.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter!!! I love opal month (aka birthday month!)
My favourite attributes of an opal are the colour and patterns and that no two opals are the same. I love the pin fire pattern and flagstone patterns. As for the colours, all colours are magnificent but the warm colour tones are my favourite.
I love watching your videos, it was so nice to see the crystal you cut that was just like the one our dad cut! I always thought the value of crystal opal was far less so very enlightening to watch.
Happy Opal Month to everyone at BOD and good luck to everyone in the running! x
Hi Justin and friends!
My favorite pattern is most definitely pinfire patterning, every time I see the specks of glimmering fireworks my heart beats a little faster 🙂 it’s got me hooked!
Thank you,
Isaac A
I Love ópals, I didn’t know about them until I saw them on a discovery Chanel serie, I fell in love I ended up watching ópal videos for about one month,
My favorite is definitely the black ópal I get dragged into its colors like the love at first sight
I love watching your videos and thanks for opportunity! My favorite attribute would definitely have to be anything that’s black crystal. I do love the floral pattern with red because pinks asking a lot!
Aw! Hello from Wichita, KS!! I love the pinfire pattern and I love the blues and greens! Love watching your videos!
Well I really love everything about opal it can be so imperfectly perfect and so perfectly perfect. I am a very indecisive person when it comes to having a favourite food, drink or even colour, as a kid I chose opal as my favourite stone because it has all the colours of the rainbow, I purchased my first opal when I was 11/12 from CP on a trip to NT never seen it before that moment and I have loved it ever since I am now 37 🥰 I also dont feel myself without having opal with me
The transformation from a dirty rock to something beautiful
I love the black opal! So much more interesting than my birthstone the peridot. I don’t have a favorite pattern, but love anytime an opal has a flash of blue. I also love how the color shifts as you move the stone. Thanks for sharing the origin story. 🥰
I wanted to start by saying thank you for sharing the beauty and love for aussie opals around the world!
I say that all the aussi opals are beautiful and special, in the end it is all about your own taste! My favorite pattern is evening orange 3D floral, definitely OVAL😆!
(P. S. Your videos helped me a lot against panic attacks in the covid time, thanks a lot)
Nice greetings from Austria!
I first learned to love opals as a young girl, because it was the favorite stone of my favorite aunt who lived with us. When she wanted some earrings, I searched several jewelry stores to find the right ones that she would love. I was amazed by the variety of colors, patterns, styles and shapes, and fell in love with the stone. She got her pair, and was buried wearing them.
Fast forward a few decades, and with the internet, I discovered BOD, and was hooked all over again. Not only watching you coax the beauty out of gnarled and dirt and sand encrusted stones, but choosing to learn all that I can about the stones and how to try and make that magic myself. This is the one positive thing to come out of COVID isolation!
Hello Justin and Tamika! Just have to say I have been following your work for years on YouTube and every week I always look forward to a new video. I have always had an interest in gemstones since I was a young kid, but watching you cut opals over the last few years has really created an interest and passion for opal in particular. I really appreciate the effort you and the team put in to spread your knowledge to the many viewers you have (congratulations on 198k subs). Almost at 200k keep it up!
I totally agree with you that a flagstone and chaff combo is the best, but I have to say I really love the golden yellow/orange and purple as the dominating colors, with the other colors accenting it.
Hi guys! Love your work and what you do to pass along the trade to a new generation. I’m still in love with that script opal from awhile back, but one of your last videos with that 3d color on color like the one your dad had blew my mind. Epic. Thank you again for what you do and thanks for the opal-tunity(yea, bad pun, lol) to win a prize. Can’t wait to see what the future brings! Bill – PA, USA
Hello from Paris,
Thanks for getting the opportunity to win a prize “Down Under” !
I’m born on the opals month.
That seems so natural for me, to love them all.
“Uniqueness” is a motto for this rainbow-like gem.
No opals look the same, thanks for their play of colour.
Merci.
Bonne Journée à vous 🙂
Hello January is my favorite month as it my birthday. The floral stones are e my chose and I love the oval shapes as well and yes we have been to lighting ridge and I did buy a opal neckless and yes it is oval shape. Love the pinks and red and blue oh just love them all
I’ll have the real gem…. Tamika…. thanks
Hello! Greetings from the U.S! Opal is my birthstone, my birthday is October 16th. I fell in love with opal the moment my dad told me that’s as my birthstone (at 8 years old). I’ve learned so much about opal since then, a very large portion being from you and your videos! I think one of the most mesmerizing patterns (even though all are beautiful!) to me is script pattern, and floral. I love the brightness and fire you get from opals, that are not found in any other gemstone, and I love the incredible color combinations you can get with crystal, white, dark, and black opals! I love how unique opals are compared to any other stone and they are in a league of their own. I love your content and have been following for quite a few years so please keep it up!
I love the colors and the look of the opal just so fascinating to think all those colors form from sediment makes you wonder the bright colors and shades, how it all the different patterns form
I love the black opal with the red striation.
I love opals irredesent endless colours is like looking into a magic vault. So mystical and brings peace to my soul and i love the feel of opal smooth as a cloud. I am a libra and my stone is opal so I hope I win. Therese
I really like/love mixed patterns in an Opal…..3 0r 4 patterns in 1 stone…….(script/flagstone/chaff/pinfire combo)
But also love it when there are old cracks in a crystal filled up with perfect black potch….like black lightningbolts thru the colors…….
I love how it feels when cutting the stone, setting the beauty inside free……
I love how people’s eyes widen and light up when i show them a piece….. and last but not least…… i love your channels on social media…
Hi guys and gals.
Happy Opaltober! 😉
I just love the uniqueness of each Opal.
Love you guys.
Greetings from Florida, USA! Thank you for this opportunity to enter. My favorite opal attribute is color for sure. I love the dark blues, purples and turquoise/greens especially. I never need to look at diamonds now 😊.
My favorite kind of opals are Australian opals. I love the deep vibrant colors compared to Ethiopians and others. I love both rough and polished opals. The play of color and different patterns all intrigue me, especially the ones that look like they hold minuscule universes in them. They are just classy looking and it’s like a new jewelry piece every time because you never know what color you’ll see!
I really love crystal opal!!!
I first learned about opal in a podcast and soon fell in love with this gem. I was thrilled to learn that opal is also my birth stone! Then I started follow Black Opal Direct on YouTube. It’s so fun and satisfying seeing Justin cutting and polishing each stone.
I love how unique every stone is. I love how the colors flow under the sun. I especially love opal rings, so I can see them and see the colors dancing when I move my fingers. Would love love to win an Australian opal!! Thank you so much!!
Black opal cabochons!
In my personal, honest and very humble opinion, they are the single most gorgeous gemstone on the planet. Every single one is entirely unique. No matter how dark or light, no matter what the pattern is, no matter what the colors in the gem are…there is something beautiful to be seen in every single one. It’s like looking into the stars, the oceans, or pictures of galaxies you’ll never see up close…except in a black opal.
That’s why I chose a black opal cab for my wedding ring and had the band built around it, to suit MY opal specifically. I like looking down and seeing an infinite galaxy on my hand. How many people get to do that? How often does a gemstone take your breath away every time you look at it?
Not very!
The array of colours is always the most eye catching part of an opal, but truthfully the thing I love most about opals is that they exist at all! It took such a perfect storm of circumstances, the right ingredients at the right level, with just the right amount of heat and pressure, and juuuust the right amount of silica to create these phenomenal gems.
And nothing is safe! Opal would find it’s way into being in pockets, cracks, and even leaves and bones! It absolutely blows me away.
I was lucky enough to visit a friend’s mine in the Ridge recently and the whole time we were underground looking at the levels and blows, I just couldn’t stop thinking about how these unlikely gems have been hidden underground for tens of millions of years, and that we are literally the only people on earth that have seen them yet!
So I guess, to me, the opal is the most humbling gem there is, and I love the work you guys do on sharing their magic with the world! Keep up the good work, and we’ll keep watching!
Hello! I love all Australian opals but I have to say crystal is my favourite. I love the depth of colour on colour with a pin fire type pattern. It feels like I’m gazing into an ocean or a different universe… much like in the Men in Black movie, where the aliens are playing with marbles, but the marbles are actually universe’s.
My favourite are black opals that are firey with mostly red. High to medium dome with checker pattern. Oval cut. Been looking for the perfect stone for a couple years.
The first time I found an opal in Nevada USA it looked like a firework flashed before my eyes from a pile of dirt. I love the magic of opals and how each is unique. I hope to find a conch opal one day, and I love all the patterns in opal!!!
First I would like to thank you for being the influence for me to get into opal. What great fun I’ve had. Second my favorite opal attribute is that beautiful electric blue to green change in nice opal. Don’t get me wrong I love reds just as much as anyone but my heart melts for that beautiful electric blue green shift.
My favorite thing about opal…
During lockdown, I stared playing with rough opal. My Grandfather had a real talent with inlay, and after watching a couple of Justin’s video, I thought, why not? Started with inexpensive parcels, have graduated to more expensive ones. Taking a rough stone to the wheel is incredible, watching the beauty evolve as you cut away the potch.
Crystal Opals are my Favorite!!!
Happy Opal Month to the best Opal content creators! I side with Justin when it comes to opal. I just love Crystal opal! The depth of color play you can get is just mesmerizing!
I have a couple of opals , as I’m an October baby (can a 75 year old be called a baby ?)
My love for them grew after seeing a man called Opal Eric in the UK in the 1970s who allowed customers to rummage in a water filled bowl, for an opal of their choice .
None of my opals are madly expensive, but I love them , though my favourites are the beautiful crystal opals ..so mysterious ,like stepping into Narnia .
I love cutting opals of all kinds. I cut a heart shape crystal opal when my daughter was born and gave it to her set in 14kt at her 16th birthday. She is now 37 with a 7 year old son who loves cutting stones. I will teach him all I can about opal and stones in general. He has also tried his hand at cutting and polishing even at the young age of 7. Happy Opal Month to all.
Love yall and your videos. You’re a master craftsman Justin! I love script pattern and pin fire the most I think but don’t let that take away from how much I enjoy all patterns! I really enjoy all the colors but anything glowing a redish purple is wicked. And idk what it is about cushion cuts but I love them. Saving for equipment now! Thanks for you’re time and effort!
Happy Opal Month to you all & thanks for the competition! My favourite attribute of opal is gorgeous and unique patterns that they can display but I’m also a sucker for the beautiful bright colours as well. Good luck to all who enter!
Opal has exciting colours and patterns. Transparent gems are just that. Diamonds may be a girls best friend, but her friends are boring! Vibrant and unique is what gets me going about opal. ✌ 😃
Longtime viewer from the US here! I am OBSESSED with flagstone and pinfire patterns! Blues and purples all the way 🙂 I’m so glad you and your team take the time to share your journey through your videos!! Keep those videos coming!
I confess, I like the mystery of how the colors are hiding in the potch and sand and then when it’s revealed, it’s bursting with cool colors and designs
I find opals fascinating, especially the play of colour and pattern and how it flashes as it is moved or put under a bright light. A rainbow trapped in a rock!
My favourite attributes of opal are their colour and pattern. With their iridescent colour display in perpetually changing dances across the stone, every piece is unique and captivating.
I love to cut rough Opals
I love depth and variety of colour esoo o eucalyptus in a black Opal with its high contrast!
“…colour especially in a…” autocorrect did a number on that post!
Most Australian auto correct ever! I love it, you should win something just for that alone.
I love pinfire opals in all color combinations! Moss pattern is a very close second – if not tied for favorite. Both are just so beautiful!
Penny Haulman, Texas here. I love the aqua bright#5 flagstone in a heart-shaped one or high dome emerald cut. Actually I would nominate you for honorary Texas Citizenship had we such a thing. You’ld make a jolly good Texan. Your humor is Texas loved.
as an amatuer cutter i love cutting outside on a sunny day and watching the colours just explode in the sun, such a good buzz
Opal is unique in its own way. Not one is the same, All colours off the rainbow my favourite Gem in the world ❤️
Hello from San Diego! Been a follower for a long time. I just got on your youtube live and I thought it was appropriate because it is (here in CA) my birthday October 3rd! I love opals, and although I have a hard time picking favorites of anything, opal is my favorite gemstone. I feel lucky to have it as my birthstone, too. I think the variations in patterns and colors are the reasons it is my favorite. You don’t have to choose just one color — you can get a kaleidoscope of colors, of patterns in many variations. They’re bright and respond to light in beautiful and unique ways, depending how the opal faces. Like myself I feel multi-faceted, so the opal reflects that in its qualities. I also really love rounded cuts – cabochon, etc and think they fit opals very well. I have always wanted to come across a harlequin (and be able to afford it) — maybe one day!
Opal is a mystic color palate that is fascinating to gaze into much like looking at the Aurora Borealis’s northern lights. It’s amazing how the colors in an opal can dance with every turn of the beautiful stones. Reds, green and orange are my favorite eye catchers..
Happy Opal Month and I love the videos and thank you Justin for being such a great personality!
My favorite attributes about Australian opal and why:
Variance. No two stones are completely alike. The potential for something new and unexpected is always there.
Color scale. It’s across the spectrum.
Facets? No need!
Stability. Sorry Ethiopia! Your opal is cheesy and unstable, and the green tonality reminds me of Laser Tag from the early 90’s.
Birthstone. It’s me mum’s. So yeah. lol
Payoff. With Lightening Ridge opal, the gamble payoff can be huge!
LOVE OPAL DIRECT
🧡💜💙Opals💚❤💛
What is an opal attribute?
In the metaphysical world, Opal acts as a prism within the aura, bringing a full spectrum of Light energy to the system, soothing and clearing the emotional body, and boosting the will to live and the joy of one’s earthly existence. It enkindles optimism, enthusiasm and creativity, and allows for the release of inhibitions inspiring love and passion. Opal enhances cosmic consciousness and stimulates flashes of intuition and insight, yet is a protective stone for deep inner work, meditations, and lower world shamanic journeys.
– pattern
Bamboo Leaf pattern, cat’s eye pattern, Chaff pattern, Dragon skin, honeycomb pattern, mackerel pattern, Galaxy pattern, neon flash pattern, ribbon pattern, jigsaw pattern, Sheen pattern, multi-fire pattern,
– color
Australian Black, Australian black Crystal opal, Andamookha, Australian Boulder, and Mexican fire
– shape
square, rectangle, round, triangle, octagonal (square or rectangular), cushion (square or rectangular), pear, heart, marquise and oval.
– style/type and so on…
Matrix opal, blue green Peruvian opal, Eagles opal, white opal, and crystal opal are so beautiful and gorgeous.
My daughter and I tuly love watching you and your beautiful family on YouTube. Every week she would tell me: Mommy he has a rock with a beautiful shiny surprise inside!!! Lol. She’s 4 years old and wants to be like you. Thank you for all you do and we love you and your family. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
I don’t know what it is about opals but I would love to find an opal that speaks to me.
I think a combination of amazing colour and patterns is what appeals to me most. 2 stones can look so different and every one is unique.
Love your videos.
I like the Rough Opals as I find them unique and different with all of the shiny and color variations. You can get then cut into a variety of different shapes. The colors are just magnificent!
Favorite opal attribute is how the colors flash and change as they are moved! Thanks Justin and Ruth for all you do to share opals with the world!
My favorite attribute is definitely color. & I’ve never seen a creator with consistently vibrant/unbelievably colorful stones as you! 😍
My favorites are crystal opals in green and yellow. Love your video’s
❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍
🔥Black Opal Direct🔥
My daughter, wife, and I love watching you and your amazing family. Pretty sure my daughter will become a gemologist or does what you do. We watch you at night time as a family. Thank you for this opportunity for winning your beautiful peace. If I win it will go to my little one. She’s the one that loves you the most. LOL.
Big fan right here. ->👧
🧡💜💙Opals💚❤💛
What is an opal attribute?
In the metaphysical world, Opal acts as a prism within the aura, bringing a full spectrum of Light energy to the system, soothing and clearing the emotional body, and boosting the will to live and the joy of one’s earthly existence. It enkindles optimism, enthusiasm and creativity, and allows for the release of inhibitions inspiring love and passion. Opal enhances cosmic consciousness and stimulates flashes of intuition and insight, yet is a protective stone for deep inner work, meditations, and lower world shamanic journeys.
– pattern
Bamboo Leaf pattern, cat’s eye pattern, Chaff pattern, Dragon skin, honeycomb pattern, mackerel pattern, Galaxy pattern, neon flash pattern, ribbon pattern, jigsaw pattern, Sheen pattern, multi-fire pattern,
– color
Australian Black, Australian black Crystal opal, Andamookha, Australian Boulder, and Mexican fire
– shape
square, rectangle, round, triangle, octagonal (square or rectangular), cushion (square or rectangular), pear, heart, marquise and oval.
– style/type and so on…
Matrix opal, blue green Peruvian opal, Eagles opal, white opal, and crystal opal are so beautiful and gorgeous.
❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍💯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Howdy to everyone over at Black Opal Direct!
I love how opal, more than any other gem in my opinion, has almost a mystical, magical quality to it. Even without being set into a piece of jewelry, simply as a stone, opal seems like something special to hold; it’s organic and dynamic, and totally captivating!
For me, nothing beats a super clear crystal opal, polished on both sides, with that 3D color-on-color effect. Dynamic patterns, like cats eye, are amazing to me, as is the potential mix of patters you can observe in a single opal, like flagstone, chaff, and floral patterns all in one stone. It’s impossible to nail down a favorite, because each stone has its own personality!
Keep up the amazing work over there, and Happy Opal Month!
I think my favorite Opal was one you recently posted. It was like a blue green star Opal. The way the light played was amazing. I had never seen one like it. My mothers birthstone is Opal. They have always interested me and my Mom would warn me it was bad luck to wear Opal when it was not your birthstone. Lol, here I am with four Opal jewelry pieces and her with none 😊 The way the light plays is magical. Thank you for the opportunity to win. I would probably gift this to my Mom if I win…no promises though 😉
I fell in love with Opal as a young child. To me it’s like spirit. It’s full of life, fire, color, like a spirit!
The FIRE 🔥 of a nice Opal is always so amazing, from all the different angles. I never lose interest in looking at it.
Hi my name is Anthony and I’m an opalholic 😂…I guess it would take a lot less time (and typing) to tell you what I don’t love about opal…that’s easy,there’s nothing I don’t love about opal. It’s the only gemstone that truly seems “alive”,as if imbued with a soul or some sort of magic 🪄✨ it’s movement,unique patterns, and colors that span the imagination are unparalleled in the gem world and surpasses even most people’s dreams…what do I love about opal? I love how each one,every single one I’ve ever witnessed, spoke to me in a way that only other people who have heard it’s voice would understand or hear…Elle Wheeler Willcox knows the voice I speak of
The Birth Of The Opal
The Sunbeam loved the Moonbeam,
And followed her low and high,
But the Moonbeam fled and hid her head,
She was so shy — so shy.
The Sunbeam wooed with passion;
Ah, he was a lover bold!
And his heart was afire with mad desire
For the Moonbeam pale and cold.
She fled like a dream before him,
Her hair was a shining sheen,
And oh, that Fate would annihilate
The space that lay between!
Just as the day lay panting
In the arms of the twilight dim,
The Sunbeam caught the one he sought
And drew her close to him.
But out of his warm arms, startled
And stirred by Love’s first shock,
She sprang afraid, like a trembling maid,
And hid in the niche of a rock.
And the Sunbeam followed and found her,
And led her to Love’s own feast;
And they were wed on that rocky bed,
And the dying Day was their priest.
And lo! the beautiful Opal —
That rare and wondrous gem —
Where the moon and sun blend into one,
Is the child that was born to them.
Poems of pleasure. by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
London: Gay & Bird, 1900.
I find all opal beautiful, but I absolutely love the ones where a bit of black shines through. Makes them look like a nebula.
i love watching you cut opal. sorry i couldn’t make it to denver.
My favourite opal attributes would be dark black oval shaped script patterns with bright yellows or greens. I do like reds and purples
Hi Justin,
I met you and your lovely wife at the Denver gem show and was there with my daughter and now she brags that she met that famous opal guy and she shows everyone the opal I bought her. You are a true artist and we love our opals. Can’t wait to see you in Tucson.
I love everything about opals especially the crystals something magical about the colour on colour with that almost glass like transparency amazing videos and amazing website thank you for getting me hooked on opal
Any Opal Justin cuts and shapes most always turns out to be a favorite of mine.
I will have to choose a dark opal with Red, Blue, & Green as the color.
Oval or round in a 9mm long or diameter.
I’m not too picky!
Opal is my favorite stone! It’s not only the color, but something about that inner glow even in minimal light. I love how no two are the same!
I love the flagstone pattern. Some of the colors just seem to go on and on. I lived in South Australia almost 50 years ago and came back to the US with amazing stones from Coober Pedy. It was at that point in my life that opals became my treasured favorite. Thank you for all of your expertise in creating beautiful art from these rocks!
My favorite attributes are flagstone and floral patterns and purple/blue dark opals. Love watching your videos and listening to your voice, both are very soothing.
I am drawn to the opal by its close resemblance to outer space (Galaxies/Nebula/Super Nova)
I can stare into opals for hours on end!
Endless depth of color ever changing from different angles and light position.
Although my birth stone is not opal I would gladly exchange my birth stone(Diamond) for opal!
I have been watching you for about a year now. What you do interested from the very beginning. I am a carver.. of wood, horn, stone, so finding patterns is in my nature. The patterns you find in the stone is just grand, but to bring them to life the way you do is extraordinary that is a real art. I love the Colours of the stones.. you would think i would like the patterns first..I do at that.. the the different colours have always interested me.. so many different choices.
I love how some look like confetti with their bright colors! Some look like the universe 🥰 my favorite gem stone by far!
I am mesmerized by your artful reveal of the mystery inside each rough opal but my delight is when it takes Your breath away or when You become speechless over what you just discovered.
I like the bright colored black opals with the greatest number of different colors with a mix of several patterns.
When I was young I was told opals are called “wicked stones”. I don’t know why.
I love love love how Diverse opals can be. There are so many types, cuts, colors and the fact that there are different places you can find them all over the world(just WOW) My favorite shape is oval cut, and the pin stone or flagstone for style.
Ridge Crystal opal is my Kryptonite and when I cut one with depth and play of colour it’s so exciting! Just need to remember to slow down n not get too excited. Rolling them around is mesmerising
For me opal’s patterns are my favorite. No other gem has the unique beauty that comes with an opal. They never repeat and feel far more special than any diamond.
I love opals with bright yellow and some little rainbows.
Happy opal era to everyone!I truly love green/teal/blue opals with floral/flagstone pattern. Maybe red/blue are more valuable but the greens and blues transport me to the sea, and depends on the pattern, to the deep sky too! I love to look for shapes on opals as if i was watching the clouds on the sky!cushion and drops are my faves cuts! Good luck to you all!
Happy opal month everyone.
I have had the addiction to opal for nearly 30 years, starting as a miner and then becoming a cutter. Every opal gets my attention no matter the type or quality but the way colours play in crystal opal always tops my list.
Opals are some of the most infatuating and alluring creations of nature. They come alive with their dynamic colors, as red flashes to blue flashes to green. It genuinely makes it feel as though the opals are communicating the essence of their soul to the observer. Not only is each one unique, but each one holds a rich history of growth and evolution. Opal gazing makes for a beautiful gazing meditation. There is truly no stone like the opal! Grateful to have it as my birth stone and for the small collection I have gathered. THANK YOU! for all of the videos, information, and hard work. It is fascinating to watch your interactions with the stones and to feel you exude your passion for the work.
For me it’s the colors. I love the blues and reds. Unfortunately all the patterns look alike to me.
Hi everybody at Black Opal Direct!
I have been lucky to catch two live streams so far from the Netherlands. I really enjoy the cutting and explaining. I am on a year sabbatical right now and a month or so ago I found your Youtube channel. I have been hooked ever since! I really love the beautiful colours of opal and the play of colour inside the stones. I particularly love a combination of flagstone and pinfire patterns. The larger sheets of colour contrasted with the delicate sparkle of pinfire is just sublime! Thank you for the possibility to win something! As October is my birth month it is particularly fitting! Happy opal month everyone!
My favorite thing about opal… Has to be script pattern. It’s so unique in each case I have seen, it looks mysterious and fantastic. It’s got me itching to start cutting on my own, but so far I have only been able to practice on stones with equivalent hardness and not the real thing – but I’m saving up and waiting for a parcel that speaks to me so I can bring a beautiful gem to life. In the meantime, I’ll keep practicing, making ovals, teardrops, trapezoids and other fun shapes.
My favorite attribute of opal is all of them, the infinite combinations of all the attributes makes each stone unique like a snowflake or a fingerprint. No two are identical and that unique individualism of each stone is what draws me to them all. I must say though my eye is definitely drawn to the darker pieces but I equally appreciate every one of them I see. I’d love to get one to pass down to my son, hopefully as a gift for beating brain cancer, he’s 8 months old currently and going through treatment now and it would be so cool to have something as unique as he is for him to cherish for life just the same as I cherish him.
Happy Opal month to you! I, like so many others here, am also an October baby (as are all THREE of my children…no, I didn’t plan that 😂), and celebrate the opal as my birthstone. I love how the light plays in the stone and the colors sparkle from the depths. I love the unusual stones, the ones with free form shapes, copite needles, small imperfections, because, hey, we all can’t be perfect! Of course I love the perfect ones too. My favorites are the ones with all of the colors of the rainbow, and with interesting patterns like chaff and script. Thank you for what you do, and for how well you do it. What a great gift from your father. Thank you for letting us be part of your story. ❤️
Is it a bit boring to say that all Opals and colours are loved equally? lol. Black Opal with the Script pattern looks absolutely stunning! It still makes me laugh remembering a video I saw where a lady thought she could read Traditional Chinese on the Opal…
I love watching you cut opals. I have learned so much about opals and what makes them so special. I lived in Australia for a while and watching you reminds me of my fondest memories from those times. I love the way the flagstone and floral patterns catch and flash light and color throughout the gem. The dance of light and color in opals is magical and brings to mind the wonderful stories of the Dreamtime that were shared with me. It would be a ripping honor to own a gem you have crafted.
Ooooh, I guess brightness would be the first thing I would look for, something where you could see the color from quite a distance away. I’m not as keen on the broadflash pattern, since other gems will do that effect as well, but any other pattern is lovely. And I do love teardrop shapes, so nice to dangle as earrings, or for a pendant.
So much to love about opal but if I could dream up my perfect stone it would have to be a sphere shaped crystal opal with random flagstone and pin fire, BRIGHT 3D color on color with red, orange, blue green and purple to make it a mesmerizing galactic-like stone that revealed something new with every twist and turn.
Happy opal month to you all at BOD and good luck to everyone!
I have enjoyed cutting stones by taking lapidary classes. I love making cabochon the most and this actually led me to watching your videos. My favorite is the black opal in flagstone and it’s all about the pinks or flashes of fuchsia for me. I watch when I can. Always fun to work through the challenges with you behind the wheel on a live show.
My favorite have to be the black opals, crystal in particular, and pinfire to be even more specific. I especially love the red, orange, and blue flashes.
Thanks so much for doing the contest!
I’m a sucker for multi-colored flagstone patterns in crystal opal, the kind where you can see a thousand kilometers into the stone.
I was just wanting to lnow the different pattern names and looks, and voila! there is is in the blog…thank you. I do love opal, it’s my very favourite gemstone, I love color. love your cutting vids, so informative and great to wtch! thank you
Hello, my name is Brittany and Opal is my Birthstone. My mother instilled her love of gemstones into me at an early age but opal has always been my favorite. I gravitate towards the green blue opals, and the black and reds. I get lost in analyzing the beauty of them. I’d love the opportunity to win something to add to my collection. Thank you for considering me.
How generous of you to share goodies with your fans!
I am a rockhound, but opals have always held a myserious fascination for me. I love the play of color; the way blue can whisper gold or red when you change perspective. Opals have always symbolized magic for me, because they shimmer from within, holding secrets you can only see if you take time to look from ALL sides.
. Hello Justin and all the other wonderful folks at BOD! I have always loved opals and pinfire is one of my favorite patterns. I love any color in opal, but lately I am realky drawn to stones with strong reds!
My great grandmother Margaret left me her opal ring when she passed because I was the first great grandchild, I was named after her, and we also shared the same birth month and of course, our birthstone, the opal!
Thankyou Justin. Your black opal with the intense red colour reminds me of my mum and the opal necklace she wore.
Happy Opal Month, thank you BOD for hosting such a great giveaway event! Owning an opal piece is on my jewelry bucket list; when I started looking at opals I did not know there were so many kinds, each with their own beauty. My favorite attribute of opals is how the color play reminds me of the world around us, the blue and green opals remind me of planet earth the flashy red and oranges of the sun, the milky soft shimmer of pink and white of the moon and stars! Australia is on my travel bucketlist and visiting BOD to pick out an opal would be awesome.
Hello and happy opal month to you Justin and your lovely team. Long time subscriber and viewer.
My favourite attributes of opal are like many others, flagstone and script pattern. Just something about it that is mesmerizing! I love all the colours but orange and purples seem to draw me in most. I personally prefer a high domed cushion cut stone. I am somewhat obsessed with opal. I look at them literally every day at least once, usually right before bed. While I do watch every video and most lives you do, I don’t participate in the chat, so I don’t get a chance to ask questions. And while I know you won’t be replying to questions here, perhaps in a future video you could answer my question. I’d like to know if you experience this same thing that happens to me. If I look at opals online for say an hour right before bed, which happens often, when I close my eyes I see opal patterns and colours until I fall asleep. Does this ever happen to you?
Anyways, thanks for the opportunity to enter your contest, and good luck to everyone here, I know it’s a great group of fans and subscribers you have here (A certain Christmas video comes to mind) and your job is not an easy one!
Cheers, I’m going out, and my tops staying on 😉
Adrienne
Hello Justin and Tamika (hope I spelled that right? Tamika I mean, LOL).
Watching you from Newfoundland, Canada for the last 3 years. I picked up opal cutting at the beginning of the Pandemic and have since cut almost 100 opal gemstones. I have you and your videos to personally thank for getting me through an incredibly steep learning curve and for literally saving my mental health throughout it all. I find opal cutting to be both captivating and extremely cathartic. IMO its the best mindfulness practice on the planet.
“Going-in” has to be my favorite attribute of the opal cutting process and as for opal itself, I would have to say that my favourite attribute is without a doubt “play of color”. It’s what separates opal from all other gemstones and makes each opal gem unique unto itself.
Absolutely loving your guys’ energy together online. You’re like two mischievous teenagers who sometimes forget the camera is rolling as the shenanigans ensue. LMAO. Keep up the fantastic work and keep on spreading the joy and your love for opal. Opal fever may be highly infectious, but it’s also safe and fun for everyone. Love you guys. Long may your big jib draw!
Dougie B.
Flatrock, Newfoundland
Canada
Color peeking through soft sand and mottled potch is comparative to the sun stretching from the clouds after a long and dreary week. All colors and patterns are needed to make this hobby what it is. They are all welcome whether cobbled like a lonely path or simple letters from a poem. Opal are underground flowers in a sea of sand. I’m going in!!!
Hey BOD,
Thanks for the contest and inspiration for getting me starting to cut Opal (website/etsy shop coming soon hopefully). As far as my favorite opal characteristics I’m a bit of an odd duck in that I generally like lighter body tones. My favorite pattern is Striated, with Ribbon a close second, I also like honeycomb-esque patterns. I’m not too picky when it comes to the colors as long as it’s bright or plays well with light I’m happy.
Cheers
Hi Justin, you brighten my days when i get to watch your videos, you teach so well, My elderly mothers birthday s Oct 31st
she wanted so bad a opal ring now at age 69 I’d love to get a stone to have it placed in a ring to say THANK YOU MOM for all you did for us kids. Keep up the great work I love you Man you’re the best.
Opal Colour: first, our eyes are drawn to the brilliant colours of opal, then our hearts. Shape: Every opal shape is unique for that individual gem to show its glory of colour. Beautiful things come in small packages.
I love how every opal is different and beautiful in its own way just like us humans, we are all different and beautiful in our own ways it just depends on which angle you look from.
What an awesome opportunity to own my first opal! I love the multi-colored opals the best- the ones packed with the most colors. My favorites are the ones with small-grained texture: Pinfire, Floral, and Moss. So gorgeous!
hmmm, what I love most is how the opal reveals herself to the cutter as to how she wants to be represented. Whether that’s floral, 3D, chaff to become oval, cushion, freeform, or indeed to shine as a specimen… she puts the cutter into Zen mode to become one with her to reveal her true unique self.
So when and I do say, I love all the attributes, I truly do.
My favourite attribute has to be pattern, specifically Script! It would be beyond amazing to discover a stone like that. Thanks so much for all your fantastic work – stones, videos, everything!
It is beyond difficult to choose a single favorite attribute of opal. They are such an unbelievably unique and interesting species of gem, from their extraordinary formation to their expansive color. However, if I had to choose one thing that makes opal special, especially Australian opal, it would have to be its pattern. Never in my life have I seen, let alone cut, two opals that looked exactly the same. Every single stone holds an entire world inside and every time I look into an opal I see something completely unique and new. There are other stones in the world that have enormous variations in color, body tone, and brightness but none have an assortment of patterns like opal.
Happy Rocktober, AKA opal month…what’s my favourite attribute about Opal. It’s easier to say what’s not…nothing! The entire Opal experience, the colour, the patterns, the body tone, the shape the stone wants to be, it’s all amazing. Staring into the depths of a pattern of colour, that has until recently been buried and hidden for millions of years. It’s like looking into the past, directly into the eye of creation itself. And to be able to release that hidden time capsule for the entire world to gaze upon in wonder…Opal cutters are magicians too!
We cant wait to see you guys again in tucson. We love your opals and their play of color.
The very first gem I ever remember was the opal my mother showed me, saying, “This is your birthstone.” It was a beautiful crystal the size of my thumbnail. I never saw the stone again but I still love crystal opals. When I first saw Black Opal Direct on YouTube over four years ago I became a subscriber and would binge watch the shows I missed. I started buying semi-precious gems stones and learning how to cut and polish them looking forward to the day I can buy some Australian opal rough and cut my own crystal!
I wasn’t much interested in opals until my partner turned me on to them. Maybe one day I will buy him an opal signet ring! I love the mesmerizing colours that kind of resemble nacre but much more intense. I get lost in the sea of colours even on a smaller gemstone. Thanks for sharing your opal expertise with us! 😀
woops accidentally left it as a message during your after hours 😅
Hiya Hiya!
I think I like blue-green flagstone pattern black opal best. I have a slight preference for teardrop shape.
I do really enjoy your vids!
Jake Horner
Hello from Montreal
Thank you for the contest, it’s awesome!!
I love when you do a really deep blue with ocean blue on black stone. I do love crystal opals too but then who doesn’t hahaha. But I still prefer the deep blue ones with ocean blue to give depth to the stone. Flagstone pattern and Chinese script pattern are my favourites. I love ovals and drop shapes or simply a round shape also. Please If you could do more blue opals it would make my days. You do a great job of entertaining us while teaching us about opals and all things Aussies !! Keep having fun!!
Marie-Claude from Montreal Canada
I was born in October and always felt so lucky opal is my birthstone. I love crystal opal and black opal, the brighter the better!
Hi there lovers of opal .. and who between us can say they don’t love this miraculous stone …?
We all do , for different reasons…
Me , I’m imagining a fantastic world, and each stone is a glimpse into that .. my imagination runs wild and my heart just tremble; I don’t have just one type of opal that I prefer.. they are all beautiful in their own way ; each and every one is unique and beautiful, fascinating and wonderful. One thing would be for me the supreme thing to cherish, let me “see” inside it .. let me see the “other “ world, a new galaxy, a glimpse into something else ..that’s all I would dream about (and I’m dreaming to tell you honestly, every time I see a stone from you )
Thank you for letting us be a part of this wonderful journey… all the best , from Canada
I like opals because each stone has a unique pattern. Just like people.
I love all things about opals, you can have a good cut with great colors and shape and you work it a little more and it is completely changed into something better. I loved the story of the butterfly that was beautiful then sad that she lost all her color.
My husband and I love watching your beautiful work all the way from Washington state. Our favorite pattern is the chaff or flagstone pattern and I especially love when the pattern has red in it. Thank you for sharing your work with all of us and keep up the amazing work!
Hey. I think my favorite attribute might just be harlequin. Keep up the good work:)
Hey everyone! So excited for opal month, life is always better with a dose of beautiful opals to look at and learn from. Opal has been my favorite gemstone since I was 9 and saw a magazine article about opals. I particularly like cristal opal because it’s a bit like colors just floating in mid air. My favorite opal attribute is pattern, I actually found your YT channel because I made it my mission to learn as much as possible about the different opal patterns; and the striated pattern on your opal ‘The Rainbow Serpent’ is my all time favorite, I couldn’t believe it was real! Goes to show that no matter what we create, nature probably thought of it first.
Hey BOD crew!
My tastes are similar to Justin, I think. For me, the most mesmerizing opals are crystals with chaff, striated, and/or flagstone pattern, especially those with the whole range of colors and especially strong aqua blues. The perfect example to me is the one from Justin’s personal collection (I think originally from his dad’s collection), the one he will never sell (I’m heartbroken haha). I’m also a sucker for the contrast in some really bright boulder opals, the way the opal fills in the cracks.
You guys rock! Keep up the good work!
I’ve always loved opal thanks to my mother, she has an opal ring she was gifted and I’ve always been facinated by it.
For me a beautiful teardrop is my favourite, preferably in a rubover setting so I don’t catch it on things.
I love the blues and purple/magenta colours.
This will be an amazing wee gift pack for people to win, so good luck everyone, happy Opal month and thanks BOD for the chance of winning it. Take care
My husband and I are opal crazy! We love everything about them!
It is my husband’s favourite gem to cut. With having health issues and a brain malformmation it is difficult to figure out something to keep the mind off the chronic pain. Opal cutting is one of the main distractions he uses to keep his passion for gemstones alive and the pain monsters at bay. Thank you for everything you have done for my husband. Your live opal cutting videos are a joy to watch, and the information you have always provided has been very much appreciated. Thank you for this opportunity for opal month <3 happy cutting.
HI!!! 🙂 Just recently subscribed and have been watching several videos a day! LOVE them all! I think I would say pattern is what does it for me. Each opal is like a snowflake and no two are the same. I am partial to the flagstone and floral pattern the most. Thank you for all you do! I have a few small bits of Lightning Ridge opal to try my hand with cutting on sandpaper now!! So excited. Keep the videos coming!
Opals are my favorite gemstone. My youngest daughter and I have October birthdays!
Also, as a dad, I love that both my daughters wear the opal jewelry that I’ve started to make, just simple pendants and earrings.
I’m a huge fan of crystal opals from Australia. Andamooka and Mintabie have given me my best crystals so far. Floral with chaff is probably my favorite pattern but needs a mix of bright and dark colors, e.g. bright green with red and blue.
Thank you for inspiring me to start my opal cutting hobby. Cheers
I would have to say the vast array of colors that can be contorted into so many patterns. Thank you gain for your time in Denver. Dwayne was an experience ill never forget. Hope to see you in Arizona. Keep us posted!
Howdy, Justin! I know it’s not the most expensive color but the blue/purple opals you cut that look nearly solid black until the color leaps out are my favorites. Once felt my heart leap into my throat at one you put up for sale that was bright green and deep violet. I also adore the ones with inclusions that look like freckles.
I love your channel. I’ve been having a really rough year and your videos are such a great way to focus and pull myself out of my anxiety. I’m so very blessed to have found you and honored to admire your work. Much love from Texas.
Hello! My favorite attribute of opal is undoubtedly the colors! As a geologist I’ve always loved rocks and minerals, but there’s something different about opal, and it has to be the stunning colors. Opal is the first mineral(oid) that I’ve seen that truly feels like a TREASURE any time I see/hold one. They’re just so dreamy!
My favorite part of Opal cutting was always the discovery part. Gently grinding off the bit with little to no color to reveal the beauty within. Before that moment, only God Himself knew what it looked like. My favorite pattern is Flagstone and my colors are bright orange into Yellow so that it looks too hot to touch. I used to cut Spencer Idaho Opal triplets, so on occasion I could have color on color with the thickness of a razor blade and thinner- that’s how thin some layers were. Alas, it’s been many years since a mining accident made me sell everything I had in the way of machinery and inventory. Since my B-day is Oct 9th, loving Opal comes to me naturally. Feel so blessed to have the BEST gemstone as my birthstone!
Hi Justin and everyone at B.O.D.
Big fan of your YouTube videos the information and entertainment you provide is always excellent.
The thing i love most about opals is the brilliant intensity of the colours. I went prospecting twice at the public fossicking area of Coober Pedy and will always remember the excitement I felt when I saw a little glimmer of firey reds or deep ocean blues on the dusty rough stones.
I used your YouTube videos to shape them up and am currently trying to make a necklace out of one stone for my fiancé.
Hi October is my daughter ‘s birthstone. Would love to give it to her. Me and my mum in law use to watch your videos and loved the information you use to give for every opal. She wanted to give it to my daughter but sadly she passed away due to covid . Would love to win it for my daughter in her grandmom’s memory. She love the black opal, in flagstone pattern. Usually pattern on pattern. In an oval shape. With all the colours of the rainbow. Red,blue, purple,green ,orange and yellow. Would be amazing to win . Keep up the good work, appreciated the hard work you put in every video.
I’M NEW TO YOUR VIDEO’S BUT HAVE LEARNED A LOT. I KNOW NOW THE OPALS I FOUND IN MY LATE UNCLES THINGS ARE REAL THANKS TO YOU. SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS TYPING BUT OLD HERE AND CAN’T SEE SMALLER TYPE. HELL TO GET OLD MY FRIEND LOL. I DO LOVE YOUR SHOW AND NOW ADDICTED . THANKS FOR SHARING.
Thank you the opportunity to enter.
I’m not certain if it’s more the colour or the pattern – I’ve loved opals since I was little and fall more in love with them the more I get to know them and marvel at their uniqueness.
My favourite attribute is colour. Especially depth and richness of darker tones. With brighter tones I just enjoy the gemstone as a whole.
Thank you for your videos!
To be honest I’m still so new to this I’ve cut and polished a couple of decent stones but for the most part I’ve probably destroyed more low grade opal just from practicing. You’ve inspired me to start cutting and soon I hope to start my own custom jewelry designing business im 53 this October but im not too old to learn. Ive been wanting to do this for sooo long but never took that step till i watched a video of you cuttin an amazing Opal. So when i met my fiance i new exactly what i needed to do and that was that i didnt want to purchase just any wedding rings I wanted to make it a little more personal and design and make them myself. Were both October babies and of course we both absolutely love opal. You have inspired me to take this journey and i definitely plan on seeing it through or die trying. I have absolutely 0 training or experience in any of this and so far you and all your videos have been my teacher. I can’t really tell you what my favorite attribute is as I love almost everything about opal accept for that dreaded sand. I’d love any chance at winning any of your prizes and if I don’t win no biggie I still have your videos to help me along. I still have so so much to learn but I’ll not ever give up and I hope one day I’ll be able to share with you pictures of the very intricate wedding rings and engagement rings that I want to design that I have burning in the back of my head. Thank you so much for inspiring me. Best wishes and God bless you and your family
All Opal is Beautiful, mesmerizing! Easily my favorite gemstone. I love opals that no matter the light your in, the colors just light up and pop! My particular favorite is red on black! Would love a Gents ring someday! Keep going with the videos, they are very enjoyable!
Both bright Crystal and Black Opal has always fascinated me and regarding the pattern and colors, it would have to be a black opal with a deep red / deep blue flagstone pattern with light blue/ orange/yellow Pinfire shining through somewhere ( if that even exists).
I reckon that would look amazing as a heart shaped Ring/ Pendant.
Many thanks for your advice and wonderful videos 👍 it always brings a smile to my face watching you work.
First off, thanks to Justin, Tamika and everyone at Black Opal Direct for all the wonderful opal content! I love watching the videos and browsing the site to see all the beautiful gems!
My absolute favorite type of opal is a double-sided oval crystal, much like the one Justin cut in the recent video. There’s just something about 3D color-on-color in a deep stone. It blows my mind that such a beautiful object can even exist!
I love the colors. I have always enjoyed things that are multi-colored. Especially when they have that depth that gives them a 3-D look. It seems that there are an infinite number of ways to turn the gem and see those colors dance and change.
I got into Opals because of thier beautiful playful colours, the first time I saw an opal it was a blue green one and I tried my best to buy it but it was out of my budget so I settled for a crystal opal which I still have but it has somehow lost its colours my guess is its either Ethiopian or I just didn’t take care of it enough. Right now I am saving up to buy a blue green opal and you guys have the prettiest ones out there, I don’t know how maybe its the way you guys polish it but Opals from Black Opal Direct have a shine to them that no I have not seen anywhere else.
ever since i started to watch your channel i have been hooked on opal, but one type most definintely stands outs..
green flagstone/floral patern with some blue/purple spots on the top… i have been looking at so many different shapes and sizes but i still cant imagine in what shape or piece of jewelry it would look best.. though i would love to have a ring with one inside 😮
i keep sifting through your videos in the hope of seeing the perfect one, but i guess every single one is just perfect since i can not pick one over the other hahahaha i might be caught up in this forever but thanks for the new interest and a lot of information i would have never even thought about.
have a good one!
cheers from holland!
For me , it’s the colour that has to come first , then the pattern , after that I’m not too fussed about the rest . I’d love a crystal opal with blues , pinks and yellows , with 3D colour play that can be seen from every side of the stone .
Love your videos Justin and thanks for the great giveaway.
Hi, Justin, Tamika and the rest of the Black Opal Crew! Happy Opal Month! As someone born in October, I love all opals, however my favourite colours to see in opals are orange, all shades of blues and greens, and purple. In addition, my favourite patterns are pinfire, floral and moss as I think it makes opals look like dragon/fairy eggs. I am still saving up to buy one of your opals, so thank you for this chance! Good luck to everyone.
For me , it’s the colour that has to come first , then the pattern , after that I’m not too fussed about the rest . I’d love a crystal opal with blues , pinks and yellows , with 3D colour play And i learn so much Fromm your YouTube Videos How too cut the Beat Gem in the World Black Opal
Thank you Justin and the Team
Hi BOD! Love you all!
Pre warning, I have expensive taste.. so script pattern is my favourite, on a beautiful oval or circle, oranges and reds would be the dream. But I really want a directional colour, (I know this brings the value down somewhat), but I would love it so half the time.. nothing soo special, but then you look again and…booom! 😂.
Thanks BOD love you, keep up the fantastic work.
Hey, what a good way of celebrating opal month. I am new to opal since this summer, so still finding new types that I love all the time, but I am particularly keen on those with dark blue flash on black, shells an the galaxy-ish patterned blue green crystal opal that I see sometimes in sales posts. Good luck in the comp everyone, and thanks for the opportunity to enter! 😀
Thank you for the video’s, they are so much fun to watch and i have learnt so much about the gemstone for my birth month. There is not much about opal i do not like, or should i say, that i prefer more. i do love the reds and oranges and blues and greens. i didn’t know i liked script pattern till i saw your video. Tho Harlequin is equally amazing. A good all round flagstone appeal a lot also, – lol the list gets longer the more you show in the weekly videos. Thanks for the dilemma.
Oh wow!
Always exciting to enter a draw 😁
Honestly my favorite sort of opals are black with red mossy or chaff patterns, though I do find most of the ones I get from my rough parcels are blues and greens.
Crikey, don’t know if I can pick a favourite attribute. It’s the sheer variety that fascinates me. But hold on – SCRIPT pattern. Ohhhh yeah. Script, blue/yellow.
I love a light blue toned crystal Opal or a harlequin pattern
Hi, my favourite Opal would be an oval with a broadflash of colour. I actually love the blues and greens.
Happy Opal month
3d flagstone red, yellow, orange
I love black opals (who doesn’t) pattern doesn’t matter as much to me as the brightness of the color. Eventually I want to make an opal ring 🙂
I’ve started to collect opals a few years ago but since I’m from Mexico all the opals I have are Mexican opals, I’ve never seen an Australian opal in real live but the most stunning atribut I will say are the colors and the patterns some opals can take, it’s amazing all the variation the color can take. And it’s amazing the abismal difference between Mexican and Australian opals. Incredible stones opals are
I love all the patterns that you can find in an opal. Script pattern is the most interesting one but i really love the pinfire pattern because it reminds me of the universe and all the galaxyes out there.
Happy Opal month =)
Thank you so much for this opportunity! OPAL IT’S MY DREAM …I NEVER ONE OPAL …I L ❤️ THE COLORS OF OPAL ….la cosa che cattura subito la mia attenzione e la mia emozione…IT’S A DREAM ONLY TO SEE THE OPAL!!!
I love all of them, but my favorite is probably the flagstone black opal with reds and blues.
Hi Justin and the Team
I love all Australian opal but pinfire just is just something else!! So, I have written you a Haiku poem which sums up what I feel when I see them.
Captured in a stone,
Galaxies of tiny stars,
Twinkle red, green, pink.
Cheers Michelle
Hy! Love from Pakistan to Opal family. I’m also Born in October and I’m so lucky to be in love with Opal Stones. As for as Attributes are concerned I suppose Opal is a very rare stone in this world having all colors with him. Thanks for the opportunity to being a part. Also loving your work as you maintained the shape, the Size, the quality of your work, is much appreciated / awesome. Hope I can get a chance to win this 😊.
I love the colors of the opal best! The color of something is everything! With opal the colors vary and you don’t know what you will get until you “go in”!!! I love the purples and blues. I hope to one day have an opal ring! I love watching you cut stones, it is very relaxing!
Happy Opal Month! My favourite opal pattern is Asteria, especially when it’s in my favourite colours, blue and green! I love what you do and have learnt so much about opals, thank you!!!
I LOVE all your videos and have to say the reveal of the script pattern was my absolute favorite. It was amazing to watch it appear and amazing how happy you were!! Keep up the great work-I’ve learned so much.
Floral patterns are unrivaled! You get the best of some flagstone with clusters of dazzling colour. Polish it into a nice little cab and the body colour doesn’t even matter, as long as it’s full of colour it’s got a place in my heart.
Love all opals . I have no favorites
Love the vision you see before you “go in” not to many gems in Casper, Wyoming. Would be nice to win one for my amazing 2 year old granddaughter.
I’ve always loved the crystal opals, then I had a daughter born in October. Good luck everyone.
G’day Guys!
If you had said to me a month ago that I would be entering a competition to win merch from a opal cutting YouTube channel, I would have thought you were nuts. But after going down the infamous YouTube rabbit hole late one night and somehow landing on a video of Justin cutting opal and telling stories, here we are. I think I was bitten by the opal bug and captivated by Justin pretty much immediately. So much so, a week after binge watching all your videos I found myself buying lightening ridge rough gamble opal, a Dremel and attachments plus all the extras like cerium oxide and dopping sticks etc to begin my cutting and black opal hobby (which is fast becoming an obsession lol) Hopefully one day I’ll cut some nice little gems to buy myself a cabbing machine like Justin’s. I’m so happy to have stumbled on your channel and to be part of this great community. Thank you guys ❤️
So far my favourite attributes mimic my favourite stone that I cut just 2 days ago. It’s is a layered pattern with pastel blues, oranges and green mossy/flagstaff on the first layer and some amazing pastel and neon pink chaff on the top layer. Classic oval type body shape with a medium to high dome. As amazed as I am with the little beauty, it is only 0.8crt so to round of my favourite attributes I like 2-5 CRTs
Sorry for the novel, but thought I would kill 2 birds with one stone (or opal) and just let you know how grateful I am to have stumbled down that YouTube rabbit hole and found you and your community.
Thank you again
Chris
Nice I love it Chris
Happy Opal Month to you both. Pinfire Yellow/Red is my favorite but rare. I plan to come to Australia in a couple of years and I am excited already. See you soon.
Let me just say your channel can to me in a time when I really needed it. I shattered both of my feet and couldn’t really do much but I found some peace and suspense and fun in your videos. So I would say my favorite is ones that surprise you like finding flagstone or beautiful color when you didn’t think it was there.
I love opals and their individual beauty. First time I saw one when my Mum got one for her birthday in the nineties. That whas the moment i fell in love with opal. For me most important is the colour and pattern, followed by brightness… that‘s what makes them unique…!
Hi! Ben here from Nephi, Utah.
My favorite patterns of opal are the Chinese writing patterns and Harlequin Patterns. My favorite types of opal are black opal and fire opal. The play of color in opal is unique to any other stone to me because they seem to appear like an electronic light show in how, as you turn it, the play of color, well, plays! 😀 Like LED lights pulsating. Artistically, opal really captures attributes of movement which defines itself to being a somewhat mystical thing to me since it was created by nature herself. This my very favorite thing about opal, it is entirely unique and truly brilliant to behold.
As many of us do, I love all opals. Yet, I have a soft spot for crystal opal. In particular those with sand within the interior, which makes them look like pictures of nebulae and interstellar gasclouds.
I LOVE a crystal Opal! The script & flagstone patterns are definitely favourites of mine ❤️ Colours I’m most attracted to in Opal is the gorgeous classic Opal cyan colour! As well as purple hues in some black opals✨ Peardrop cuts are in my heart 🍐 opals absolutely ENCHANT me! It’s like owning a real piece of magic!
My favorite opals have the warm non directional colors with some chaff, and my favorite shape is barrel. I have been following you for a few years now and love your content and even have a couple of your stones. Thank you for bringing us along on the crazy adventure that is opal cutting and keep up the good work.
I actually love dark or crystal opals more than black, there is just something mysterious about both types, the way the color shifts when you move them around. Moss and flagstone are my favorite patterns, but to be honest, I just love them all! Just as long as there is some pink, purple or light blue in it.
Oh and the shape, now that is something that I had to think really hard on. I have a certain preference for the rawness of free forms, preferably with some host rock still visible, but if I really have to choose, rounded cushion cut or an oval, depending on the play of color.
I would like to thank you for all of your video’s, there is just something relaxing about hearing your voice talking trough the process and you guys having fun while doing it. They inspire me and my partner to go after our own dreams of cutting opals. Unfortunately we always miss your Lives, but I hope if we are ever in Australia we can catch you Live!
Happy Opal month!!
Much love and luck
My favorite thing about opals (besides watching you cut them!) is that every single one of them is so unique.
My favourite attribute/pattern would be a black opal with pinfire pattern… what I love about Opals is that no two are ever the same – they are all individual/unique
What I love most about opal is that every stone Is unique and you never really know what you are going to get out of the rough. Every stone has a special character unlike any other gem stone where when you have seen one you pretty much seen them all, in opal every stone is different and you never get tire of looking at them.
Love all your work and your channel has been a blessing to watch for the last couple of days. Cheers!
*years not days.
I love Black Opals with stripes of red and green that flash brightly as light shines on them, with the colors seeming to dance as light moves about the stone, where it’s like holding a rainbow in your hand.
As for style and cut, Cabochons are my favorite, as they preserve the natural beauty of the stone. I believe with Opals, oftentimes less is more.
I was first inspired to cut Australian opal by watching Justin’s videos. Over the almost three years cutting I’d have to say my favorite type of opal is black opal with flagstone and chaff mixed. Second place is a tie between grey based opal and crystal opal.
Hello, really dig the videos and wanted to say that I love black opals with the blue and green colors. I totally dig the flagstone type too and dream of some day possessing one of my own.
Love the YouTube channel. My fave would be a Black opal, pinfire pattern. Having said that, all patterns are beautiful. Love some of the crystals that you cut.
I just love watching you cut your opals! It feels like a treasure hunt every time you are on the wheel. I love the color of the opals, especially the blue greens! I have been watching you on YouTube for a long time and so happy for your success on your channel. For me, I love the opal but I watch because you are honest, are a good man, and I learn so much! Happy opal month!
Hi everyone,
I love every Opal but my favorite colors are blue and turquoise. So I take happily the ones that are the least in demand ! For patterns I love them all, they are so amazing and I can look at them all day long.
Happy october from France!
I love that no other gemstone comes close to the play of colour that can be found in opal, it truly is a unique gem.
Happy opal month
Hello Justin! I just wanted to let you know I am a young man from the states and I just finished serving in the navy. I always loved watching your videos through the years, they have brought me great joy, and you have inspired me to become an opal cutter and jeweler! Thank you for all the information you have always graciously given. My favorite type of opal is Mintabie seeing on how it is a little bit harder and great for jewelry! Have a good one, cheers!
Hi Justin
I think the best attribute
that any opal has is the fact that no 2 are the same.they are just as unique as us.each one has a story to tell .by the way no one tells the story of opal quite like you .keep up the awesome work
Hello Justin! I just wanted to let you know I am a young man from the states and I just finished serving in the navy. I always loved watching your videos through the years, they have brought me great joy, and you have inspired me to become an opal cutter and jeweler! Thank you for all the information you have always graciously given. My favorite type of opal is Mintabie seeing on how it is a little bit harder and great for jewelry! Have a good one now, cheers!
Black Opal Direct
Hi there! You have contacted us outside working hours but we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
I have been a life long lover of opal seeing how I am an October baby its inevitable.I have spent many hours gazing in to the polishing wheel wondering what new and amazing miracle of mother nature is going to appear. I would definitely call my self a gem and mineral obsessed amateur.I have been cutting and polishing everything I can get my hands on.I think my favorite well two favorite ones of yours would be the Galaxy, its like the whole world wrap up in a tiny little view.It is truly pulls you in to its own journey of time and creation. The other that I love love is the Serendipitous Opal.Not only is the story behind it heart warming.The stone its self reminds me of humanity, everyone’s one glimmer shine and sparkle some bigger and brighter some small a just a little fracture but each and everyone counts towards the bigger picture. I must say I truly love this company and all the staff you all have been amazing always will to go the extra
Hi Justin!
Thank you everyone at BlackOpalDirect for the opportunity to win a beautiful Australian opal! I am fairly new to gemology but have been utterly amazed by everything about it since I’ve began jewelry making. Being a student I am always looking to learn more and you always provide! My favorite attribute about opal is that they can come in any color, however, my favorite colors in an opal are blue and green. I am partial to cut stones although I love a good specimen!
Cheers!
Thanks a lot for the opportunity to win some of your amazing stones and merch.
I might have an unpopular favorite here. While I do love color opal and all the amazing patterns it offers, I never felt comfortable cutting them on my own due to the price. Therefore my personal favorite are dentritic opal, since they are inexpensive, I can find and cut them on my own, and they often show beautiful pictures. And sometimes they show some nice hues of green or blue. Not sure if you even consider these real Opal, but I like them…
Havin said that I always envy you on the type of opal you are able to produce, especially the insane crystal opal you cut lately. Respect for this masterpiece! But such pieces are way out of my league.
I’ve always been attracted to the colour of opal! My birthday is in October, so perhaps it’s no surprise that Opal is one of my favourite stones, even from when I was young. I remember I received at some early point, a keychain of a plastic circular container with offcut pieces of oval and water. It broke at some stage and the water leaked out, but I still have all those little pieces stored away in a little box.
Happy Birthday to all fellow October babies! I was so excited when I learned that opalsweremy birthstones! How fitting! I already loved opals, but the more I learn about them, my fascination for them expands! That is why I lovewatching your channel. You love and enthusiasm for the stones are contagious! Thank you!
I really love the harlequin pattern black Opal but the script pattern was something really special, you never know what you might get and that’s what makes the videos so enjoyable to watch
Thank you for inviting me to join the fun! 🙂 I love all opal, but I have a special place in my heart for pinfire patterns…. I hope I win!!! I’ve got my fingers crossed!! Yay!!!
First off, thank you so much for your videos. I have learned so much about opal from you. My favorite attribute. in opal would have to be brightness. If the color is blindingly bright and looks at you from every angle, what more could you want eh? A very close second is color. My dream opal would be a bright red-blue gem, or “one like your dad’s”. Happy Opal Month😀
Oops! I got so excitedthatI forgot to mention my favorite attribute of opals. It would have to be the play of colors! The more colors, the better! Just stunning!
Love play of colour, watching colour move and change , it has a life of its own
Flagstone with some orange or red flash among the blues and greens definitely makes a statement for me, but they’re all lovely.
I’ve been collecting opals for nearly a decade along with other specimens. But personally for me. I prefer boulder opal over the black or white opal. I don’t have a particular favourite pattern because I like all patterns equally as they are all interesting in their own way. As long as the colour sticks out then it’s all good with me. I usually prefer rough or specimen quality opal as opposed to cut or faceted opal. I just like looking at the formation of the opal and how it came to be as a rock. To me cut opal kind of looses its natural charm as you don’t really get the full natural history of the gem. It’s just all my opinion. But my favourite cut is cabochons and teardrops of opal with a play of colour along with round and oval cuts for hyalite and fire opals.
They are ALL gorgeous! I love a black opal OVAL with a multicoloured chaff pattern. Love your videos, makes me proud to be an Aussie 💕
Black Opal Direct
Hi there! You have contacted us outside working hours but we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Hi guys thanks for the opportunity !! I love your videos !! My favourite opals are dark with blue and green, I love the fact that each opal has a unique pattern and some of them are truly unbelievable, for example the one you had with hieroglyphs looking pattern! well good luck to everybody! And thank you again for your videos and the opportunity to Winn something amazing 😍
My favourite attribute is definitely the pattern, I always find the flagstone and script patterns the most interesting to look at.
Thank you for all your videos and educating me and others about opals. My favourite opals are the brighter fiery but dark/black opals that have blues and greens. Anything that reminds me of the turquoise sea when on holiday.
Hello Justin and the Black Opal Crew……❤️
Thank you for this amazing opportunity.
One of many attributes I love about opal is the huge array of colours, its like no other gemstone in the world. As someone who has Colour Deficiency (Colorblindness) I am normally deprived of seeing beauty in colour. This is the total opposite with opal. The colours and patterns are mesmerizing, so mesmerizing I have a new found love in the diamond and gemstone world. I wish I could experience the presence of every diamond in the world just to see its mother natures blessing.
Side Note: I want to also thank you for all your wise knowledge, tips and tricks, being an inspiration the younger generation and showing them the beauty of this craftsmanship.
P.S The Black Opal crew is amazing (KEEP KILLING IT)
Happy Opal Month dear BOD team! I feel lucky that Opal is my birth stone and I am extremely fortunate to wear a necklace from your guys with a black opal pinfire pattern (my favourite)!!! I’ve come to love crystal opals thanks to Justin’s education too!
My favourite thing about opals is that they are all unique, like us humans – and their colours and patterns are simply magical – you never get bored looking at an opal! That they form over a long time underground in our great Mother Earth is something that I think of everyday when I look at mine. It connects me to the ancient magic of our planet.
Hi, Opal team.
Love your video’s and the fun you guys have making them!
It’s opened up a world of beauty
I’ve never seen before.
Thanks for sharing them with us!
I love crystal opal most of all and all
green and blue that reminds me of
a tropical beach.
I’m a oktober born child too.
Hope to own a crystal opal next year
from you guys. Have to save though….
🙂
All the best and have a great opal
month!
Always love the content, my favorite thing would have to be the captivating iridescence. Looking forward to the next videos, have a happy opal month!
Thanks for the competition, and happy opal month.
My favourite opal is probably the bright crystal pieces where the colour is so strong and you can just look at them for ages. Something amazingly out of this world about starring into one. Not even sure the pattern matters in those ones, they just have a mesmerising effect of their own.
If i had to chose a pattern id say pinfire for its stunning effect and script as it seems such a weird but amazing pattern to form in nature.
The most important thing for me is brightness, it has to be 5 to shineee! I prefer oval opal cabochons, the bigger the better. I like all colors in one stone (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink) and my favorite types are crystal opals. And if the stone is double sided I start to drool… But that’s in the perfect world, with the money I HAVE I would choose lower price smaller (lower dome) crystal opal cabochon with higher brightness, preferrably with some red colors in it. I would wear it as a ring, so I can see it shine and flash to me at all times (as my pendant and earrings can only be seen from mirror and that’s not enough for me). But I am not picky about patterns at all – I see something beautiful and unique in each and every one of them. And now you can guess who learned me all that to be that specific. 😉
Thanks for hosting such an awesome giveaway!
My favourite attribute about Opal especially being Black Opal is the versatility in which you could bring out its beauty. Black Opal with its rich colours and ample amount of patterns makes it a gem that can truly tell stories to the soul in a way which no other gem ever could!
Hi Guys,
Love your teaching, and stones. My favourite is the broadflash, ador blues and greens. Love it when my customers in England say “I thought opals were just white, but these are amazing!” gives me an oppotunity to talk about the stone and show what opal it really about. If I win I’d share the teach shirt with one of my opal customers at my going show in November in lucky opal draw. However I would keep the opal as a birthday present to me, as my birthday is the 9th October.
many thanks for your experience and work you put in.
Ohhh my favourite attribute of Opal, wow that’s tough there really quite magical, so I guess it’s the colours, just stunning, I really love the blue, but when there little bits of rainbow 🌈, we’ll just stunning 🤩
My favourite attribute is the magical colours, gourgous shining rainbows 🌈
Ooh thats my favourite,no thats my favourite,you get the gist.But seriously my favourite opal at the moment(sorry Justin)has to be boulder. When looking at it from above it can have such depth in such a thin colour bar even without a cabachon ,and uniqueness of pattern Ive never seen in LR opal.Just orded my first few parcels to play with.Not saying its better than LR opal just my rough of choice at the moment.My own favourite opal in my small collection has to be a small but mighty 0.65 carat emerald green crystal with an array of patterns.When I open up my box of opals (mainly pointers)it just beckons me to pick it up.Love your vids by the way
long admirer of your work and love watching your videos. I’m not picky but if I were to dream then my favourite pattern is cloverleaf, oval cab (2-3 cts), Australian (of course) and yellow/orange/green against dark/black. Will it ever happen Justin? please pray to the opal gods for me
Hi.. I love being educated the does and dont’s from your YouTube channel! As a 50+newbie into opal cutting I specially liked the script pattern thats so rare. Please continue your generous video production!
Well if I had my wishes I would love to see a script pattern black opal with blue and red background and yellow script! Shaped as a shield cabachon set in an ancient roman style 22k gold flip ring!
So hard to choose a favourite, but I love the crystal opals, especially green/blue.
So glad my daughter showed me your channel. I have been loving it.
Hi Justin my favorite attribute is the journey and sharing with my kids. They are 6,4,2 and my 2 year old helps me carry my Dremel or cabber to the table and my containers and towels light etc and hearing him say oooooooooohhhhhhh whe he sees the color in the end. We love watching you do what you love I hope to share my love of opal with my kids one day become half as skilled as you and have my kids enjoy the love for Australias greatest gift
Hi my Name is Fabrice and I’m from Melbourne. Ever since I was a boy I’ve been mesmerised by gemstones! And my favourite gemstone is black crystal opal. I love the 3D 360 degree of crystal opal…it is simply mesmerising, I can stare at it for hours! My favorite pattern is flagstone as it can comes In various formations and sizes. I watch all your videos and admire your absolute love for opals. Thanks for sharing them with us! Cheers Fab.
Good morning all, Been working with LR Opal for a couple years. Still waiting for the Chinese lettering to pop out at me. I am mesmerized by most of the opal. Anything with a bright color.
Hi! I love opals! It’s my birthday on the 22nd so it’s my birthstone! I love rough opals, the dull rock with a flash of fire, like you can see into the soul of stone! Best attributes for me…? Black opals with shots of rainbow colours, the blues through to green with blades of purple, orange and red. I adore the teardrop shape and I dream of being able to have a stone that is (still pretty) not a milky gem with dull colours. Loves to all!!!
Hello Black Opal Direct
For years I was always disappointed my birth stone was opal as I’m an October baby born on the 1st day. This was until a friend and opal hunter explained the inner magic of these gemstones. With renewed appreciation and after a few acquisitions, opals are my go to jewels for their peacock style adornment. You can lose yourself in the infinite fiery colours twirling round on your ring finger or be super proud when someone comments on its flash of colour. I love the natural freeform cuts that resonate an opals geological formation all those millions of years beneath the earth. Whether white from Cober Pedy, black from The Ridge, boulders from Queensland or a nut from Yowah, opals are the sublime noble gem!
My fav attribute is how the colours play 0ff a black base
I love fire and black opals. The first time I saw opal I thought it was the closest thing in real life to a magic stone. The pattern I like the most is when it looks like writing I didn’t even know that was possible until I saw one of your videos. I have two very small pieces of opal but I binge watch videos and would love to collect more. I even thought about making a opal engagement ring with the help of a artist.
If I could ever have any dream job it would be to opal cutter.
Love the crystal opals with all colors, especially blues reds and purples. Love the script pattern…..wonderfully rare!
Hello Justin
Thank you for your great videos and the opportunity to win something. I fell in love with opal a few years back during my first visit to Australia. My favorite is the crystal opal in green/blue with a floral pattern, it reminds me of the sea.
What I love about opals?… The fact that they are all different! Every single stone has its own character, that’s why I feel attracted to different stones depending on current mood and mindset. Observing the play color of an opal is like a magic meditation– it fascinates, hypnotises and calms down at the same time. You can get a diamond once in a lifetime and be satisfied but if you fall in love with opals you can’t get enough! Greetings from Berlin.
My favorite part is even with the range of colors like blue green or ones that look more fiery red and orange. They are all so dynamic and beautiful.
Just love black opal and sucker for pink and red flashes. Ya can’t bet a nice oval dome shape; every day of the week.
Hello Justin and Ruth, my name is Emily and I’m a young south Australian. I’ve had a obsession with opals ever since I started watching your videos; my favourite pattern of Opal is pinfire and cloverleaf. I love the way opals shine and are all so unique.
G’Day mate and thanks for all the videos over the years on cutting opal, I’ve been a collector for many years and the one opal I haven’t got in my collection is a flagstone black opal from the ridge, big ask and that’s if I’m lucky have a g’day and cheers.
I love that no two opal are the same! Chinese writing and chaff are my favourite patterns. Crystal opal is my favourite for some reason, just love it! Love your work 😍😍
Hi Guys 🙂 favourite attribute is an active play of colour. When colours turn off and on. When a stone dances with movement. Nothing else does that like opal.
Hi Justin and team,
Love both the opals appearing under Justin’s deft fingers and the crazy antics. My favourite has to be red and gold on black. Shape wise has to be Justin’s favourite oval or teardrop. Keep up the good work.
Hi from Norway. Every week I’m looking forward to watch your cuttings, to see the beauty showing up. So exciting! Been hanging on for 2 years now and even sometimes watch the cuttings over again, never getting tired of it. I enjoy your gentleness and skills a lot too. Been wanting an Opal since childhood. I love all the colours, mostly flagstone patterns and ovals. If I don’t win I hope to one day buy my Opal from you. I so much want to wear an Opal ring. Anyways; thanks a million for what you share to the world!
Love me a good flagstone but no matter the pattern, if it faces well I’m all in…
Hello, been watching your videos for some time, it’s ashame I miss your live videos cause of the time difference but you are the reason I have got into cutting opal, my favourite attribute (although hard to choose) was between colour and pattern, I would so the pattern overall is my favourite especially when you get a special one like the Chinese writing black opal you cut sometime last year as that was out of this world, I hope I win and good luck to all who has entered
I love black opal with directional ribbon, flagstone and pinfire. All colours and shapes.
But keep this to yourself. I live in the gemmies and it’s all about sapphires.
So am a secret opal lover.
I get my fix watching your cutting.
The juxtaposition of aqua and orange in an opal is simply unbeatable. Like a glimmering sunrise over a lagoon. Aquorange? Oraqua? Call it what you will: it’s opalarmingly bewitching.
I found your youtube channel while searching for information about gemstones. I’m a chemist and I worked in a mine. One day, I noticed colored stones thrown away at the place where I work and started collecting them. I clean it and give it to a friend. Since I am a chemist, I can guess the type of metals from the color type. my favorite opals are broadflash stones that contain the blue color. Arranging the raw stones and separating the precious part inside is a great mastery. Also thanks for your youtube channel
I love crystal opal with electricity purple the stones just seem to glow with unreal intensity they are just visually stunning to me
I love boulder opal the best. The deep red backgrounds really highlight the blue and green gemstone colour better than black.
To be really honest, I love everything about opal, especially how the colors shift. If I had to pick a favorite pattern, I would have to say, honey comb in a oval cavachon.. my secondary favorite is flagstone, as for shaping, anything symmetrical. I would like to also thank you for your time making you tube videos where we can see the beauty of opals come to life.
My favorite opal is fossil opal, belemnites with amazing bright colors. Second is matrix boulder opal with all the color in the cracks. Lastly any of the rough stones Iv cut 😉
Well on the 15th of October I turn 60, that means I was born in the middle of Opal month. I have always loved Opal, and from the day I found it I love your site. I cut Opal for a hobby, and my favourite by far is black, with a flag stone pattern. The unique look of the colour on a black base just can’t be found in anything else, mind you I have only cut a couple like that, compared to your many and can only imagine the multiple thrills you must have had going in on stones like that. Thanks for the videos and giving me the chance to enter. Best regards John
So good to see you folks back, and with prizes for opal month. I rekindled my opal appreciation a year ago and haven’t stopped watching your videos since. Not sure I have a favorite opal. My engagement ring is a crystal opal but I also love dark/black opals as well. My favorite colour is actually orange, especially with green. Smallish Flagstone is a pattern I like most but a nice striation gets the heart pumping LOL I’d be happy with a Johnny Knoxville pattern 😁 Thanks for the opportunity, Justin. Love your work
I love black and dark opals with deep rich and glorious colours. Probably an oval shaped to suit a ring. The other favourite is the next beautiful opal you bring to life on that wheel. Thanks for the commentary and willingness to share your passion, love and knowledge passed down from your dad onto us. I have learnt so much about the geological characteristics of raw opals and the skilful way like a sculpture that you remove the sand and external part of the raw gem to reveal its real hidden beauty. I love the way you then attach the gem to the dob stick and polish that creation to reveal even more of its beauty. Opals are so beautiful and none are ever the same which is why they are so unique as far as gems go. Each has its own mystical beauty and it takes a master who trusts his instincts, knowledge and experience is prepared to take a risk and “ go in” love watching you work and the beauties you create. Cheers Bruce
Hi justin, i would like to thank you for the content you provide.
You and your family have been inspiration to me and my family. I did cut my first opal becouse of you. And i love the expirience!!!
I would love it if you would create some videos on reviewing opals your community has cut in the future. That is just an idea you might look into or not.
Nevertheless, here are my favourite opal attributes:
Cut-drop
Pattern-flagstone
Type-crystal and dark opal
With the brightness of 5
Thank you once again, and i wish you and your family good luck in the years to come!
G’day from Sanremo, Italy! It is just lovely here, and I relish every chance I get to visit my family in this quaint little town. Alas, my home is in San Francisco, and there is NO place like home.
My favorite opal pattern is broad flash / cat eye, and it is gold and pink in color!
Thank you, team Black Opal Direct, for all you do! Love your content and passion.
Ciao for now!
-Sobel
Thanks for all of the tips and tricks Justin!
I really love a freestyle dark crystal with a floral pattern however if I’m being honest my favourite opal of all would have to be a gem centred Yowah nut showing all of the colours. I think we are very lucky in Australia though to have such a variety of stable and great quality opals that means there is at least one type that appeals to everyone.
Hey Justin and Co! First off just like to say it was a happy coincidence stumbling across your channel early this year, ever since then, your videos have been my go to relaxations at the end of a day or week!
Definitely would like to pay a visit someday when given the chance. I’d have to say I have a soft spot for crystals, double-sided polish or uniform, wide-shining patterns on black like broad flashes. Also brighter on darker of course if its black!
Hi everyone at BOD from me in Scotland! I’ve been obsessed with stones in general for decades. My favourite has always been opals. Why? The play of colour in them never fails to blow me away and takes my mind on a spiritual journey that’s hard to explain. Being a ceramic artist I love the connection to the earth opals have as does the clay I create with. The play of Opal colours always make me gasp in wonderment with the patterns so interesting and unique. I’d find it hard to pick a favourite but top of my list would probably be a lush crystal or a black Opal with some aqua. Shape wise, I do love a drop or cushion but to be honest I love them all! One day…💚💙💛🧡❤️
I think I like beautiful rainbow moss in black Opal the best. Chaff and pin fire are great as well. So a tear drop shape in a rainbow moss or chaff and pin fire pattern would be my favorite all around. I was lucky to find one (dark, not black unfortunately) in my own bag as I’ve been learning to cut. So that was great. Now I need to find cool pin fire and chaff pattern as well.
I love all types of opal the bright colours are mesmerising
Hey there Justin I love the distinctive patterns in every opal how they are so different no 2 are the same from black to grey and crystal the colours are so amazing and you do such a great job with your videos.Love ya work.
Haha Dave good to see you here my good friend
Hello! My favorite attribute about opals are their amazing colors. I love black opals, especially the rich blues in them. (It’s my favorite color!) I think the most amazing pattern was that one that looked like circuits! I’d never seen that before your channel! It’s also my oldest daughter’s birthstone as she is an October baby!
Happy Opal Month! And thank you for the opportunity to win one of these magnificent stones.
Now that I have to think about it, it’s really difficult to pick just one attriibute as my favourite.
I would say the way the color changes and the light plays with the Opal as you turn it.
(Excuse my English, I’m still learning it)
My favorite attribute of lightening ridge black opal is the way the black dark side traps the color and ironically makes the color even more vivid, vibrant and dense.
My favorite attribute of lightening ridge black opal is the way the black dark side traps the color and ironically makes the color even more vivid, vibrant and dense….
Hey Black Opal Direct Team
You’re doing a give away and I say I’m going in!
What do I like about opals?
The color and pattern combination makes it for me.
Like blue/purple yellow/orange flagstone would be nice.
But the best about opal is the secrets they hide in them to surprise you.
Thanks for sharing everything with us. Your videos make me smile.
Schöne Grüße aus Deutschland
Cheers
Hi guys! Love your videos – the metamorphosis from rough stone to polished gem is fascinating!
I have loved opals from an early age – my favourite attribute is the variety of colours in one stone – especially the flashes of red – unlike most other gemstones.
I was born in August and have always been disappointed in my birthstone! (Sorry Peridot!)
I love the opals with blue and red.
I been lurking and watching all types of opal content and i have to say for me i personally find pin fire the best
My all time favourite attribute would have to be a red green flash on black opals, I think they’re just gorgeous and always grab attention.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter such a fun competition, especially since my birthday is next week, fingers crossed I might be lucky.
Good Aye… And thank you for this once in a lifetime awesome opportunity! There’s so much depth and so many different types of opals how do I choose one thing. For one my 1st born is an October baby so his stone is an Opal. I loved opal’s long before I had him just got a bit extra lucky with that one 😉. Opals have such a memorizing and captivating way about them don’t they. That rush you get when you see the colors of say a black opal it’s like the Milky Way captured in a stone. Or a fire opal that air hair raising feeling when you finally feel like you’ve found that sweet spot and can start to polish her up. I love watching you take a raw piece and uncover layer up on layer of marvelous colors. I could watch and do watch over and over. And each time is like the 1st that “WOW” factor. Ok ok I’m sorry I’ve written so much but they really are such stunning masterpieces all of them . If only I could become an Opal someday when I am ash and stone what a lovely peaceful yet crazy idea 🤣🤦♀️✌️💜😀✨🦚 have a blessed day.
Our favourite attribute in opals is the uniqueness that every opal gives from the very beginning with the hunt until the end result set in the imagination of your heart and mind opal is amazing
My favorite attribute is the incredible colors. It’s like looking into a galaxy.
Thanks for the opportunity to enter!
Hi black opal family! I love the Flagstone and Floral pattern! I come from a Native American family and my grandmother loved opal! How you could see the depth in the stones! About 6 months ago before she passed she showed me black opal Direct on youtube! Ever since I’ve been watching it and it helps get me through tough times! I believe looking at opal is like looking in someone’s eyes you could really tell a person by the eyes! I love what you do here Justin keep up the hard work and the contact coming love it!
Good morning me again, I was just thinking about the alien script you uncovered in one of your pieces and_ how exciting that was to watch and edge of your seat nervous as well. That’s also a favorite thing about Opal’s watching a master craftsman uncover something so beautiful and one of a kind no less… I’ve got the creative and & explorative gene myself and love love making things and gifting them. Then finding out 25 years later people still have them. Warms my heart. Thank you Justin and family ✌️💜😀✨
My favourite patten: script
My favourite colours:blue/red
My favourite style: tear-drop
My quest with opal has only just begun but I only have you to thank for that Justin 8 odd months ago I saw a video of yours on YouTube and immediately fell in love with opal seeing your energy and passion for opal seeing how you shape and polish I have learnt everything I know from you Justin and inturn from your father and I will pass on my skills as you have asked as he passed on his skills to you now I cut thousands of dollars worth of opal every day for a collector and I get to see some of the oldest gems in the world for the first time it blows me away that I’m the first or second person to see such beauty in hundreds of millions of years and even if you don’t pick my comment I really don’t mind just knowing that you may read this comment and understand that you inspired me and thousands of others every day is enough of a win for me.
🖖Live long and prosper Justin love to you and your hole family.
Hello! First of all, thank you for bringing this opportunity to win such a special prize! In my case, I love the fact that such a vast array of colours and patterns are the result of millions of years passing by, creating a beautiful and delicate element. It is almost a metaphor of life!
Good luck everyone 🙂
I absolutely love your videos and black opals. I currently wear one of your black opals on my finger. It is by far my favorite ring and I get a lot of compliments. My favorite pattern is pin fire opals. I think they look like you are staring into the universe when you look at it. This is the kind of opal I purchased from you. They are all beautiful though!! I look forward to this contest. I will be purchasing from you again in the future. I need an opal necklace…lol
like you Justin, I love crystal opal – the 3d colour on colur that you find with some of them is just incredible
Hi! I started watching your videos when I happened upon an opal cutting video like a year ago! I thought it was so neat uncoving the patterns and colors. My favorite pattern though is the script pattern. You had on for a video I watched and I have never forgotten it.
What I love about Opal is the never knowing with some pieces how they will turn out. But when they do that play of colour appearing right before your eyes is just magical ! Love your videos !!
Gday Justin and the Black Opal team. Watching your videos with the colours and patterns that pop are hypnotising. They are the most incredible natural gem in my opinion with no two alike. Whether its the hunt for them in the ground or cutting and holding a finished opal, it would all be exhilarating. Happy opal month to all.
Cheers, Glen from Queensland
Hello from Woodville, OHIO!! (Near lake Erie) I love the Gladstone and chaff patterns! Well actually, all opal color! Even pinfire white! I enjoy the videos, keep them going, it’s always a great adventure watching you cut. When I cut my opals, I swear I hear your voice telling me to go around the edge and take a peek and almost guide me to the hidden beauty that is opal!
I love opal for the color and the fact that each one is unique.
The play of color in opal is just amazing, my favorite is purple.
Hello from Wisconsin, US!
What I knew about opals, before watching your channel, was so pathetic! I thought they were pale, watery-looking, with tiny flecks of colors. But then you folks showed this vast world of intense, changing, vivid colors, in every shade of the rainbow! Moss, floral or flagstone are my favorites, as long as they’re bright and full of colors!
When my husband and I got engaged, nearly 24 years ago, he was shocked that I didn’t want a diamond and didn’t want something new. He found a vintage estate sale ring, in downtown Chicago, and the jeweler helped him choose a sapphire that was just the right shade, so it would actually look beautifully, properly blue, when I was wearing it. They made a simple wedding band, to flow with the engagement ring, and then we had his ring made, with a center sapphire, too. We were dirt-poor and were so grateful to them for understanding our budget limitation and keeping us from adding on debt we couldn’t afford. Fast-forward to the present day – he lost the stone out of his ring! Now I’m scrambling to figure out if there is anyway to get him a new ring from you guys and reset mine, with one of your amazing opals! I wish you folks weren’t so far away, ’cause after all the scams running out there, I can’t imagine trusting anyone else to do this sort of project.
Your craftsmanship and heritage in the cutting world is an absolute delight to behold. Thank you for sharing it with the world!
I love opals with chaotic mixed patterns and colors. I know most people like consistent looks, but I’m an exception!
Hello from Colorado! I live far away from Denver sad I couldn’t make the show. I love a black with reds and greens really enjoy the flag stone pattern. Justin you just make opal so magical. I love your family stories that’s my favorite from your channel. Thanks for all the relaxing treasure hunts!
hello everyone from black opal direct. I’ve just started watching your videos in the last couple of months but they are for sure my favorite thing to watch on YouTube these days. my wife and i are big crystal collectors and one of her favorites is opal and ive been drawn to it in the process. being an october child, i suppose it was in my nature. i’m hoping to see you guys at a show sometime in the future. if i had to pick one set of colors that stand out to me it would be the blue and green patterns and if i could have just one in my collection it would be with the straw pattern. but in all reality, i just love them all. keep up all great work you do and cant wait to see what comes in the future.
I think my favorite aspect would be pattern. Cause all the colors look awesome! Some are better don’t get me wrong, but pattern gives the depth that makes you fall into the opal and it’s color.
Never thought I’d be so interested in opals as I have because of your YouTube channel. I mean, I loved opals before, but now, it’s on a whole other level!
Thank you!
Pattern: Script
Cut: Depends, symmetrical or free-form
Color: Intense! I love them all, just dialed up
Type: Crystal (not milky) or black
Shape: Oval
Black opal from Lightning Ridge, raindrop cut. Blues, greens and splashes of purple.
Paired with Australian Sapphires.
Love your work, keep inspiring
Did know opal was my birth stone. I ❤ the blue green pinfire and the 3d crystal opals. Your new tshirts look fantastic, I watch your videos weekly and you do inspire me.
Hi everyone
Thanks for the chance to win an Opal. I watch your YouTube channel as much as possible and really appreciate the time change on some of your live episodes. Both I and my elder mother have been watching all the wonderful stones that have been cut and they are beautiful! My favorite are the pin fire and moss in oval for a ring or small pendant with amazing reds and greens. Just want to say thank you for the entertainment from small town Arkansas USA.
Black Opal from Lightning Ridge, raindrop cut. Blues, greens and splashes of purple.
Paired with Australian Sapphire.
Keep inspiring ✨️
Thank you guys so much for educating my little brothers and I on opal, it really means a lot to us. I have also recently got into making opal jewelry from you guys. It would be amazing if we would be able to win any prize and I bet my little bros would go crazy. But from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 😁
I recently fell in love with Opals!! I had no idea how much fun it was working with them! I love how soft and of course how absolutely gorgeous they are! My favorite cuts would be oval and pear for Cabachons. I also like the rose and emerald cuts! 🤞🏻🤞🏻
Hey Justin & crew,
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching your videos, as well as seeing you expand your “brand”, from a cute family-owned channel to a whole production-oriented team with a fresh studio & everything!
With regards to my favourite attribute;
I can’t pin-point- a single one, as the whole collective diversity of opal is what makes it so amazing to me as a mineral- & gemstone collector. However, script is so exceptional! By means of rarity in the world of gemstones, that has to be the favourite.
Keep up the good work!
Kind regards,
Lars
Hello from Rome, Georgia USA! I love your channel. My favorite opal attribute is the color the reds, oarnge, blue green, but especially the green as it is my favorite. It reminds me of a dream I had where I was in a heaven like place and the grass had otherworldly properties. Opal is the closest thing I’ve found to matching the colors, its like peering into the secrets of the universe
Well this is a hoot. To be honest, my only knowledge base about opal really is from you folks here at BOD, and the other odd youtuber vid. I got into your content when I was recovering from knee surgery a few years back, and never left. When Justin had a bit of a cry around Christmas with that unreal script stone on a live I knew you were my people lol. Talented hands and gentle hearts.
Anyways, to the point. Since I’m a newbie, my favorite attribute is the play between patterns, the color on color. Like a chaffe over flagstone, or cats eye over pinfire (I honestly don’t know if this is even possible). Ive been Looking for a small crystal stone in mostly blues like this, to make a ring to honor my kiddos. Both born under supermoons, so looking for a very moonish stone, a crystal opal with color on color. Cheers all!
Just a lover of all things mineral and gem. Opal being on the top of my list for its natural beauty whether it’s rough or watching you polish out an amazing cabochon black opal. My favorite would be the rough knobby opals you get because I loved the surprise of what’s inside.
Thank you for all you do!!
I absolutely love opal. My favorite is a free form carved crystal opal with bright blue-greens arranged in a chaff pattern. Followed second by black crystal high-domed round opal with a bright multi-colored pinfire pattern.
Happy OPAL month to you all!
Thank you for all you teach us!
It’s awesome to be part of this opal loving family!
My favourite would have to be a gem black opal, purple & green coloured & heart shape. But all of your opals are lovely & I’ve grown to like all kinds. 😉
Hi Justin and mates,
I’d have to say my favorite LRBO is a dark striated in red supplemented with other colors. Your videos are great and instructional. I still have the practice lot and 300 carats I bought from you years ago. Maybe I’ll get to cab them this winter.
My god the colour or should I say colours they blow me away every time, I was a wildlife medic and a marine mammal medic but sadly have M.E. so spend a lot of time in bed so really look forward to your next visit as they come out sitting in bed my brew ( tea ) and you guys love maz
Hello Justin & Tamika, I am one of the lucky ones to have a birthday this month. The 7th is my day. I love all opal patterns and colors. Pinks, reds & yellows are my fave. Your channel was the first I ever subscribed to and still look forward to the next one. In my opinion, no other stone come close to the opal’s beauty.
My absolute favorite is the Heart shape Black Opal. I love everything about the beautiful Black Opal.
Hello and thank you for sharing your passion for opals! It always warms ny heart knowing you’ve been doing this for generations and the passion for the profession is still there! Opals are soooo fascinating! And knowing there will never be two opals alike sounds almost like magic! It’s like they have their own fingerprints 💕
My favorite opals are black opals (it’s interesting because if you’d ask me 7 years ago I would have responded differently but I grew to love them so much because of your videos!) I love any shape, but the round and oval ones look like droplets of water which makes them really cute in my eyes!
The color I love is usually the green/blue ones that are EXPLODING in color, I like bright bright colors and the pattern, I like any honestly! But if you were to ask me the clover ones are super cute to me but literally any other opal woule be cool. The green fire opals are also AMAZING. My dream is to own an opal and be able to wear it. I’d pass it to generations to come 💕 also I’m about to get married so it would be extremely special to be blessed by you guys!
I’m going to take this time and wish everyone in the family great health and more awesome years to come! Thank you again for spreading the love for this magical stones!
Hi! I became an opal fan after receiving a boulder opal from my grandfather who passed away earlier this year. My favourite attribute of an opal is the patterns and different colours you can see each angle you turn the Opal I love to spot new colours. Especially red!!
I think it is nearly impossible to pick any single attribute, all Opal is fascinating. If I had to pick I would go with black Opal with red/blue.
Hi, my name is Natasha and I’m from Ballina, NSW and what I would have to say would be my most favourite pattern and type of opal would be hard as there are so many patterns that go well with so many different body tones of opal so if I had to list them down to my favourite 3 in body tones, I would have to say that Black opal will always hold a place in my heart as it was the first ever stone that I cut a small fortune out of and that was a n3 base flagstone where the flags were large and had almost a peacock look to it which is why I love it so much, for a dark base stone, I would have to say a nice mix of floral broadflash with chaff pattern over the top is just stunning and for last, white opal I will have to say coober Pedy is great for white base and the pattern for it will have to be the plain and simple layer on later pinfire with a little mix of broadflash floral lighting up the background of the pinfire!
Those are my favourite patterns and ideas for my favourite stones that I will always look out for and dream of. I also wanted to say thankyou so very much for this opportunity to be able to enter this giveaway and I’m sorry for my rant but I hope it shows you how passionate I am about opal and thankyou for being the one to inspire me to get into opal and fuel this passion of mine that I think will last a longtime and I want to say thankyou.
I love the rainbow flash of color. Tear drop is my favorite shape.
Hey Justin. I believe you are the reason I got interested in opals many years ago. I remember watching videos of you and your father explaining just about everything on cutting and polishing opals. I have gained much knowledge watching your videos. I love all the patterns and color variations. My favorite is the burst of colors from pinfire pattern. My favorite shape is probably teardrop. I also enjoy various types of opal. It’s easy to become an opalholic! Thanks for all your informative videos.
Crystal or dark opal rolling flash patterns greens(favorite color)and blues love watching your videos!
For me, the different patterns are what make opals so magical. Of course, color and body tone all accentuate what is going on with the pattern, but how the flecks are arranged is unique to every stone. Like snowflakes, no two are ever alike.
Thanks for sharing your opal knowledge and stories, and opals!!
October is the best month of the year – the warm weather, the autumn colours, a bounty from the harvest. Firstly, the 3rd is my birthday. Secondly, Thanksgiving is celebrated in the middle of the month. Thirdly, Halloween comes at the end. It is only fitting that opal represent the month.
As much as I love all opal, my favourite is the crystal. Play of colour is what I love the most about opal Were I to have to make a choice in pattern, I suppose above all would be the pin fire. Oh, to have a ring of gold containing a bright crystal opal in the pin fire pattern containing reds, gold, blues, and greens. This would be my ultimate wish.
My favourite has to be lighting ridge crystal opal like the one you did a few videos ago. It look’s egg shaped to me. You said it was just like one your father had. You valued it at 25K. I think it’s the most colourful beautiful stone I have ever seen. Good on you for doing this for us. 🍻
Always enjoy watching you cut Opal.
As someone who also works in stone and was taught by an older cutter many years ago…..I understand the connection you have with your father when you are on the wheels. It is somehow very amusing to see you do one particular thing that always resulted in me being yelled at when I was in my early training…..even to this day I still do it and seeing you do it makes me smile.
When cutting a stone in half or sectioning, you keep the other piece in your hand while you continue to cut. I always hear my mentor yelling for me to put the other piece down in the pan. “You can’t work with that in your hand”. Well, I still don’t put it down and love that you do not either. You have great skill on the wheels and much respect from someone who has a few more years than you in the cutting business.
You show the world what a skilled set of hands can do with a rough stone. Peace and love to you and your team.
I would have say my favorite attributes are the beautiful color on color gems flagstone being my favorite pattern, I have to say i think a nice cabochon is necessary on an opal but we’ve all also seen some nice big carved pieces.
Ahhh this is so exciting! My favorite pattern has probably always been the flagstone-floral mix, especially with the peach and yellow tones. The way that each stone is completely one-of-a-kind is just so special (and I dare say that I’m quite hooked!) I love all of the body tones, although crystal or even white opal are probably the ones that draw me the most. But honestly, just seeing all these other people be just as enthusiastic as me about these wonderful stones and the artistry of the craft is enough for me. Thank you for what you do!
My favorite attribute of an opal is the type! I love all opals but dark opals are my favorite! I really enjoy watching all of your videos, thank you for posting such interesting content and thank you for having this giveaway!
First I want to let you know I’m very grateful for all your educational videos, I’ve learned so much and I started cutting myself. I love to cut cabs but lately found a special place in my heart for carving.
I have to say freeform carved chrystal opals with rolling colours that changes when you moove the stone is my favourite ❤️
Hello Justin and BOD,
I love nature and everything it creates, plants, animals, soils and stones. After my education in forest and nature conservation I broadenend my knowledge about geology especially about minerals. Living in the Netherlands we almost don’t have any rocky outcrops at the surface except from some limstones in the south. Thats why I learned about the “zwerfstenen” (erratic rocks) that i find mostly around the Rhine river. Here you can find stones transported from the north during the ice ages and stones from the south-east transported in the (ancient) river basin from the Rhine. I like all the stones i see but the most beautifull are a little bit more special. The nicest half-gems i’ve found are agates, jasper (red, yellow and green) and graphite. I’ve also find some nice fossils, the best one is a jasperized piece of wood with red, yellow and brown). Although agates, jasper, and flint are family of opal (bing chalcedony quartz) theres no chance of finding a opal anywhere around here.
As my interest in minerals grew i’ve assembled my own rock collection, also with stones from around the world tough i don’t think i have any stones from Australia. I own one really small piece of Ethiopian crystal opal with a small sand spot (or matrix). Althought it is almost worthless and the smallest stone I own (0,5 cm) its my favorite piece having green, red, yellow, orange and a little purple. Opal has become my favorite mineral especially because of your videos, whom i’ve all watched the past couple of years. I dream of owning a gorgeous Australian (black) opal but its too expensive for me.
What i like most about the opal is the play of colors. When there is color on color it looks like a small piece of galaxy. Not to speak about all the patterns and combinations of patterns that makes each opal unique in such a wide variety. The fact that such a beautifull stone is hidden beneath our feet in the ground where there is no light (so no color) and no one to look at it makes me more astounded. Though i also like the rough pieces or pieces with inclusions, you always make us see the most beautifull side of the opal when you cut and polish them.
I hope to watch many more of your videos and thank you for your very informative youtube channel.
With kind regards,
Jorg Braam
Hi Guys, love the show. Yes, you’re a show now and i look forward to each episode. Oh, a Justin’s humour, not his Dad dancing (joking).
In terms of attribute: it has to be colour, not color :p… colour in it different, unique forms is what makes opal a special gem.
Hi Jason & Tamika!
First, let me send hugs and a HUGE thank you to all of you for introducing me to black opals!!!
Until the amazing interwebs brought me to you, I had only see the Ethiopian opals that you had to be so careful with. 😬
BOD has opened up a whole new world to me, and I am totally besotted with Australian opals!
While I was trying to decide which attributes I admires best, I was going through the gems on the website. The only conclusion I came to was I have VERY expensive tastes!
So to be fair to all those gorgeous stones, I will have to say that what captures me most is the thrill of the hunt. I’m enthralled by your talent to coax the beautiful colors and patterns out of these somewhat mundane looking rocks.
To paraphrase Forrest Gump, Life is like rough opal, you never know what you’ll get!!
I hope we can meet some day, and thanks to all of you for so generously offering this opportunity.
I’m a big fan of opal; simple cabs are my go-to with any stone, but I’ve recently discovered your channel and look forward to learning more about stones and lapidary through your work. Thanks for the consistent effort y’all put into the content! While I’ve always assumed opal to be outside my financial wheelhouse, it’s always amazing- your filming captures the pieces as I’ve rarely seen stones and crystals shown. If I ever travel to Australia I’d love to get a closer look at your space and jewelry offerings. Best to you and the whole team!
Justin, et.al.:
I’ve always loved opal. Growing up I was so jealous of my brother since his stone is opal! I have come to adore the crystals with all that 3D color! Color wise, I like the dark ones, but those reds and oranges really speak to me. Thank you for being so entertaining and teaching me so much!
Hi Justin and fam! I’ve been watching your videos for a couple years now and have to say I love just about everything about opals. The flagstone patterns are likely among my favorites but really the opals that speak to me the most are the ones that have all the colors of the rainbow in one piece! When I was little, I was embarrassed that my mom’s engagement ring was an opal and not a diamond bc I thought that meant we were too poor for my dad to afford a diamond. Hahaha little me was soooooo naive. Her beautiful 3 ct oval high domed crystal opal surrounded by diamonds is the most valuable piece in the whole family gemstone lineup! Took me way too long to find my appreciation but now that I have, I would never say “I’m going in” to an engagement or marriage if the ring my man proposes with isn’t a rainbow colored opal🌈🧐😁
My favorite shape is oval. My all time favorite flash is flagstone with more red and orange colors. I came across your site on you tube over a year ago, and have been interested in watching you cut the opals from the rough. You and your team make it interesting to watch when I can. Sometimes I watch live and other times it’s replays, bit no matter I watch.
I love watching you do different shapes as it challenges you to make something different and interesting. I pray that you and your family and team stay safe and healthy.
Ohh, i like the blue/yellow ( I´m a Swede 😉 and pattern…hmmm, think i like Flag the most.
I love the color of opals. The layers and depth look like a galaxy. I can stare at an opal for hours.
Im new to opal, just starting to learn about it and enjoy cutting so far. I love watching you cut and teaching how to do so. My favorite pattern is probably honeycomb. Favorite colors would be red, yellows, blues and purple. Black or Chrystal opal are my favorite.
Has to be the colours, love the videos, always a fascinating journey from start to finish, my soon to be wife loves opals and in a search for opals found the channel and have watched the videos ever since, we ended up going with a white opal but the black opals were my favourites from the start.
Keep up the great videos!!
Script pattern became my favorite pattern after seeing it on your video. Volors dont matter as long as they are bright, deminsional and talk to me. Enjoy your videos as they calm me down after a long hard day at work.
Happy Opal month everyone. I discovered the Black Opal Direct YouTube channel a few years ago and seeing the amazing gems that Justin cuts inspired me to pursue a career in gemology.
My favorite attribute of Opal is definitely the color, specifically the blue & green combination. With a dark or black body tone it looks like deep shimmering water and I find that absolutely magical.
Hi Justin and Tamika!
I love the surprise that you get when curing into a piece of opal. My favorite pattern is flagstone.
Thanks for this opportunity!
I meant cutting not curing, sorry
My favorite opal is well all of them really. I love opal its my birthstone and feel so lucky to have such a beautiful stone as my birthstone. I do love when I see purple and red.
I really love all kinds of colors and patterns of Australian Opal. Love it all!
I love black opal with red, blue, green, yellow and other colors in a nice pattern with a lot of fire and movement every way you turn it!
I love all the color variations, and also the depth of color. Almost like looking into a little 3D world of opal color splashes.
Maybe not kosher but I love a fried egg look on an opal, where it has colour in the middle and potch or ironstone around. Happy opal month!
My favorite are flagstone and crystal opal with a mix of blue and reds, pink also looks amazing and when it has flashes of yellow wow! When the crystal opal has really good 3D depth it’s hypnotizing, I could look at it all day, the shape has got to be oval ahah, but also sometimes a more rectangular/squared look is also nice, depends on the gem I guess.
I can say that harlequin and pinfire are very interesting as well.
I can say I became really curious (read obsessed) with Opal after discovering your Youtube channel it’s really interesting to see the result and the process also, now I know the gems better and I love it, thank you for sharing and one day I’ll be a proud owner!
I am extremely excited for a chance to win a beautiful Opal! I love all the dark black opals with blues and greens! Not sure I have a preference on the cut. I have lost both parents this year and have gotten engaged! I have been on this sight often to look at all the beautiful stones. My fiancé got my fathers permission right before he past and said to let me pick my own engagement ring, and I would be honored to have one of yours to wear! Thank you for the funny amazing videos I look forward to them! Keep doing what your doing!
First off, howdy! And a quick question, what happened to “chaff” pattern in you pretty intro picture/video thing? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all the patterns, but you missed part of your own favourite? Or am I just blind?
I only heard of your videos recently, and I am as hooked on them, as I am on opal! I really love to listen to you (your accent is so amazing, and different from my own Canadian one!) impart your wisdom, and knowledge, and love of the opal, in your own unique, cheerful, calming, and silly way! No I am not trying to butter you up! I find your thoughtful approach to all the aspects of opal and life, to be one that we should all aspire to, as there is way too much negative, scary, downright horrific stuff out there in the world, especially now?
For the opal! My appreciation/love of this stone started way back in ancient times, when I was little, and I didn’t even know what it was looking at. I love the whole package of opal! Even when I heard having an opal, if it wasn’t my birthstone, was bad luck! What is up with that?? How can something so beautiful, and colourful, and mysterious, and MAGICAL, be harmful in any way? That first flash and SURPRISE! of colour from an opal was AMAZING, and when you show/shift any of your own work, my heart sings! Such a wonderful way to restore some GOOD/POSITIVITY back into the world. Even those that are “Beaten by Sand” or have small inclusions, or maybe even especially those, because they seem to represent the world more as it is, rather than as being perfect?
Sorry, enough blathering for now, but keep up the excellent work that you and yours do!!
Black Opal Direct
Hi there! You have contacted us outside working hours but we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
Oh yay how exciting to have a chance to win something from you guys! I love your show as much as I love opal! ❤️ It would be amazing to win as my birthday is October 14th and Opal is my birthstone. My favorite kind of opal is lightning ridge black opal and I love the flagstone pattern the most as it has amazing colors and effects as you move the stone around. I also like the honeycomb pattern. Even if I don’t win I want to thank you both for what you do it is awesome to watch and it has always been a dream of mine to come to Australia and mine for opal and also learn how to cut stones. God bless you both! ❤️ one of your biggest fans…
The blue-green colour that seems to come up pretty often is my favourite colour, however, the opals that you’ve cut that really made me say wow were the red black opals!
My favourite bits about opal are mystery, depth perception and constant desire to look at it from various angles. Blue and green with a bit of orange/yellow os that catches my eyes mostly.
I love opal period. I’ve owned a crystal opal dinner ring (with a high dome and some color)for fifty years. I was very young when I received it. Lol. Some day I’d love to wear a black opal, but I love them all!
I’ve really learned a lot about opals watching your videos Justin. Up until I started watching, I thought opals were white. I far prefer the black ones, and especially those with red and blue which I know are rare but those are my favorite colors. I like them bright and especially like ones where the pattern is relatively even across the whole stone. One day I hope to own one. Your videos have provided a bright spot during some tough times and I look forward to seeing them every week.
Well first off I think its a dirty trick trying to pick a favourite, one day I might be feeling like “Hey. Today is an Oval black with deep blue greens with floral and chaff patterns all about… or maybe its a white drop with an orange broadflash….. but if put into a corner it would have to be the blue green black oval with floral and chaff… with a dark crystal with multile patterns going for that classic 3D colour on colour with a touch of all the colours in there
My favourite attribute has to be the patterns. in particular, the flagstone truly is a gemstone of many magical properties. It’s also my birthstone.
I love the colors of blue, green, or red on a Black Opal. I’m a Libra.
My favorite type of opal is black crystal opal. Super rare and special, just like everyone at BOD 🙂
It just feels like something out of a fantasy novel. Love opal so much
Hello Justin,
I am from Oregon, USA. This is my birthday month, I was born on the 15th. I like the flagstone pattern best as it shows the colors so well. I also like the script as it is so unusual. The blue, green with spots of red is a beautiful combination on black. Someday maybe I will have one of my own.
Have a great day!
Ganette Harley
I love the depth of color and the mesmerizing variety of Opal. It amazes me how different they can look depending on the variety and how even stones forming a foot from one another can looks so different. Truly a beautiful reflection of God’s handiwork in people too!
So many attributes to choose from, and its not the most expensive, but I find something very magical about script pattern opals – especially the infamous one that Justin cut with the hole in the middle.
Happy Opal month!! Very much enjoy watching your videos and learning about Opal from such a knowledgeable professional. My favorite type is black Opal with full spectrum of colors with flagstone mixed with a little bit of chaff pattern cut in an oval.
WooHoo!!! Love a good hootenanny!!! There is a lot to love about opal, being a retired lighting designer and technician for the entertainment industry, the play of colour is a huge draw for me!!!! I also love how the patterns has a big effect on the flashes too, harlequin and that scripty one are my favourites. The fossil aspect is also something really cool about opal that fascinates me!!! Thanks for all the work you put into you videos and the knowledge you share!!!
First of all, thank you for this amazing chance to get an Australian opal and other goodies! It’s hard to choose a favorite attribute of opals, but if I had to choose, my favorite would be a flagstone or pinfire pattern oval cut black opal from lightning ridge. The first time a saw a gem quality opal, I was blown away. It was like looking in to your own world of color. I was drawn in to cutting opals. If I won, this would be my first gem quality cut opal. I already have a large piece of potch from the United States. Happy opal month!
I think you guys have given me ‘opal fever.’ I live in place called Crosby, 8 miles north of Liverpool. My windows face West across the Irish Sea and because of the oceanic climate we often get fabulous cloud formations. I’m now seeing nobbies in the sky! As the sun sets glorious ‘colour bars’ can be seen breaking through the ‘snowy tops’ and the dark potch below. I imagine the sun streaked rain that fell long, long ago to form the inland seas that washed the silica down to its destiny! As for cuts? I’m just too overwelmed to pick yet!
I was a little lengthy in my previous post so this time I’ll try and keep it short… well shorter. As Ive said before,I’m an opalholic,so choosing any one attribute or even a favorite one is nearly impossible… like asking which one of my children or grandchildren I prefer… metaphorically of course 😂. But I’ll tell you the attribute (although not specifically on your list) that made me not just an admirer of the gem but what made me fall in love with it…I’ll call it the “mystery” of opal for lack of a better term. I know, Justin, you will definitely understand what I mean. Any other gemstone be it diamond or sapphire,ruby,or emerald or the myriad of other crystals gemstones out there( save for opal )when you get the rough stone there just isn’t any “mystery” if you have a rough diamond or other facet type crystal gemstone you know what it will look like finished or just about but with opal each one is unique that’s why most pairs or suites come from one stone because no two are alike… they’re like snowflakes. And although I seem to be describing uniqueness as the attribute I love most but opal’s uniqueness is only part of it….it really is the mystery of not knowing what each stone will become that draws me back time and time again. (I blame you Justin 😂 it’s all your fault…if I hadn’t seen those videos with you and your dad I might have through life as an admirer of the gemstone like most everyone else in the world but after watching your videos and being shown the “mystery” and magic of Australian opal well I guess you could say I’ve been ruined for every other gem) so yeah,the “mystery” is my favorite attribute…I’m sure there a better word for it but that’s what came to me. I know I lied about it being shorter,I hope I can be forgiven . Just wanted to thank you one more time Justin, I would have never cut my first opal had it not been for your videos,I know you get this a lot but I am forever indebted to you my friend.
Thanks for this opportunity as well… really cool idea.
Hello! I love all opals colorplay. It gives it a unique depth that no other stone can match. My favorite opal colors are the bright turquoise and the royal/navy blue. Blue is my favorite color, so I love that my birthstone naturally occurs in shades of blue. As an October baby and fellow opal lover, thank you so much for your work to make these beautiful stones available to all of us!
Hi Justin and the whole team,
Greetings from the Netherlands! My favorite kind of opal is the crystal, with all kinds of beautiful colors that shimmer when you move it around. My heart is always skipping a beat when you say ‘I’m going in!’ Always exiting to find out what’s in there! Keep up the good work!
Hello Justin! Thanks for the opportunity to win a beautiful gem, I always wanted to have an opal of my own! My favorite pattern is definitely chaff, with… anything! Just one sparkle of chaff, and I am happy! Color doesn’t even matter. All beautiful!
Favorite attribute is that it’s my fiancee’s favorite stone
Hi Justin
Thanks for a a chance to win !
My absolute favorite Would be Black opal in a Harlequin pattern !
A close second is the star opal specifically the southern cross opal ! that is gorgeous !
My favorite attribute has to be that Script pattern that you uncovered in one of your videos awhile back. Such a shame it had that sand spot.
for me my favourite is chinese writing/script pattern but failing that flagstone and broadflash on black, oval shape, high domed preferably.and im a sucker for reds in the stone
What I love about opal (besides watching you cut it!) is the uniqueness of each gem and the dizzying array of colors they display.
Hi! I discovered your you tube channel, because I was watching the show about opal mining. Wow. It is much harder than you think it would ever be. And dangerous. I was riveted. The intensity of the miners, situations and that not every mining adventure proved fruitful. When I found Back Opal Direct, and watched, you, Justin clean cut and out of a clod of clay, find a stunning opal, working it until it is there, like a magical gift! I found myself pulling closer to the iPad to see better! Lol! My favorite attributes of an opal are as follows… the stunning colors each one Carrie’s in its depths. I am always drawn to the ones with the blues and greens with flashes of yellow or Sunny orange. The blues and greens , lighter in color, make me think ethereal color, magic, a stone gifted with magical properties, like a soul shining brightly. The deeper, intensities of fire opals with indigo blues and emerald green colors are something I picture a warrior embedding into their sword, for protection in battle. The purple flashes are just icing for me in those,
I love the cabochon cut, domed, because it looks regal. It is splendid in its glory, and as a singular piece of jewelry like a pendant or a ring, set in gold, it is perfect in its imperfection. I also love the odd shaped opal cuts, because sometimes they set off the color found deeper, makes it beautiful! But, I love watching Jason cut, and shape the opal as it tells him to, by how the color comes out, what colors come out, and that sometimes the perfect shape, isn’t perfect. Then, it is up to the jeweler to find a way to create a piece to set this unusual stone, off to its own perfection. This is what I love, about Opals! Thanks, Kim Lorton from Kennesaw, Ga.
Hey BOD team! Thanks for this contest!
A favorite attribute of opal is hard to choose! Between color, depth, changing appearance based on angle…
But my favorite attribute has to be the absolute uniqueness of every piece. The fact that no two opals are the same. Every opal says something different – one can feel like a cosmic body such as a nebula, another a Christmas party from earlier in your life, and another may feel like the dream world itself. The infinitely unique nature of opal has to be my favorite attribute.
Hi!
Super excited about this opportunity!
My favorite attribute to opals are their light reflection/different patterns. I love how two opals with the same base body tone can look so different depending on their pattern. Love all your work!
Not sure where to leave the comment for the competition. My favourite colour is a black Opal will blues and greens with a pattern of pin fire or flagstone. I love ovals and heart shaped stones. It’s my birthday on the 13th October and so the Opal is my birth stone and one day I hope to be able to own my own piece of Opal. 🤞 ps keep up the good work, I love watching your videos
Hi team!
I’d have to say my favourite opal (of course) has a black body tone to really make the colours pop. I am partial to more the pinks but do love a deep blue. As for pattern I love some floral, broadflash and can’t forget the king “harlequin”.
I do like my Opals set as rings but have seen some really cool pendant settings out there so there could be an opal pendant on my horizon to add to my collection of stones cut by my husband, turned jewellery ❤️
Love ya work team!
I like the mystery! With such variation of the size, shape, colour and pattern each one is it’s own surprise. No two will be the same and you never know what you’re going to get next.
What I love about opal other than the beautiful play of colors, the different types of patterns, an that not one opal is the same, is that growing up my mother had a collection of stones and fire opal was her favorite. . . Unfortunately we had a fall out. . . In discovering your YouTube channel I had taken it upon myself to cut a 9carat cabochon yellow opal for my mother an as before I was able to give it to her my mother had passed away from the pandemic suddenly. . . . . So what I love overall about opal is the memories as child looking over opals with my mother and as of this day I wear opal in remembrance of my mother and the memories I have her just talking about anything and everything while looking at her collection. . . So when I see opal I see my mother and I dedicate this comment to her “Teddi Rae Jewell”, I miss you a ton mom
Love the channel and videos from the team, I’ve been watching for a few years now and I’ve learnt about the different names of patterns from them. Flagstone, chaff, pinfire, Chinese script, harlequin to name a few I’ve learnt about.
I have to say my favourite attributes are the colours and patterns in opal. So many types of patterns and mixtures together. Nature is a beauty and at its finest with the colours of the rainbow in opal.
Hello ! I hope you are all doing good ! I personally think that black opals with bright red flashes are the prettiest ones. The red color gives such a mysterious tone to the gem, it’s kind of hypnotic in a way…
Hello! I’ve only been watching your videos for a little while but they’re wonderful, educational and relaxing— I haven’t really explored all the different opal attributes but I love red flagstone patterns in black opal. (Maybe someday I’ll be able to afford one!)
I think I love the color variability of the black opal the most. Every piece is different.
My favorite color is red on black. I saw my 1st one in a museum in Cleveland Ohio when I was a child. I have loved black opals from then on. I have purchased 2 opals from you and love them both! My favorite shape is round and then oval. My favorite is pin fire and lots of it and next flagstone.
Hi all! I love opals in every form and colour probably due ti being an October baby! I will be celebrating my , ahem, aaaah 55th year upon this great big blue marble on the 17th. If I had a choice in a stone to wear I would say black with red flash is my absolute favorite. I really do love them all though and am fortunate enough to have been gifted my Great Aunts Tiffany opals in Glass with glycerin as well as her solid pendant. I save those pieces for special occasions 😄 Thanks for what you do, I have learned a lot from watching you! Peace, Larissa
My favorite opal attribute honestly has to be good ol lightning ridge true rough opal with that glimmer of color behind a pale skin awaiting to be revealed by the masters hands! My favorite pattern in an opal rough specimen is the stacked bar pattern that makes for an unbelievable surprise when properly cut! Thank you for all that you do and do for the opal community!!! You are a true LEGEND!!! 😀
Thanks for the opportunity to win a giveaway! I have enjoyed your videos for quite a while during the lockdown. I have wanted a piece of black opal for a long while.
I particularly love the cabechons in oval with green/blue/red. And the flagstone or script pattern. They are fascinating! The play of color makes opals irresistble.
Truthfully any opal is a gift of God!
Hi Justin and Tamika, great to catch another live session!! My favourite attribute is play of colour. I go weak at the knees for an extremely bright double sided high dome Justin hand turned oval crystal opal AKA “EBDSHDJHTOCO” Opal 🙂
Keep up the great content guys!!
my favorite thing about opal is the variation! so many different patterns and colors to choose from. one day i will own an opal fossil!
Hi from Edmonton, Canada! My favourite opal by far is 5/5 brightness crystal opal, especially when there’s a good colour range and you’ve got colour on colour. Pretty hard to beat in my opinion!
Happy opal month!!! I think opal is the best gemstone!! It has so much versatility!! A diamond is a diamond, with only a few colors, same with most gemstones… but an opal??? It can be a dark opal or a crystal opal, it can be a black opal. it can be flagstone pattern, pinfire pattern, chaff pattern, or all 3 or a completely different combination of patterns!! It can have blues, green, reds, oranges or every color of the rainbow!! There’s so many endless combinations it can be!! And the good thing is they’re all beautiful!!! Thanks for everything you guys do!!
Gotta love bright pinfire on black.
Thanks for all the work you all do on the videos. Kind of like meditation, watching your videos (sorry if that sounds weird😂).
My favourite pattern would have to be a flagstone and the blues and reds are my favourite colours! 😃
I love the fact that each opal is totally unique in colour pattern and design …….. the most Beautiful gems ever !
My favorite kind of opal is a crystal opal. I feel so lucky to have opal as my birthstone. When I was young, I didn’t really appreciate opals, but my dad took us to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and I saw a large, raw crystal opal and it was the most beautiful stone I had ever seen. It was magical, and I was hooked!
The reason I’m infatuated with Australian Opal is that it’s not a hydrophane type of Opal. So many others Opals from around the world are, and they can temporarily lose their play of color when saturated. Australian Opal keeps it’s natural brilliance and colorful patterns without fading due to moisture absorption. That is my favorite attribute.
Hi from Amsterdam
my Birthstone is a Opal, october 22,
My favorite is a cussion cut bleu green broadflash opal
I enjoy the live sessions and de fun you have with each other
Happy opal month!
After much contemplating,I cannot choose one single attribute. For me it is everything about opal that fascinates me, from the formation to the mining to the cutting and polishing. And thank you so much for sharing the Dreamtime story, that was awesome!
Oh my gosh Opal month and my birthday so Opal is my birthstone. Love watching you work, amazing what you do.
My fav Opal is definitely a crystal Opal, my favourite pattern is flagstone.
I live in the Isle of Man so I realise you probably wouldn’t want to post a prize to me but just wanted to say keep up the good work, and happy Opal Month to one and all.
Regarding opal attributes, my favorite pattern is script.
Regarding giveaways, I like simple entries like this.
For me it’s that every opal is unique. The wonder of nature captured in a stone, each different but equally mesmerising.
I have a soft spot for classic Lightning Ridge black opal, the blues and greens are so harmonious and tranquil, pools you just want to jump right into.
Thanks Justin for sharing so generously your passion and expertise and bringing colour to the world!
I have been a life long lover of opal seeing how I am an October baby its inevitable.I have spent many hours gazing in to the polishing wheel wondering what new and amazing miracle of mother nature is going to appear. I would definitely call my self a gem and mineral obsessed amateur.I have been cutting and polishing everything I can get my hands on.I think my favorite well two favorite ones of yours would be the Galaxy, its like the whole world wrap up in a tiny little view.It is truly pulls you in to its own journey of time and creation. The other that I love love is the Serendipitous Opal.Not only is the story behind it heart warming.The stone its self reminds me of humanity, everyone’s one glimmer shine and sparkle some bigger and brighter some small a just a little fracture but each and everyone counts towards the bigger picture. I must say I truly love this company and all the staff you all have been amazing always will to go the extra
My Favorite pattern is flag stone , color would be the bright green ones mixed with anything , favorite shape would be a cusion cutt ,and style would be the bright n5 ones for black opal poch on the back 🙂
Well ALL I know about Opals is from Black Opal Direct (OK and I have to admit a few episodes of Opal Hunters). It got us through COVID Quarantine when we first found your YouTube page and I’ve caught up on each video going back 10 years. My favorite attribute would be the levels of depth (or what you would call ‘Color on Color’) of any bright patterned black crystal Opal (but if I had to choose it would be Pinfire over Striated!). Beautiful Opals should not exist, but they do. Thanks for letting us into your world!
How can you pick just one attribute about opal that is your favorite?
The gem itself is so unique with every one being different in color pattern and shape!
I guess if I had to pick it would be when opal is cut into free form or when it is tear drop shape!
I could never say one body tone or color is my favorite because I love it all but my favorite colors to see are the purples or pinks and the harlequin pattern is quite incredible. I’ve learned so much about opal through your videos and I get excited everytime you post something new.
Thanks for the opportunity to win anything just being able to see the beautiful gems you work on is already such a prize in itself!
Thanks for all of your informative and entertaining videos. It’s amazing to see you reveal the gem hidden inside the sand and potch. I particularly like the pinfire pattern in a dark opal. It reminds me of a night sky but with incredible color!
I am absolutely fascinated by opals! Since I was about 13 my father would show me some opals that my grandfather had collected during his time in Australia. Ever since I’ve loved learning more about them. I am a big fan of the cushion cut opals with a vibrant play of flagstone pattern. The play between iridescent green to yellow and brilliant blues make me spend I don’t know how long getting lost in their beauty. I love your work and passion in educating all of us. Thank you!!
My favorite part of an opal, hmmm…. right I’d have to say the pattern is the top for me, i find it really interesting when you have multiple patterns on a gem especially if there is a clear divide down the stone between the two patterns
My favorite attribute about opals are the deep almost ultra violet hues of black opal. They shine with a color that almost feels like it’s outside our visual spectrum. Kind of like seeing something you aren’t supposed to be able to see. Like a glimpse into another dimension. When reading H.P. Lovecrafts “The Coulour from Out Of Space” my fist visual was of a gaseous and amorphous cloud with the colors of a black opal.
Sorrry I missed the live. What I love about Opal the best is the UNIQUE pattern and beauty of each and every piece. We in the family try to watch each episode. I’m an October baby so I am opal! Someday I will find that stone that speaks to me and make a man’s ring out of it. A whole lot of them have spoken to the Mrs., who’s sitting next to me watching. 🤔 Keep on showing us the transformation from rough to beauty! Love you guys. Over here in Massachusetts, we don’t get over to Tucson very easily. Come to Boston!
Hands down my favorite thing about opal is it’s movement of color. No other gem or stone moves on the inside like opal does. Who but the Lord would create a rock that appears to have heavenly life inside it!
My favorite aspect is just how bright and vivid the colors are on an opal unlike any other gem
A striated crystal, heavy on the reds and oranges in a nice oval – around 1ct. because I want my gem quality opal to be an elegant surprise. I leaned all of this from you, thanks!
My favourite effect has to be when you have a floral or similar pattern with really pronounced but spread out striations that shine through with light play. Stark contrast of any description is always stunning in opal! It’s crazy to think that gems as beautiful and complex as opals have formed naturally. Keep sharing your passion, it’s a joy to see.
I like the red striated ones.
Pattern and color are what captivate me. Doesn’t matter the size. Gazing into a polished opal I find myself thinking of nebulae and galaxy formations especially when there is that three dimensional multilayered colors. Explosions of color just like stars being born.
Hard question, but I guess color, that along with pattern keeps me watching. Lucky you to get to discover and touch all those special gems! Just started watching a couple months ago, I love it! So interesting .Gosh what a great chance to win something, thanks. My daughters birthday is October 12, she has of course always loved Opals!
I love how each piece is unique, but love when you have the full range of colors from blue to red in a stone
I really like the combination of red and blue in the harlequin pattern. I mostly like black opals in rings, so a medium to low dome circle or oval cut are my favorites.
Hi guys,
Finally got my hands on some small little opals left to me by a family member. Out of all of them there is one cut and polished and I love it.
But the script pattern on the opal you had in your video a while ago takes the cake for me. Unreal to see.
I enjoy the flashes of colour play in crystal Opal particularly and find the kaleidoscope of colour mesmerising. I could look into these spectacular gems for ages.
Happy Opal month, my birth month.
My favorite attribute is the play on play 3D color you see in Opal. I’m partial to any of them that have a teal and purple color in them. I don’t have a favorite pattern but I love a stone with color everywhere and not voids. My husband bought me a ring for Christmas last year from you. It’s the best present I have ever received.
I would have to say my favorite opal is the one on my finger from BOD which is a black opal with blue & green moss/pinfire pattern and matches almost everything I wear! If I could get another, I would go for a crystal with color on color – ideally with flagstone and pinfire. Love it when you cut one of those on camera 🙂
Thanks for all the smiles and opal education!
I love the 3 dimensional aspect of Opal. It feels like you could fall into the stone and be surrounded by a whole world of shape and color. There is nothing else like it. Thank you so much for sharing the opal experience through your channel. I knew almost nothing about opal before I starting watching your content and now I don’t miss an episode because the variety and the excitement of the unknown means it never gets boring.
My favorite attribute is the diversity! No two stones alike
Crystal opal is my favorite type
G’day from the states ! I love your videos. Just so calming tk watch them go from a rough rock to a finished piece. Opal is my mother’s birthstone so It has always fascinated me. My favorite attribute has got to be a broad red flag stone pattern!
Keep up the good work!
My favourite attribute to an opal has to be the pattern
Nothing beats a vibrant script pattern with a solid black backing. Some of the purple and red mixes you can find in an opal are extraordinary and seem to not be real at times, it takes me to a happier place just staring into a beautiful cut and trying to decipher the ornate meaning to the patterns 🙂
I love opal because it brings out the kid in me. Everytime I cut one it is like opening a present on Christmas morning. I never know what is behind the wrapper until I open it. I remove tha potch wrapper ( because I can’t afford a clear )and there is the most gorgeous array of colors and patterns. I love having Christmas day several times a year because of opals attributes color and patterns.
Hi guys, love the channel. Gold is my number one favourite thing but I do love the boulder opal, not so much just a big chunk of colour but when it has lots of little veins all weaving through the host rock. Anyhow keep up the good work.
Cheers
Travis
I love your Youtube channel and everything about opals. My favorite is the black opal, any cut. Thanks, 🌹
Thank you for the opportunity! I love watching your youtube channel. You have a fan here from Philippines 🙂
I’ve been wanting to give one to my wife but I just can’t afford it yet. Hopefully, someday.
I LOVE black opals! It amazes me that something this beautiful are buried in mountains of dirt 🙂
—
Matt
My favorite attribute of opal is the colour, or rather the variety of colours. To think that evaporating water leaving behind complex crystal silica structures creates such beautiful colours naturally just blows me away. They seem magical, like they contain the last bit of magic in the world.
I like cushion cut a lot as im looking for one to put in a ring, but all cuts are beautiful. Crystal opals are so stunning, and black opals as a close second place.
My favorite attribute of opals has to be the beautiful flagstone pattern, you really can’t beat it in my eyes. Opal also happens to be my birth stone which is what got me interested in it! Thank you for all you guys do, I really love your videos!
I think perhaps my favorite attribute (among many) of the Australian Opal are the varieties of crazy beautiful patterns, and most specifically I would have to say the script pattern for me. I have learned so much about this beautiful gem from the Black Opal Direct family that I had always been curious about. You have honestly made the Opal a favorite gem of mine, and I thank you all for that.
My favorite attribute of Opal is the colour flash that you get in a beautiful black opal.
For me, opal has many attributes that make it so extraordinary, but the attribute I find most rewarding is the element of unknown until the opal is cut. The surprises that can pop out after cutting the opal creates a unique emotion that cannot be experienced any other way, a mixture of anxiety, fear and excitement all at once, with each ebbing and flowing throughout the cutting process. Thank you Black Opal Direct for all of your online education and for helping to promote the beauty and uniqueness of the worlds greatest gem!!
I love a great floral pattern, or the rare script pattern is a fantastic eye pleaser. There is so much beauty when it comes to opal it’s impossible to just choose 1 part of any 1 category. Much love from California.
From the first time I saw your videos, to my first beginners parcel I bought from you to each notification I receive when you put out a new video I’ve been absolutely in love with opals. I know their not the most expensive, but my favorites are whenever you cut and polish a blue & purple black opal, especially the floral ones. Last month I had to replace my wedding ring (30 years married made my fingers a wee bit chubby), with a fantastic opal band. Had it not been for you and your channel I never would have found this amazing gem. Thank you from Alaska!
Wow, I don’t know if I can pick just one favorite attribute about opals! I suppose the first would be that opal is my birthstone, and I’ve always felt special because *my birthstone has every color, not just one boring color. There’s just something about the movement, and the way the stone seems to be alive.
Secondly, I love the way opals shimmer, whether you call it opalescence, iridescence, or any other essence. It makes me happy, and I could stare at them for hours.
Lastly, although it may be weird to see it as a positive, I like the fact that opals are so fragile. It’s almost like they are telling you, “Be careful with me, and I will reward you with all the colors of the rainbow”. They demand respect, and no other stone does that. You can bang around a diamond all you want, and they remain whole, and lifeless, and cold. But an opal expects you to be tender with it, like a lover. And who doesn’t want to be loved that way?
Hi kids! I work in stained glass and do work for Disney and one of the reasons I do glass is because no other medium has such color. You can look at the color when it is on the table and then look through it as you lift it to the light. It also changes with the time of day. It can be bright or more diminished depending on the light source. Pure color and light…just like opal! It is magical not only to cut into opal and uncover the magic but once the opal is “released” from the stone/darkness it flashes like it has life unto itself. The color can change and morph as you move it. I haven’t found anything like it. Pure Light and Magic. I personally love the flagstone or even more so…Harlequin. Thanks for being such an amazing teacher and artist!
Hi, I was glad when I found your channel. Growing up all I knew about opal was that it was white or pink. Never dreamed it came in such a spread of different colors and patterns. My favorite is purple, teardrop shaped with larger flag patterns.
I find all opals to be beautiful. My favourite is crystal With blue and green deep “colour on colour” play.
Hi BOD Team!
I love everything about opals but if I had to choose one attribute, it would be color.
My dream opal would be a chrystal double sided gem with 3D color on color and a bright green being the dominant one.
I guess opals speak to one’s soul because they reflect its beauty, depth and color.
Thank you for the great videos and for the chance to win something!
And good luck to everyone 🙂
Black Opal, flagstone, double sided oval cut! Btw, best channel on YouTube! Love the content!
Hey Justin and team! Thanks for the chance to win something magical that your hands created! I love all opals of course, but I’m partial to one’s with red, purple and/or blue. As far as the cut I lean towards cushion or oval cut. You and the team are incredible please keep up the great work and good luck to everyone who has the chance to win!
My little nook of the world grew black opals on trees, & the owners let you dig for fees.
Very Dark crystal
Flagstone, chaff going on all directions up down right left angle…..
Color must be a flash metallic green that rainbows to move blue red and back to green across the stone. I have one that is similar to this but is white opel move blue red and pink. I wanted this same pattern on a dark crystal but with green as the dominant color.
Red may be more rare than green but metallic green beats red and blue any time in beaulty.
Upside down drop shape with a wide top and thin bottom with the bottom rounded instead of the traditional long tip. To the point that it is almost an oval with a belly. So a smile without the sharp sides and not as wide.
U with the U a bit and round the too connect the lines.
Sory guys the last sentence got eaten up for some reason
Ok imagine a U with the tips on the top wided a bit than connect the lines and round the edges.
Thats prety much the shape i want
Thanks for the Opal contestt!! Have missed your blogs! my favorite cut is cushion, anBlack opal is good but I do love the scrip patterns(((All You)))
I love nobby opals. They have great color. I like floral or script patterns.i have been leaning to cut and polish opal my self. And am loving the journey. It can be difficult to get off the ground but am working on it. Thanks for everything Justin, you are great.
Green crystal
So many amazing comments, what a joy to read!
Every opal, has an energy, a personality, as someone else had said in the comments…beautiful pickup! This is my favourite attribute, that wether they sat insutu for a million years waiting for you to find them, or handed down from your grandmother, they find you, they want -you- to connect to them. The Dreamtime story was amazing, it is what I feel and admire that deep ancestral connection, that old land energy 💚
Every stone that passes through the hands of Justin and his crew is stamped with a good energy, adding to that wonderful story that will go on for long after we don’t!
Like Pallah Pallah, a sense of wonder and beauty is there to be found 😊 Her good energy lives on! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍💗🦋
Love a good pinfire. Many thanks from the US
The best thing about black opals, other than their beauty, and the fact you never know what you will find when “going in”, is that you happen to cut them, and you rock! Thank you for your content.
The one opal pattern that really stood out to me, was the script pattern from your video a while ago.
That such a pattern exists in nature is unbelievable.
I still can’t sometimes believe that such a colorful gemstone as opal exists at all.
I adore black opal as it makes the color brighter. I agree with Justin that the oval is a wonderful way to showcase the gem. Scrip pattern is my holy grail, that or pinfire. But I have also fallen in love with Crystal opal! Some of these are absolutely great. The layers of color and patterns are awesome. Even though I like the gems with lots of color I find the ones that have just the purple/ blue color alone. It reminds me of outer space, so cool! I am quite honestly in love with all Australian opal. Seam & knobby, I like not knowing what you will find when you take and clean up the rough seam opal to see what it has to offer and taking the witches hat off to see what it may become.
My absolute favorite is the “Dad” stone found where your dad lived. It’s gorgeous! I have my fingers crossed that I might be chosen to be the guardian of one of your fabulous gems!
Cathi
To have a favorite is really hard because they are all beautiful in there own way. I do have to say I really like script pattern on black opal but crystal opal with that color on color flagstone with floral is also on the list. I’ve been watching Justin cut opal for over a year I never miss a show and some I watch multiple times. Thank you for your dedication and sharing your knowledge with us all.
Hi
Hi Justin and crew 😁 I am always spellbound watching you work on the Opals and getting those brilliant colours to dazzle and besot !!!! They are all so Beautiful in their own way but I am Definitely a fan of the Black Opal in the Flagstone pattern !!!! All in all they are Magical stones !!!! Love them !!!! Thank you for sharing your love of these Beautiful Gems 😁😁😁
The emoji pattern is amazing however not a pattern. The script pattern for its rarity and the harlequin is my favorite. As far as color goes, the reds that explode in some pieces you cut are astonishing where as the greens and yellows from different angles make your jaw drop. If picked to win, would be special. My wife deserves it to have to deal with me. I work all the time and recently had to leave her alone during hurricane Ian to assist others. Love your channel. It brings so much calm to my life. Thank you.
Things that are in rarity are special to many. Having never owned an opal, I would sand the script pattern is my favorite, however the black opal with the deep bright blue popping inside with the high polished dome also, is my favorite. Is emoji an attribute. Kidding, although was so fun to watch you do that one! Thank you for your content.
I really love Opals. I am a colorblind person, but when I Gaze into the intoxicating color spectrum of a Opal, well I can imagine seeing ALL the colors glistening in that beautiful stone.
Thank you for the opportunity to enter .. Happy Opal month to all .. My daughters birth stone ❤️
I adore these stones so many colours, cuts and the thrill of the search ..
My favourite by far is Black Opal, Green Blue Oval cut .. Just exquisite . 🥰
Thank you for the opportunity to enter .. Happy Opal month to all .. My daughters birth stone ❤️
I adore these stones so many colours, cuts and the thrill of the search ..
My favourite by far is Black Opal, Green Blue Oval cut .. Just exquisite . 🥰 Love your posts / videos ❤️
Black opal direct you inspired me to try and cut and polish my opal in bonnie Scotland and give them as presents to friends and family. My favourite opal attribute is the play of colour especially when you get a whole rainbow of colours together. I have mostly Coober Pedy but do have a few lightening ridge opals which are so special, keep up the good work.
Oddly, I came across my favorite opal color just a few weeks ago on your site. It may not be the most valuable color but to me it is just magical. Purple is my new favorite Opal color, even though it isn’t a favorite color of mine outside of Opals. Your 3.44 ct crystal opal 14.7×6.6×4.2mm listed for US$350.00 changed my mind. It is absolutely magical, mesmerizing. It isn’t expensive but still a bit out of my discretionary spending budget. I love it. Purple 🙂
I think you guys have given me ‘opal fever.’ I live in place called Crosby, 8 miles north of Liverpool. My windows face West across the Irish Sea and because of the oceanic climate we often get fabulous cloud formations. I’m now seeing nobbies in the sky! As the sun sets glorious ‘colour bars’ can be seen breaking through the ‘snowy tops’ and the dark potch below. I imagine the sun streaked rain that fell long, long ago to form the inland seas that washed the silica down to its destiny! As for cuts? I’m just too overwelmed to pick yet! ps put wrong e=mail adress on first comment doh!
How exited everyone must be. To be able having a chance in wining an amazing piece picked by you guys (for me on the other side of this world, I live in Holland) Opal is one of a kind gemstone, every piece has a story, embrace your fantasy, lights your day up, your eyes focussed. For me to say I like this pattern hard to say, it definitly depends on the colours and potch/back colour. Al the videos I watched I would like to say I lean to green/bleu colours on a black Opal. What I never forget is an Opal you cut with an amazing pattern like a lightning stroke/zigzag pattern, it was green/yellow coloured if I’m correct. I think its amazing our world can create such pieces. Just like nature makes art in different forms.
Let this day have lots of Opal colours for all of you. 🌈
My favorite attributes are favorite type is black opal, favorite pattern is pin fire and favorite colors are blue and green as the main colors with some red in with the main color. I love those attributes because the black opal really shows the color better than fire opal or white opal and the pin fire pattern makes it look like you are looking at multicolored stars in a night sky in a small piece.
Opals have always been one of my favorite gemstones, the different types and their shifting colors, theres just something that draws me in! They’re quite magical really.
My favorite type of opal has to be black opals, especially the ones with blues and purples, I’m also partial to the ones with red in them.
I’ve been watching your channel for a little while now and It’s quite magnificent to see the process of cutting opal, learning about it and the different patterns and types.
Hi,I’m from North Macedonia,Opal is the best looking beautiful gem my favourite is Black and Crystal Opal.
Hi guys – I love BOD sooooo much!! I first found a random cutting video back in 2019 and was hooked! I’d never even heard of Australian black opals before!!🤣 (now I realize they are obviously “the best gemstones in the world!!🥰). My favorite attribute is the multitude of colorful patterns. The range of patterns just astounds me – from broadflash colours, to recognizable images (floral, flagstone, pin fire) all the way to unique pictures and script – even holographic like 3D effects!! It’s amazing!!😍. I particularly like black but colorful 3D effect galaxies and nebulae- thanks guys – Jeremy
It’s got to be the chinese writing for me! So unique in every way! I also love the pipe opal and I’ve not seen your hands on one yet!
I’m very new to opals and I just discovered your youtube channel a couple of days a go. It reminded me of how when I was little I had a book on gemstones and I thought the opals were so mesmerising. I don’t really know much about different aspects of opals yet, but I’m exited to learn more from watching your videos. I think maybe crystal opals are my favourite for now though! I love the iridescent colours.
I really just like watching the result come out of the rough, but if I had to pick a favourite pattern it would be pinfire, if I was to choose a shape I prefer something that maximises the size of the stone so from a shape point of view anything goes to maximise the stone size
My favorite type of Opal would be a oval, dome shaped black or crystal Opal. With a flagstone pattern. I think when every on the spectrum is in there a Opal is the most beautyful. Love your video’s! Keep up the great work. Much love from the Netherlands.
I have been in awe of the opal since I first saw them in person, I have always admired all attributes of the opal regardless of colour, cut or shape. I named a cat I had opal because her eyes reminded me of them. I also admire that you have acknowledged the First Nations people and the dream time. I love watching and the anticipation of what will appear.
I commented on your short on youtube, not seeing the link in that short early this morning. My favorite Opals are the very dark blues with hints of the green, red, orange, yellow in them. The pattern I like the best is the harlequin pattern. It’s checkerboard pattern is striking. I have a son that was born in this opal month. In fact he actually got an Opal in his senior ring for school;.
Hi! thank you so much for this opportunity! As an October born girl, it really speaks to me 🙂 Yes, I love opals, those treasures of Nature and I must say yours are particularly breathtaken. This is the colours that touch me the most, often inspiring combinations that give opals their magic.
Hola soy de México y aqui tenemos muchos ópalos pero nunca he visto uno australiano y me encantaria ser la afortunada ganadora, soy ingeniero metalurgista y amo todos los minerales y en especial los ópalos… el atributo que más me gusta son los colores que se pueden ver a contra luz
Definitely my favorite opals are the ones that have patterns that take you back in time: as dinasaurs eggs or dragon scales (on the honeycomb patterns) . And the full rainbow of colors that shine in the most from green to red, and yellow to blue 💙
Love your work!
Hi Justin,
i’m from Paris France looking your videos since 4 or 5 years… and when a new one come i’m still exited to see you “going in !”
My favorit opal is the Script Patern ! such unique, I chased several website but never found one like u had !
Black Opal with Script (or chineese) patern shows how much mother nature can be beautiful and full of surprises
keep going in and let us Dream
Thx Justin & Opal Direct Team
Hello everyone in asutralias black opal direct, I just absolutely love your videos. By the looks of just todays amount of comments I’m not the only person who enjoys your videos lol. I really love when you get a bright flag stone pattern, I find then to be absolutely beautiful. It’s gotta have a bright color though of course so that it’s a “cracker of a gem” lol. Thanks so much for this opportunity, even though there is a huge amount of competition, I appreciate the opportunity to do so.
I have enjoyed watching your videos for a couple years now. The way you talk about opal and explain the industry to us is truly inspiring. I would have to say the thing I love most about opal is its unrivalled uniqueness. With the vast majority of gemstones, you have a very good idea of what you are getting when it comes to appearance. With opal, every rough piece holds within it a surprise and even if you could guess what is inside, how you face it or reveal it will undoubtedly change the way it looks. They truly are one of a kind gems.
Keep up the great work and all the best to you and your family/work family.
My favorite Opal is a Black Opal with the following Attributes:
N1 B5
Heart Shaped
Star Pattern
Love the beauty of All Gem colors
I gotta say currently my favorite opal I cannot describe the pattern but I do really like flagstone patterns on black opal! I really just love the experience of cutting and exposing the fire and the method of bringing out that gems best form!
I love chaff anywhere in the stone, I love bright yellow flashes, and my favorite cut is a teardrop cab.
I love the youtube videos and would love to try opal cutting, opals are my favourite, not one is the same. I especially love the pin fire crystal opals.
Love the channel and all your knowledge and beautiful opals. I love all the different opal characteristics but I would love to find or make a large black opal with a bright flagstone pattern carved in the shape of a fish so the flagstone looks like rainbow scales, reminiscent of the rainbow fish book I would read as a child.
I like the flagstone pattern opal. There was one gem that you cut that stays in my mind and it had black potch with gorgeous gold and green colours through it. I thought it looked amazing. I quite like the oval shapes that you usually cut. Thank you Justin
Hi Guys, my favorite Opal attributtes would be Large Black Freeform Opal . Multi color with chimese writing or Flagstone pattern
Justin,
Been watching your videos for about three years now. And every time I fascinated of what you “bring out” in the stone. Love to watch the cutting, and you “Going In”. I find I’m turning the screen as you turn the stone, feels like I’m helping in some way. LOL!! Favorite patterns, Pinfire and Flagstone. Tamika, glad you help during the videos so Justin can answer questions. Happy Opal Month from Indiana, USA!!!!
3d color-on-color crystal opal is my fav. Blue and dark green.
My favorite opal patterns are picturestone, honeycomb, and pinfire. My favorite colors are greens, blues and purples.
So I recently got into lapidary, and with my very first gamble lot I managed to find what I believe to be a super rare find because I have yet to find another one like it online and no one in Las Vegas will appraise it because they have never seen one like it either. So I call it Rebis if you know anything about alchemy the name fits perfectly. It’s top quality on both sides but it’s half black opal with the beautiful blue/green on one side and white opal with what appears to be a red/blue/green ribbon pattern on the opposite side and a perfect split between the two but is completely natural. I’ll post a link so you can see it because it’s truly a wonder and had me hooked ever since hahaha other than that I also enjoy jigsaw or puzzel piece pattern, thanks so much if you manage to read this 💜
Helli and thanks for this opportunity.
For me, opal means family and union. It is a stone that first my mother and to follow my father, me and my current partner have.
The thing I appreciate most about the opal is the color and their being iridescent depending on the light. I would spend hours observing and losing myself in its colors.
I prefer Australian black opals but I get lost in all the other varieties too.
Hi there! 🙂 Thanks a lot for the oppartunity and your amazing content, it’s always fun and educational to watch!
I love the crystal opals with blue “flashy point” patterns like lightning with a kinda 3D effect the most, it always enchants me when i see those.
Have a great Opal month 😀
Hey Justin,
Your chanel has made my love for opal grow with each episode. I love to watch the gems be discovered and emerge.
My favorite opal would be a black opal, that showed flashes of red, orange, pink, purple, and yellow. Cushion cut, set in a ring.
My favourite (note the English spelling) “attribute” was a lump of opal dirt I specked on the tailings of an agitator at the Ridge back on the Queen’s birthday in 1974, with a brilliant little seam of green-blue-orange crystal colour (again, note spelling) showing on one side. The miner missed it in the processing and I picked it up. Took it to a cutter, who managed to get a 10 carat stone out of it. It has since grown appreciably in value. That gave me the bug. Since then, I’ve had four claims at the Ridge and worked in many others with friends, all with no result, but with lifelong memories of the place and its people. I regard all the other gemstones as merely bits of coloured glass — admittedly, if faceted correctly, they do display sparkling colours, but they can’t compare to a black or crystal gem opal.
I love the atribute of the play of color through out ALL three types of Opal the black the white and crystal. I like how easy it is to free form and polish even by hand. I use a Dremel style rotory tool mostly these days hoping to get a set of wheels asap.
I’ve bought alot of low end parcels from sites like Opal Auctions and E-Bay Canada and from local rock shop. I found i got more color than Wal-Mart did when they had jewelery!
My favourite opal pattern is flagstone. Favourite colour has to be red, and all colours pop more when on black. 😘
My favourite is a black crystal with 3d flagstone pattern, also any others that can get a crazy little dance out of you!
A super dark, high domed, black opal with green/blue fireworks on every angle is the epitomy of the word Opal to me. Now place that to a white gold ring and you got a perfect gentlemen toy
Hi Justin and team
what I love about Opal is the the vibrant bright flashes Of different colours and patterns it draws me into the pieces and I find I can’t stop staring at them as you move opals around they seem to come alive. I wish I had your talent Justin what you do is absolute magic and requires so much talent. There’s no gem more beautiful than Opal.
What an opportunity! I have two favourite Opals….. My first is a Black Opal with a script pattern, it reminds me – in some weird way – of my dad, who taught maths and would have appreciated the geometric patterns!
My second would be a beautiful Crystal Opal with pattern on pattern and unfathomable depth. Crystal Opals confirm my belief in fairies (just don’t tell anyone!)
Good luck to everyone entering!
Hi, obviously I love the Harlequin and black Opals in general, but I must say that I grew akin to Ethiopian Welo Opal! Where Opal oftentimes has defined color edges, welo seems to have fluent transitions. Making it look soft and smooth a bit like velour if I dare say.
Alright, thank you so much, Opal really was what got me into gemstones and I appreciate your work a lot.
Greetings!
Hello!!
My wife and I love watching your videos. It has inspired us to start cutting ourselves. My favorite pattern is chaff and my wife’s favorite pattern is pinfire.
I love the surprise of opal, different each direction, and you never know what is hidden inside. My favourite is white cliffs opal but you don’t see much of it around. Love your video’s and thank you for sharing your knowledge. It’s priceless!
My favorite opal attributes have got to be their natural shapes and patterns. Each piece tells such a detailed story, and I love that the pieces from different fields are so distinctive. I love the number of animals and plants that have been fossilized in Australian opal; cephalopods, gastropods, plesiosaurs, shark teeth, turtle shells, dinosaurs. They tell us so many stories about our past if we’re open to listening. It’s such a beautiful way for a species to have been preserved. I love that you can learn things about the size and arrangement of the microspheres that make up opal from the colors and patterns you see. Opals tell you so much about themselves. I think what I love the most about opal is the way that looking into one, you can see a completely different world that is somehow, miraculously, a part of our own.
Hello lovely people at BOD, thank you for this fantastic opportunity! Having been a lover of the beautiful opal since my childhood, it’s hard for me to pick ONE favorite attribute. I guess it would have to be the ‘Starman attribute’, this exquisite, cosmic display of all the colors of the rainbow.
But my true favorite attribute of the opal is it’s mythical/mystical nature. This is very apparent in your recent email in the story of Pallah-Pallah, the butterfly. If there was ever a stone that could be called the Stone of the Gods, it would be the opal, because the stories associated with the Rainbow are so universal throughout human history. From the story of Noah in the Old Testament, to the Bifrost Bridge in Norse mythology, to the legends of Ireland, to the Rainbow Serpent and Pallah-Pallah – the Rainbow has always meant something magical.
It’s as though I sensed this, even as a little girl, and loved the opal for its mystery as well as its shimmering beauty – and I still do, some 70 years later.
Warm wishes and many thanks for your wonderful videos.
You are a true inspiration to all of us opal cutters
I’ve had a passion for opals since I first saw one when I was 12 years old. I have always loved the black opals with blue and purple flash but I still haven’t been lucky enough to find one at the gem shows I’ve been to. When I see them online they are way out of my budget so I hope to find one hidden in a rough lot someday
I know it isn’t often possible because rarely does the colour bar thickness permit, but I love a crosscut gem. Probably goes against the grain ( pun intended ) but that stripey effect for some reason I find appealing and I find it gives a really interesting depth to the gem and allows for a beautiful double sided effect that you can’t get from other cuts. I like a cushion cut shape as I think it lends itself better to a male ring whereas an oval can sometimes look more feminine in my opinion.
Thanks for all you do and all you share Justin and thanks to the team you have put together.
Kind Regards Chris.
My kiddo’s an October birthday. Round Blue-green opals remind me of her eyes. My favorite cut, round, medium to high dome crystal opal with depth and clarity to get lost in. Thank you Justin and family for sharing your lives and business with the world!
My favorite opal would be a flagstone black with deep blues and purples. Preferably with some 3d actions
Hey, I love the patterns and colors, my Great grandma showed me some that she had collected and since my birthday is the 26th of october there was a special one for me. when she passed all her Opals and the one for me disappeared but the love she instilled in me remains. Love ya Grams
My favorite attribute of an opal is the amazing colors it can produce. OPALS is my favorite mineral of all time. It also dosent help that it is my birth stone so maybe that could be a reason why I get the opal fever. I even love the rough opals because you never know what you will find. Hope to travel to Australia one day. Thanks Justin or bringing out the beauty in these hidden gems.
Justin,
I very much enjoy your videos. I throw them on when taking a break from work and find that you help me calm down and concentrate to get back on task.
My favorite attribute is how opals can look different in every light and angle, so one single piece of opal jewelry is more diverse than a hundred others.
Thanks for the opportunity!
I personally love white opal. This stems from my Mum telling me about her childhood in Coober Pedy going through the discarded fragments from the opal mines to find any left over goodies. She still has several she found to this day!
I love Opal!
To me it’s the most beautiful gem.
My favorite pattern is Chinese Writing all though I haven’t met an Opal that I didn’t like.
I’d love to win, even a sand eaten piece of rough. Just looking at it makes your day bright..
I love a double sided crystal with flagstone. Whatever the color, that pattern is always stunning.
Hello
I’m Brazilian and I live in São Paulo. I never noticed how perfect an opal is until I watched your videos.
Thank you for brightening my day with the colors of your magic gems.
My favorite part of the Opal is the way it changes it never looks the same way twice. I was given a pendent as a child of a gold platapus playing with a small ball made of a black Opal with I think pinfire pattern and that started my fascination with Opal sadly the chain on the pendent can’t be changed and is to small for me to wear as a necklace and too long to use as a bracelet
Well first I have to say I love your work, your attitude, and watching you cut those amazing opals.
Personally I think every stone is unique and beautiful. Something I’d like to see would be an oval cut, black gem with a red and purple script pattern. If one like that hasn’t been found already, then surely there’s one in the ground somewhere waiting to be discovered!
I found your YouTube channel by happy accident about a year ago. Your enthusiasm and skill caught my attention, but your voice is what hooked me.
I love purple & turquoise together in any pattern.
Thank you for sharing what you do!
My favorite opal woukd have to be a cushion cut blue green black opal, but you did cut a gorgeous black crystal cabochon with flashing blue color that i was in love with.
Has to the subtle transition from green to blue in a 3D sense, cant actualy see where it stops being a deep green and when it turns to the deep blue… spectacular attribrute. And being born on the 7th oct opals are my birthstone #woohoo
The “rolling flash” of any electric blue, green and red !!
Im from canada, and i love watching your videos, even i dont catch your live cutting i just rewatch it in youtube… i thing the best one was crystal opal double sided .. always do what you doing and take care as always.
Opals have been my favorite gemstone for as long as I can remember – which is a long time, as my fascination with gems and jewelry started when I was a very young child. It was an opal ring that kept me frequenting the jewelry store I would end up spending 15 years of my career with, and it was during a visit to it that I was encouraged to seek employment there. My favorite thing about opals is that while most gemstones just sparkle, opals Glow. My favorite variety tends to be boulder opals, particularly the ones with thin veins of bright, flashing colors woven through the base ironstone.
Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity!
I love the Harlequin Opal, it’s beautiful and mischievous just like Harley Quinn from DC. 😁
Your opal is beautiful. Thank You so much for the knowledge you give to us. Maybe one day I will be lucky enough to own a piece of black harlequin opal. You’re a great entertainer and I like watching your show. Good luck and finding your next beautiful gem Adam Pearl.
Happy opal month!
My favourite attribute of the opal is the play on play colors that the opal is capable of producing
Thank you for the opportunity to enter .. Happy Opal month to all .. My daughters birth stone ❤️
I adore these stones so many colours, cuts and the thrill of the search ..
My favourite by far is Black Opal, Green Blue Oval cut .. Just exquisite . 🥰 So enjoy your posts / videos not to mention these unique stones .. I’m mesmerised by the flash and sparkle of each unique stone ❤️
Thank you for the opportunity to enter .. Happy Opal month to all .. My daughters birth stone ❤️
I adore these stones so many colours, cuts and the thrill of the search ..
My favourite by far is Black Opal, Green Blue Oval cut .. Just exquisite . 🥰 So enjoy your posts / videos not to mention these unique stones .. I’m mesmerised by the flash and sparkle of each unique stone ❤️
I love looking deep into the heart of opals. Each one is like looking down into a world from space. The blues are the oceans. The greens, tropical forests. The reds, yellows and oranges, deserts and the sands on beaches. Each colour sending its light out into the night, like a beacon, enticing the space traveller to come see the beauty of our world. 🌎 ❤️
oh Lord, the drop shape opals are absolutely my favourite! Especially as a pendant in a necklace they have no equals.
Chatoyance, I always love to see it in crystals
I absolutely love the pinfire and floral patterns. My most treasured pieces of jewelry have a pinfire pattern. I really love black opal, the dark background really makes the color play pop!
My favourite attribute about opal… While I love everything about opals I’d have to say that my favourite thing is those extraordinary colours. The mesmerising dances of colour within the stones are just incredible! And never cease to amaze me! Thank you for this awesome opportunity!
Whoa man, it’s like a super psychedelic rock without a blacklight and strobe.
What’s not to love? My favorite thing is that every opal is unique. You’ll never find 2 exactly alike!
My favorite pattern is the floral opal pattern! Thanks for this opportunity!
Thank you for the opportunity to win an opal. What do I love about opals? Everything! The colors, the shapes, the different patterns and most of all the mystery surrounding such a beautiful stone. Opal is my birth month and as soon as I could I started collecting opals, not expensive ones but those that I could afford. I love the fact that opal is one of the only stones that can exhibit all the colors of the rainbow and dance with movement!!
Hi team BOD,
Thanks for the opportunity to win an amazing prize~
I have always found myself attracted to translucent Dark Opal with Vivid colors.
Ideal patterns could be Cat Eye, Broad flash, Rolling flash or Chinese writing (such unique :))
I particular love the High Dome opal because it gives me a feeling that it carries a whole galaxy inside itself.
Betting that I would spend hours looking at the patterns and imagine I live in that opal’s world 😛
I love opals not only because it is my Birthstone but also, only Opals have such unique characters that no other gemstone in this world has. Just like October babies 😉 We are one of a kind and unique in our own way.
Sending lots of love to you guys! Thanks for all the valuable contents that quench my thirst for knowledge ^^~
Thao Nguyen
Justin, Tamika and Black Opal Direct Team – thank you for educating folks on the complexity, beauty, challenge and mystery of Lighting Ridge Opals and the most enjoyable and educational way you guys do it; informative and fun that keeps my attention throughout the entire video(s).
To me, there is no one exciting or super special attribute. Each opal is individual and the ways the attributes come together in that one gem make it special. Be it the color pattern, the cut, black or crystal, or the other myriad of things that make it special and watching you bring those out in your cutting is truly amazing.
Thank you guys for doing what you do and I hope to someday meet you at a show in the US.
With respect and admiration – Stephen D Rosen
My favorite pattern is the pinfire pattern as it looks like an irregular galaxy, truly beautiful!
Hands down my favorite attribute is the color of Opal. Dazzlingly unique, it’s like nothing else I ever see in a gem, and I’ll admit it often makes me feel like a dragon or raven with how much I want to wear, collect, and hoard them! I also can’t help but share them, and have given many of my pieces as gifts ❤️ they just deserve to be admired for their beautiful fantabulous color!!!
I love how Mystical Opals are, how their all different in shades, shapes and patterns are stunning
My favorite by far and also the one in least likely to ever own… Is the Script pattern. I love the look of the alien-like glyphs.
Love Crystal Opals!
“You have to be in it to win it”
Tell you what, I’m keen to have a chance at winning one of your treasure boxes.
I’m going in!
My favourite attribute – probably the translucent deep blue / green with flashes of lightning red from black nobby opal.
And Justin, thanks for the videos. Each cut is an adventure. I enjoy watching mining videos, but the treasure is in the cut !
I love the flagstone pattern and how it flows across the opal. The script pattern looks like a lighting bolt across the top which is so amazing to see as well. I love watching how many different ways a opal comes to life from big to small. Thank you for an opportunity to be able to be a part of opal cutting and creating of beautiful gems.
Hiya! im new to watching your YouTube channel. Thankyou Justin, for the hours of informative entertainment. Its such an interesting and lovely artform.
I hands down love your absolutely perfect opals. The first time you see it is unexplainable and mesmerizing, leaves you completely speechless. Every time you look at it again, you catch something new. A pattern or colour you didn’t notice before. It captivates you time and time again, reliving the first time you saw it. =)
Pattern!! Absolutely love the pinfire pattern. I love the way it looks like a sky full of stars on an Inky black night.
I love opals with floral patterns the most ❤ and they are sentimental to me because the first jewelry I ever remember seeing and falling in love with was a gorgeous opal ring that my late mother wore when I was little. And they are my birth stone (this was posted on my bday!!!) 🙂 But most def the floral patterns are my fave!! I love all cuts, colors, and types though tbh and I’ve been so excited to work with them in my jewelry more lately. The only thing I DON’T like is when my boyfriend cuts the Boulder opals and the dust gets everywhere 😂😂 We learned to not do those inside the bedroom real quick! Lol its all a learning process! But big fan over here of your work, thank you for doing such a fun give away! Much love from Arkansas, US!
I actually like the blues and greens over the reds and oranges. I’m a fan of freeform cuts. I love the black opal. And that Calligraphy pattern is amazing.
My favorite opal attributes are a Black opal Striated Pattern Red and Indigo Color with some Green Not much preference on a cut just symmetrical Cabochon Love your Videos Thanks so much for the Awesome content!
I really like a floral pattern forest green and a bit of blue mixed in so it looks like you’re staring through a magical portal into a forest.
I aslo fell in love with script pattern when you were doing the gorgeous one with the hole you gave away. In any colour really 😜
Man, I love them all. If I had to pick one, a high-dome, oval cut black opal in a flagstone pattern of blues, reds, and greens…
Gosh, where should I start?!
I know, I was born on the 23rd of October 1994 so it is fate, meant to be that Opal will be my favorite gemstone of all time.
My favorite attribute about opals is hands down the play-of-color. Not only that it is a unique attribute, but that also means no Opal is the same and that makes collecting Opals a hobby on its own.
There’s something you mentioned in one of your Youtube videos that looking into Opal is like looking into a galaxy. I could spend hours just watching and mesmerized by the play-of-color.
I have been watching your videos for a couple of years. I watch each video religiously. My birthday is October 19th, so obviously opal is extremely special to me. My great grandpa found and cut a pair of opal earrings for me when I was very young. They are one of my most prized possessions.
I happen to like white opal the most. I am very partial to the pinks and oranges in a stone. Oval is my favorite shape. One day, I will buy one of your opals. I love you guys!
Hi everyone. My favorite attribute about opals? Gosh, where should I start?!
I know, I was born on the 23rd of October 1994 so it is fate, meant to be that Opal will be my favorite gemstone of all time.
My favorite attribute about opals is hands down the play-of-color. Not only that it is a unique attribute, but that also means no Opal is the same and that makes collecting Opals a hobby on its own.
There’s something you mentioned in one of your Youtube videos that looking into Opal is like looking into a galaxy. I could spend hours just watching and mesmerized by the play-of-color.
My favorite attribute is that every stone is unique. That every opal, regardless of brightness or imperfections, has a happy owner with it. That every pattern/color/stone means something different. One man’s blue potch is another’s treasured stone. You don’t see people showing off their imperfect diamonds, rubys, or any other gem, why? Because no other stone has the same meaning that the flash of color has to the owner.
On a side note, I also love knowing that regardless of the ridiculous technological advances we’ve made as a species, we are still unable to recreate a truly beautiful opal. And I hope we’re never able to, opal is gods way of humbling us.
On a side note my birthday is also October 7th, one of the many reasons opal is my favorite.
I love opals from Lightning Ridge!
My favorite type of opals are crystal opals with the 3D color on color effect. I also like pinfire pattern and boulder opals that look like color is about to burst out of them!
What makes a beautiful Opal for me is it’s brightness and depth of color. A blue color opal can be as beautiful as a red (imho) if the colors catches the light in the “right” way. I was so fortunate to be able to buy a crystal opal from you – now set in a beautiful necklace – it’s my most treasured piece ❤️
Hello Justin and Opal family
Like many folks commenting I’m also an October baby. I absolutely love all opals, they are magical and ethereal. I’d have to say Lightning Ridge black opal is the ultimate for me. Thanks and good luck everyone
Hi Justin
My favourite opal attribute. They’re so shiny! 🤩. I’ll be honest I’m a sucker for a rough opal. When it’s just showing a tiny hint of it’s full potential. Also it’s my Grandads birth stone. I’ve been watching your YouTube channel for ages, never been brave enough to comment on your live shows 😊. In fact your videos inspired me so much I’ve successfully managed to hand polish one of my rough opals ( several unsuccessful attempts as well! ).
As you regularly ask where’s every one watching from. I’m on the Isle of Mull. Scotland 🏴 😎
Thank you for showing us such fun and informative content. while I love all opal I have a soft spot for black opal with a flagstone pattern with reds visible every piece is truly unique.
You are welcome Hayley
I saw my first opal in 2000 when I visited Australia. There was no escape for me from there on… I was obsessed.
My absolute favorite opal is a very bright black opal with lot of green and some flashes of gold and orange 😀
I like black opals that are bright and shiny with fire
As an October baby I have loved Opals all my life. They are simply magnificent. Nothing else has the brilliance of colour, diversity of pattern and beauty that fills me with joy. My hubby shares my love of Opals too. I have taken up a great interest in learning from your videos and hope one day to cut Opals. I have dob sticks, glue and a flame lantern. I will get there one day.
It’s changing every time you move it.
You’ll never get bored with this stone ever!
Every time I look at my ring my heart jumping in joy because I found a new glimpse of colour, shade, shine, pattern or universe maybe…
People saying you can look forever at the 3 things – sky, water and fire
I would add another one – an Opal in your hands!
Hey! Black opals have been my favorite for awhile now. But my favorite things about opals in general is that no two are every alike. When you have one it’s a one of a kind.
Thanks for sharing your talents and skills with us. The humor and dancing are appreciated as well.
I think Specimen Opal is really neat too. I’ve seen one piece in my life (when I was 8) and haven’t forgotten it. I remember the glittering reds and yellows in the light. It resonated with me. Opal is precious.
My favorite thing about opal is the play of colour, the rainbow patterns with harlequin being my favorite
Hello from France ! Hoping this message find you all in good health.
Thank you all for this event. 🙂
I have always been fascinated by opals.
Mainly because of the play of colors. I love when stones take on all the rainbow colors but especially with shades of purple, blue green with a touch of yellow.
Cat eyes and broadflash patterns are wonderful.
Your “starman waiting in the sky” on Instagram (19.84ct black opal 25.5×14.1×8.6mm) left me breathless ! It is so gorgeous !!
I wish good luck to everyone in this contest. 😉
Very awesome of you guys to do this giveaway! Thanks for all the amazing content. Not just great quality videos but very educational for many interested in these amazing stones! For my favorite pattern I’d have to go with not just script but the stone I got to watch you cut! I wasn’t aware something so unique could even exists! Thanks again!
Hi,
first of all, thanks for your efforts. I love watching your content.
What sets opals apart from the rest is the variety in the play of color. As such it is not the single attribute that is my favorite but the variety every single opal can display.
I love opal for many beautiful 3D colors and galaxy affect patterns that come from black opal. I loved learning the process of how opal is made with time and just the crazy colors you can get for mining at the right spot.
Wow you guys, this is awesome! Thank you! I would have to say color is my favorite part of opals. Just the vast range is amazing.
Hi!! I’m not sure that I’m partial to any particular pattern in opal since they’re all unique and beautiful in their own way, BUT I do absolutely love a crystal opal with 3D features (like the one you cut in your recent video!). And, while red is obviously the most sought after color, I think that a blue-green color with flashes of yellow is my absolute favorite color in opals.
Also, I fell into a DEEP opal youtube hole about a year and a half ago and have been obsessed ever since. I’ve probably watched every single video you’ve made over the last five years and am consistently joining your livestreams on YouTube — you’ve really opened my eyes to how amazing these gems are and I can’t thank you enough, Justin! I’ve even started trying to cut them by hand (very challenging, lol). I am curious though: does anyone have any recommendations on cheap-ish machines to purchase to start really getting into cutting/polishing? I enjoy doing it by hand, but it definitely takes a lot of time and energy. Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts here!
Haha Sorry that you have opal fever 😂
Hi, I personally like a good cushion cut, and straw pattern over an other pattern, especially if the straw pattern is in a different colour so it really pops. But that is me being picky because I like many types of opal!
When I proposed to my wife I chose a roling flash ribbon pattern. Super bright but directional, so it is subtle green until it flashes orange en gets the attention.
Wow this is so kind of you! Yay for opal months and all of us born in october! I’m a huge rockhound/nerd, and opal is my fav with lake superior agates 2nd! My favorite thing about opals is the different patterns..I like chaff (the claw stripe kind of pattern) 🥰 I love all kinds of opals !
I love the play of color in opals: whenever I went to a museum with a gemstone collection, I’d always spend a good amount of time just staring at the opals. The ones with Chinese writing pattern are particularly cool, but I find most opals breathtaking, really.
Black opal with Broadflash pattern in my two favorite colors…red and blue.
Like so many, I love them all.
It is so hard to pick a favorite attribute when it comes to opals since no two opals are the same. I absolutely love all opal varieties, colors and patterns. Thank you for the opportunity to win a prize.
Opal is my birth stone and I have been in love ever since I laid my eyes on one. Black opals or fire opals are my favorite but anything with a lot.of flash or color I am just dran to. I had owned a few over the years sadly my collection was stolen a few years back. I have been trying to get my life in order so I could save the money to buy more. I wish everyone good luck! And thank you for the opportunity to win!
Sorry. I usually proof read and didn’t. LOL let me know if that all makes sense.
Wow, so much scrolling till I can reach the comment section. I am not surprised since your work, you tube channel and charisma are beyond most things you can touch in everyday life.
I fell in love with opal through your passion. It was your fire that started mine.
Generally what I love about opal is that there is no other gem like it. The simple play of color is like no other. And nowadays it is difficult to find something that is different and stands out. Most people want to be just like the other influencers and opal is the opposite- each and every single piece is different and unique.
That being said, recently my heart is usually going towards crystal opals with flower pattern and pinks in general.
Thank you again for putting me to sleep almost every other night with your videos.
Love love love crystal opal. And I have so enjoyed learning about opal and watching the polishing.. Watching makes me want to take up a hobby, but it’s no hobby really!
Thanks Jane
Hello from California! My granny’s name was Opal & she got to pick my name. She picked Jade because my mom just “knew” she was having a girl. When I popped out a boy my granny said, “well … Jade can be a boy’s name.” Aaaa!!! Thanks granny! Actually I’ve grown to love my name. And opal is my absolute favorite stone. Flagstone pattern still blows my mind every time I see it.
I have became obsessed with your videos and am extremely interested in getting into gem cutting!
watching you cut back any kind of opal is fascinating but i’ve seen you cut a cushion flagstone black opal and
it looked like it hold some sort of super human power! As if holding one with you would grant you a unique power!
any size can be stunning but more importantly, the deep dark color is magnificent! I’d assume that supplies are limited but
i would love even a tshirt or postcard! thank you! -dominic mische (Brooten, Minnesota – USA)
– pattern
– color
– shape
– style/type and so on…
I just wanted to say thanks for the opportunity you are giving to win something. My favorite attribute of an opal is its color especially when the color is very vibrant. My favorite color of opal would probably be a black opal.
I like the colors and how they change in the light.
Happy Opal month guys!!!
I really love the crystal opal, with beautiful deep blue/violet and the bright aqua blue, I know its not the best opal value wise but I absolutely can’t help but love it 💜
Yay My favourite opal as well 🙂
My favorite is absolutely black flagstone with full flashing color!! Love watching your videos
Hi guys! My favourite attribute of opal has to be the sheer amount and varience of colour in a single stone, it’s amazing!
In fact I enjoy opal so much I have a small business selling handmade opal jewellery! It’s the synthetic kind though, not the real deal.
I’ll often watch your YouTube videos and think about working with true natural opal one day, when I saw you were doing a giveaway I thought I’d come and enter, I’d love a chance to work with some real opal roughs!
I all about a good blue green moss pattern. Love your videos! I always learn so much. Thanks!
Nice! A moss pattern we have quite a few of and another name fro moss is sheen pattern 🙂
I love opals but I didn’t know much about them, the differences between opals found in Ethiopia as opposed to the ones found in Australia. Then I skipped across your channel one day and learned what a black opal is. I’m obsessed with them now! LOL I love the cabochon cut, with the flagstone pattern but really I love them all. Each stone seems to have a life all it’s own. Thank you for showing me the differences and for sharing your Dad’s wisdom with us:-)
Happy Opal Month BOD team and thanks for the chance to win a prize!!
My favourite is a pin fire black opal,it’s like looking into the nights sky and seeing the heart of the universe and all it’s wonders!
A pleasure to be writing on this blog, it has been such a journey getting to know more and more about this beautiful gem. The pattern that touches me the most is Phoenix Pattern. Opal is an art of the nature and will touch each soul in a different way. Justin thank you for the dedication and hard work; R from UK. X
Hi Justin, I love watching your videos and learning about the whole process involved with producing opals! My favorite attribute would have to be anything floral – simple but beautiful!
Ive watched every video you guys put out for about two years now. The uniqueness of every piece makes every video worth watching. Thank you for giving back to your community! Im definitely partial to blue or fire opal in almost any pattern but flagstone is probably my favorite.
Thanks again guys!
Good Day from New Hampshire USA! I recently found your channel and i am MESMERIZED watching the cuttings! Never though id like Opals lol They are stunning! Id have to say that my favorite attributes are…. I LOVE the purple, blue and pink type colors. Not so much the blue. I like the high domes, but maby of the low domes are very pretty! I haven’t decided if I like the black opals or the white ones better lol! I have seen some amazing ones on both types!! I love the sound of the rick on the sanding wheel, it really is very relaxing! And you Sir are a silly person! lol LOVE IT! I’m happy I’ve fount the channel , and I will continue to watch and be mesmerized by the creation of a beautiful stone!!!
Oops the Rick not Rick lol
Hi Justin and Tamika!! So happy to see your “universe” growing, you surely deserve everything you are achieving!
I personally love the free form (or free shape) opal, and the script pattern is just something so astonishing to look at.
Thank you for having us every time with you in these beautiful journeys called opal.
I totally fall in love with this world thank to you guys.
Send you a big hug from Italy! 🇮🇹👋
Hello from the UK!
I never knew about opals before 2018, when I randomly stumbled across one of your videos… Since then, I’ve watched all the videos, including live-streams and am even subscribed to the Black Opal Direct Gems channel!
For me, it’s the personality of each gem, from how it’s formed to how it cuts and how it looks. All are totally unique and that’s a rare thing in today’s homogenous world. If I had to pick one, type of open, it would be a green script pattern black opal, with a thin layer of sky blue pinfire on the top. Magic!
I have travelled and seen a lot, although like many, I’ve spent a lifetime discovering much of the natural world through the articulate wisdom of Sir David Attenborough. But opal, he’s never shown me opal.
Is Justin the Sir David of opal? Maybe not, but he has shared with me and everyone the rarest of glimpses into something most us will never get to see in person… the discovery of a new natural wonder. Hidden for 140 million years and revealed in front of our eyes for the first time.
Do I love colour, pattern, black, white, dark, crystal and boulder opal? Yes to all of the above.
But it’s the discovery of something wonderful created purely in nature that fascinates me.
Cheers Justin and everyone at BOD for that gift.
No further gift required.😊
I truly enjoy the multitude of colors that can be displayed in opal gemstones. Free-form shapes can add another level of character.
💎💎💎
Well hello there Justin and the BOD Team ✌️My favourite type of Opal would have to be the Black Crystal Opal ( it that really a surprise though;) I could stare for hours and hours. Look something shiny lol. Cutting this beauty into a nice oval high top shape would be worthy. I would love all the colours of the rainbow please Mother Nature, but I’ll also take colours of Blue & Green, they just look stunning together. Ps. Look at all the entries, best of luck picking a win 😎 Dael
I just miss the floss… script pattern, little red flash of orange and yellow oh got to be black and princess cut . Thank you for great content and free education into the world of opel.
I gotta say a dark crystal with a rolling flash of color is probably one of my favorites. It’s like an LED sign in Time Square!
I haven’t really been into opals until I started watching your videos on YouTube. How you create such beauty out of some of those stones is just amazing. I really love the floral ones they are beautiful. If I was to choose favorite cut I like the teardrop you made in a video.
Hello to you! 🤗 I’m a big fan of your channel and I love to see that a grey stone turns into a beautiful colourful gem under your hands like the butterfly in your story. 🦋Every pattern, colour, shape, size is unique, but my favourite is crystal opal 3D colour on colour, red, yellow, green! They are so so gorgeous! It would be great to win a piece of Australia, but I still win every week with your videos! Just keep going (in)☺️!
While black opals are indeed beautiful, my favorite opals are the crystal opals.
Gday Justin. I’d have to say my favourite attribute is nice bright colour on a black opal. I really liked that script pattern stone as well.
Thank you for showing the world your passion! I’m in med school and haven’t had a lot of time to cut stones, but I try to keep by mind sharp, if not my hands, by watching your work. I sometimes pause the video and try to guess which way you’ll face the stone, etc.
My favorite pattern is harlequin . Oddly enough the first stone I ever cut, fished from a potch bin, was a harlequin.
Cheers, mate!
The color is my favorite attribute I really like the fire like look
Oh! Pal….
I can’t help but agree, High Dome Cloverleaf pattern might be the best in my eyes.
A stone that has deep blues and purples on the sides, but as you move to the center, it brightens and flashes with fiery Oranges, yellows, and tiny, faint reds to accent.
Big, very big, I want it as big as it’s valued, the bigger, the better! If the stone claims to look like the cosmos, I want its size to match.
How can you beat a stone that catches your eye at every angle, but has color that guides you to standing in front of the wearer?
The stone itself can guide others to my favorite spot, right in front of me.
I absolutely love Black Opals!
Dear Justin, Tamika and all of your Team.
My name is Gerd, born 1970 and i’m from the Southwest of Munich, Bavaria and i am adicted to Opal for 30y now cause of an Friend.. I’m Hobbycutter since 2008 and I love all kind of Australien Opal but.. my absolute favourite is YOUR “once in a lifetime founded stone”
It must be the best emotion anyone can believe to own this gem. Congtaulations for your workshop, videos and stuff….
You are my Opal,and cutter-Idol ! <3. PLEASE: Go on as you do and Go in farther and make a lots of more videos.
Servus
I became fascinated with opals as a child, as it is my mother’s birthstone. When it was gift time, we loved to give we her opals on her birthday or at Christmas. They fascinate me because they are unique, just like snowflakes, none are like each other. The vibrant colors sometimes leave me gob smacked!
My Mom is now turning 87 This month and I I know each day I have with her is a special one. She is truly my personal opal! Unique, fiery at times and a little cool too.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I truly enjoy watching your master work.
Melinda from USA
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to win a prize. I think my favourite is black Opal with bright rainbow colours, in a cabouchon cut.
I have a favourite attribute that is not the pattern,colour,shape, although they all play apart,and that is some opal has so much depth and clarity that it is its own galaxy and allows you to get lost inside the play of colour.
Oh wow trying to pick only one attribute that I love about opal is a toughie, but I would have to say color. I mean other stones come mostly in a single color for each single stone, but with an opal you can have them all. A veritable rainbow all in a single stone. I love it.
.My favorite attribute of opal is pinafire, and flagstone.
I have been a big fan of your program for years. Not only your divine way of shaping opal but the way you deal with life smiling.
Thank you
I actually prefer a cushion shape and I favor a black opal the most. colors of blue and green or yellow and orange. thanks for doing these videos. I facet gems for fun and have started doing cabochons. I am going to have a fancy of attempting opal soon.
I really like oval opals with lots of colour and colours. It’s never quite the same stone whenever you look at it, it invites you to look at it and to lose yourself in its beauty.
Diamonds are pretty but opals are beautyful.
For some reason, I became enamored with Australia after reading a National Geographic issue when I was a boy.
And that led me to opals.
I have an opal ring and give opals as gifts to my special loved ones.
And now, on to my preferences…
Lightning Ridge, of course. Black or crystal.
Harlequin and Script are my favorite patterns with lots of flame.
Bright solid blue opals are my favorite…any tone.
My wife had an opal ring that looked like it was lit in dim lighting. It was incredible. It was a bright teal color, but when it jad a red heart flash in the center. I always envious of it.
Shape? High domed oval! Perfect for a ring, earrings or pendent.
But let’s be honest, it’s really about the color and fire. Much like people, the shape doesn’t truly matter. It’s what’s on the inside that counts!
Best wishes to all!
J.
I asked you on TikTok about prices in the comments on one of your videos. You said my figure needed a couple more 0’s to even think about it. Hopefully I win one 🤞🏾Black opal is the best kind of gem .
My favourite pattern is Harlequin and this might be a bit controversial for Justin but a nice square stone of about 5 grams as I have a ring that needs a beautiful Harlequin stone. Keep up the great work guy’s.
I dont know how I’ve ended up watching you, but I sure don’t regret stumbling upon you!
What i enjoy most so far are broadflashes and intricate colourplay. Its alwas so amazing to see either some unexpected colour pop up, or a sudden flash that goes trough the whole Opal. Those unexpected moments of absolute beauty just fascinates me!
Keep up your good work and videos!
Greetings from Germany!
Alex
Hello Justin and co!
My favourite attribute are all their attributes! 😉
Overall the thing that facinates me about opal, is the fact that every piece is unique.
In a comparison to diamonds, the two perfect diamonds would be identical, whereas the two perfect opals would be unique.
Love watching you cut opal on your YT channel!
Best wishes from Denmark,
Teddy
I have to say, opals are facinating for a geologist like me. A real lesson in how tiny silica balls react with light and make super amazing patterns and colours. The science behind it all is facinating, and they really make the prettiest gemstones.
For my favourite pattern, I really do love some script stones. Rare, but really interesting!
Your YouTube channel has been a wonderful tool in bringing the beauty of Australian opal to people all around the world. It truely is an amazing thing, each stone completely unique in its attributes formed by the random ebs and flows of nature and time. I knew very little of the stone until listening to your spoken commentary, so thank you for the education. With that developing knowledge and understanding I seem to appreciate the imperfect opals with those “bits of sand” as much as those that are perfect because they are what they are. So natural free formed black opal for me, blue green with a hint of purple in chaff or flagstone.
Happy Opal Month!!! My favorite opals are opalized fossils, I collect fossils and minerals and gemstone, so opalzied fossils are the bestof both worlds to me. I really enjoy the history of these kind of opals, not only their organisms history but also the opal formation history!!
Rune
Hi Justin and Black Opal Direct team,
I am a total noob to opals – which is the most exciting place to be because everything I’m learning from your channel and other opal cutters channels is so exciting and fresh! I’m a self-taught silversmith and a couple of months ago my cousin asked me to set an opal from our grandmother’s pendant into a ring (it’s a triplet, but still very pretty). Well, setting that opal I found myself mesmerised by the colours and shapes and absolute beauty, and I have been hooked ever since. At the moment I can’t say I have a favourite opal attribute – I love seeing any colours revealed when you’re cutting and if pressed would probably choose the vibrant colours in some of the “crystal” opals (I think!). I’ve got a couple of roughs my mum found in Coober Pedy and I’m watching everything I can to work myself up to cutting them.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and enthusiasm – it’s infectious!
Deb
Hello Black Opal Direct team!
So hard to pick just one favorite attribute of the opal! Color and pattern seem both to be equally important, but let’s go with pattern. I love the broad flash pattern, especially when there are multi-directional flashes in varying colors. It’s like a fireworks display caught in a gem!
My family and I have been binge watching your videos, enthralled by the results of each opal. Even if the results aren’t what you were hoping for, we still learn important information about how tricky opal cutting can be, and we have a greater appreciation of the skill needed to cut a successful stone.
G’day,
I’m fairly new to the world of opals but I’ve enjoyed watching all your episodes on Youtube and about ready to start cutting & polishing Opals, you have inspired me Justin :). I recently retired from the RAAF after 34 yrs and wasn’t sure what I would do with my time, but I am so looking forward to becoming an Opal cutter.
I like harlequin and cats eye patterns, and being a ranga, I love anything with red or orange :). Cushion cut with a high dome, bright and clear. But to be fair, I think what I love about Opals the most, is you never know what your going to get till you get inside.
Keep up the great work and thanks again for inspiring me on this journey.
Lethal
I love your dedication to educating us all on how to cut opals . The videos certainly are informative as well as good clean entertainment! I must admit that the Moss pattern is my favorite as it is my name sake ! I will continue to watch and enjoy your wed site and please do not let the world problems ruin your love for what you do . You are making a difference to a lot of people . Have a good day and thanks again .
Good day to you lovely people at black opal direct ! What can I say about opal that hasn’t already been said ! It’s simply the most magical gem stone in the world! And in my opinion of all the differing types black opal is so mesmerising and definitely my fave . I love flagstone and chaff with flashy bars that show layers of colours , mainly green and blue but with flashes of orange and pink ! Awww I could stare at it all day. You will always see something different in the opal depending on the time of day and lighting and that’s just another reason to love black opal ! it’s flashy but oh so sublime. Nothing compares! Every stone is so different that you know your black opal will be a one of a kind and special and sing to you every day you wear it ! I know for me if I have one of my opal rings on it will be a good day.. all be it I’ll be distracted looking at my opal all day .. that’s not a bad thing 😄
Hi Tamika and Justin! Years ago took the kids to dig for opals in Nevada while on a cross country tour. What a blast! Excited to watch all your videos. Can you make them faster? I think I am running out at the pace I have been watching! Love all you both do.
Just watched a video and one stone had straw pattern. Now I don’t know which pattern is my favorite! Thanks! LOL
T
What I love best about opals and watching you work is that the opals are all different, individual. Just like people. You get a glimpse of what might be inside but its only when you spend some time and get below the surface you see the real beauty. I love teeny tiny opals of any colour because even though they are small somebody felt enough about them to take the time to reveal what was inside
Love all the different types of stones but love the script pattern the best!
Honestly I wasn’t ever a fan of Opal as a kid. It was my birthday stone and I never saw any that I liked. Turns out I just never saw any real Opals it was always fakes or crappy ones they sell just to say they are opals. I found your channel I while back. I even bought a beginner kit from you. Haven’t had a chance to clean them up yet. But truly you made me appreciate my birthday stone.
I know I’m the wierd one but the Dark Blues are my favorite. Just a simple blue/green Flagstone or sanskrit apeals to me over a really flashy orange or floral pattern. I do like Black over crystal, the darker colors just look cool to me. Shape wise I’ve never seen one with like a rectangular square/rectangular cut, I think that would be neat. If I ever get a big one I’d put it in a Bolo tie.
Rarity has to be my favorite attribute of precious opal, or rather its uniqueness. Even the smallest stone is nothing like the other, and owning one, whether big or small, oval or cushion-cut, broad-flash or pin-fire, seems like having the Nature’s fingerprint in your possession.
I have learned to love this stone and have learned to appreciate its journey starting from the colorful wings of Pallah-Pallah butterfly through sands and rock to the masterful hands miners and opal cutters. Thank you!
My favorite attribute about opal is simply; the colors.
I recall seeing my first one in the 80s and asking the jeweler if it required a battery. haa!
I bought that ring, and still have it.
The variety of colors just makes the opal amazing, moreso than any other gemstone.
I have been a fan of your channel almost since you started it! I don’t comment often, but I’m there all the time lol. I even got my sister into your channel and, as I’m living on disability and don’t have the money to buy one of my own, she bought one for herself that I love to see everything’s I see her. I do however have a t-shirt and wear it proudly. My favorite opals to see are the dark crystal opals with flagstone and chaff or flagstone and floral patterns. Of course, in a huge fan of oval when it comes to shape. Thank you to you and everyone at black opal direct for sharing your knowledge and the absolute beauty of this amazing gem, as well as the humor and fun you all seem to have there!
The ones i love the most is crystals. And the ones With ligth blue and pink colors is the most beautyfull of them. In my opinion.
Oh this is a tough one for me because I really love them all! Opal is so unique and to me I would take one over a diamond any day! I think the floral pattern is very beautiful and the pinfire as well. I actually first fell in love with boulder opal honestly. It was the patterns that the opal made mixed with the stone on some pieces that caught my attention. I work with Stained glass art so my husband tells me it is no surprise to him that Opal is my favorite. I love your work Justin and it has been a true joy to watch you do what you love and also bring us these beautiful works of art from Mother Nature.
For me it is the play of colour and the underlying patterns. While I love flagstone and broadflash, my favourite pattern probably has to be chaff (possibly with some ribbon pattern thrown in there as well). There is just something really enticing about the accentuation of those small faults and microstructures in the crystal that create the colours; in particular as it also adds an additional dimension to the depth of the display.
I love you videos. They are a great way to relax at the end of the day!
My favorite pattern in pinfire. I reminds me of the beauty of the cosmos.
MY absolute favourite opal is a confetti pattern crystal. I can nvr stop looking at this pattern. I thing the main attribute I like about opal is it’s neverending ability to AMAZE our brain and eyes.
It is hard to choose my favorite attribute. But if i have to say one, I shall say 3D color on color. But in reality I love a combination of 3D color on color, brightness, dark body tone, color and pattern. When everything is in perfect combination it is aesthetically mesmerizing to look at 🙂
My favorite attribute of opals would have to be that opals have given me Black Opal Direct videos. If pressed, I’d say “3D color on color” to quote a very kind and well dispositioned man. Best wishes to the team.
My favorite attribute of opal is purple stones! Green and blue are nice but purple is my absolute favorite!
I notice that some opals have far higher color saturation than others. A black opal, flagstone pattern with very high color saturation, oranges, reds, and at least one other color, can be really magnificent.
Even though it’s not measured on the grading scales, intuitively people are drawn to these opals. If you digitize opal pictures and take the top 5% in color saturation, I bet these will have significantly higher values than stones with lower saturation but the same body tone, brightness, weight, and shape.
I love all opal every color shape pattern but my favorite has to be black opal with the pinky red color. Not that i could ever afford one since it is the rarest color. Just the other day i got a ring with a large piece of rough welo opal for $15 i couldnt believe it it has a red to green shift and is beautiful. For that price i couldnt pass it up.
i love the flash of color no matter what the color,but i love a good pinfire
Uuuuuhhhh a contest, how fun. Have been learning with you for years now ;]
My favourite is a full colour spectrum, flagpattern round opal…..and a crystal opal.
Thanks for sharing all of your great content.
Cheers
I am so happy that I found you on YouTube. Your videos really help me relax at the end of a long day, I truly enjoy all of gems you work on and it’s extremely impressive the time you put into each piece. I especially like opals that are cat-eye and floral But truly since all of them are unique in their own way there is no opal that I wouldn’t enjoy!!! I will continue to watch your videos and look forward to finding a gem on your site to purchase.
Thank you for the opportunity to win. My daughter is turning 16 this October so it would be lovely to find a necklace for her with her birth stone. I have been watching your Youtube channel since the pandemic started. I have learned a lot about opal patterns and types (nobby, witch’s hat, seamed opal). My favourite is a heart-shaped crystal opal with colour on colour. I saw your last video of the best crystal opal you have ever cut and dreamed that one day I would be able to afford something so beautiful as that.
Nothing quite compares to opals that bear multiple patterns layered one upon another. A black opal that presents patterns such as chaff, flagstone and broadflash evoke a sense of wonder. Taking in such gems is tantamount to gazing into the depths of an ocean or absorbing the breadth of the cosmos. A brilliant nebula exhibiting itself layer upon layer, colors within colors and chaos amongst order. Only a true craftsman, seeing such gems emerging from the rough can decide what cut would suit something so enchanting the best. One can only hope it’s a highdome!
Beautiful Idea! Good luck all! My favorite pattern is Script and love all the colors really. Though if I picked one for a top, green script!
Appreciate all you do!
I love crystal opal. Ever since I was a child when my mother showed me a crystal opal ring. She said this stone is your stone. I waited for years to receive it. Initially, I thought she was just keeping it safe. Then I learned about birthstones and quit waiting! Still love crystals!
If you could capture all the colours of rainbow in a stone…opal is it!!!! The colours are truly stunning attribute on how they refract, reflect and take you inside it. Getting lost in another world.
Happy Opaltober to all you wonderful humans. Andamooka matrix with its ‘nothing there until you cook it’ colour is perhaps my favourite, with rolling colours coming from every angle. I also love the bright greens from the Mulga fields and full spectrum colour from the Coober pedy shells.. It’s also hard to go past the bright blue on black that the Ridge is famous for.. really, I love all opal as each field has its own beauty… and Justin.. you are my idol🥰
Hi Justin & Tamika,
To be honest I don’t have a favorite pattern or shape, because to me its all about the play of colour and how the colour moves around like its dancing on its only little stage. Being mesmorised and seeing something different each time you move the stone in a slightly different way to find that angle that appeals the most and then trying to repeat the same movement to relive the view.
I can’t wait until im back home in Brisbane to put my B.O.D. apron on and create some magic on my wheels! Only 8 months to go!!!
The brilliance of an opal’s colour astounds me but then, wham!…as I roll it, my eyes are hit with this phenomenon of flashes and Im smitten.
I have taken so long to leave a comment, because I’ve had to think so long about how to answer. Opal is my favourite stone, so it should be easy to answer, right? Nope, because I love everything about it, but have so little. I just want all of it, so I’ve had to think of it in terms of ‘If I had unlimited money, what would I buy the most of?’. I’ve always loved red in Opals the most, so that bit was easy. I do love the gem quality stones, but actually, the more I’ve thought about this, the ones that I like the best are those that look like they’ve trapped a part of a Nebula in them. They often have Pinfire pattern, and clouds of potch showing though, but I love that this is a part of their quirks. Plus, being a Goth, that black showing through the front, like a tear in Space, trapped in a stone… You just posted a piece on Instagram that looks like the Universe’s Plectrum, and that is my idea of perfection, although I really don’t care what shape they come in. I just want them all!
Justin and friends!
My favourite opal attribute is the puzzle that emerges as you start to cut it…thank you for all the instructions, inspiration and laughter!
I really love Floral opal! I think it’s because I love painting abstract floral paintings. The colorful patterns really pop, and almost look like a painting!
Thank you for the opportunity…. As I really enjoy your videos!
I’ll take just about any pattern, but my favorites are darker opals with some red flash in them. Blue & red together are the best!
I woulda have to say that I love the opalescents each stone has.. when the sand is gone and it uncovers a window into the heart of the stone- it takes my breath away! I want to say thank u for the content u share and I don’t care about the shape so much but let’s not lie… the bigger the better! 😆 hahaha best of luck to the rest of yall out there! Super fun to think of winning a stone of my own!
Thank you for the generous share!
I’m not sure there is a term for it, but I am fascinated with the natural interplay between colour patterns and surface curvature in carved seam opal or split boulder. Dendritic patterns are also amazing, probably falling under “mossy” in play-of-color terms…
Hello BOD team! Happy Opal month, the best month of them all!
As for my favourite attribute, I would have to say it would be a beautiful bright and in-your-face colour play, greens and oranges! I also like the idea of a free form shape.
Thanks for the opportunity gang!
Bec
Hi Justin and the gang,
I just love watching you work on opal and feel your pain when you’re “beaten by sand”. The passion you have for opal really comes across and that’s why I keep tuning in.
I love all opal but a black opal with pin-fire pattern, showing all the colours, well that just gets the heart pumping a tad faster.
Keep up the great work and much love,
Lyndon.
My favorite type of opal is a blue-red color combination with both flagstone and floral patterning. I love how the neon-like sheens will develop at different rates, at different scales, all at once across the entirety of the stone in sync with one another. It makes the stone feel like a living movie as all the different structures choreograph together across different scales of space, sheen velocities, and color. Lots of dimensions and structure; opal is truly amazing!
Every time I see one of your videos it reminds me of when I was a kid starting my gemstone collection and wanting to become a gemstone cutter. That did not end up happening, but I always get that child-like sense of amazement watching the gems you work on come to life =)
The thing I love about opal is the play of colours and my favourite pattern would have to be flagstone in particular in the blues and greens
If I had to pick my favorite opal it would be a Black Opal in saying that I enjoy all the different colors and cuts. I have only just recently started watching your YouTube channel and am enjoying learning all about the Opal 😊
I first saw your channel when i stumbled across the cutting of the script opal. What a stone! Opals to me mean family. My wedding ring was an opal, but it mysteriously dissappeared along with my marriage. My sister gave me her opal ring when i admired it. I wore it with for years until my first grandchild was born, in October! I gave the ring to her, to be given when she is older. She will be nine this month. I love the multitude of colors that make the beauty of the opal and out of the rough exterior of the stone beauty will come forth, just like us people, we can find the beauty in one another.
Hello Justin my name is Konstantine and I am from Long Island NY and I love your videos on YouTube.
It’s extremely difficult to pick out one type of opal out of so many choices. I absolutely love pinfire opal because of how the colors in the stone dance together giving the opal so much depth, I could look deep into the stone for hours discovering new aspects of the opal every few seconds, it’s amazing.
Thank you for all the hours of entertainment and education you provided to everyone.
I’m looking forward to everyone new video
Konstantine
I just love the black opals with as many different colors flashing as you move them! I like the oblong shape because it is so different! Your fastidious work has given me so much pleasure! Thanks!
My fav aspect about opals, is the 3d/layered effect , especially if its a flash pattern opal . I do rather like multi colors, a nice rainbow mix is what i prefer. Cheers and keep the content coming. You kept me entertained and sane thru lockdown.
I love the variety of colors that opals come in. Not only can you get a stone that has a literal rainbow in it, but the specific combinations of colors make the stones unique.
Blue & Red = awesome
Yellow & Green = also awesome but totally different looking 🙂
Harlequin
Black opal
All colours
Love a black opal with red and blue flashes. Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts. Hope to catch you in tuscon one day.
I am lucky to share my birth month with this beautiful gemstone! it is difficult to pick just one pattern or style, but I am very fond of the catseye round opals. They are very intriguing as they behold a sense of self reflection to me.
Hi friends! Where to begin. What I love most about opals is how very opal is so different from the next much like how we are as humans. Though many of us are from many different parts of the world , we’re all have a solidarity and that’s our obsession for opals. I never get tired of looking at all the different colors and patterns. I love when there are red flashes because that’s my favorite color. I also love the floral pattern because it’s like a mini bouquet of flowers that always radiate happiness. Hope everyone has a great opal month!
Similarity * not solidarity sorry !
Hello 🙂 I personally think that the mix of blue, green and a tiny bit of red paired with the floral pattern would make a wonderful opal, and i would love to hear your opinion on it. And lastly thank you for your absolutely awesome videos. Every time i watch even only one of them i get super relaxed and happy. Have a great day ❤️
I love Opal. Most beautiful Stone of the world, no diamond is better. For me the colour is the best of an opal. Just like a rainbow…
I love the different patterns an opal can show. With each one being unique, they are unlike any other gemstone. The dragon scale one was probably one of the best for showing the different colors, but even mossy or flagstone can show the beauty of this gem.
I just recently started watching your videos on YouTube, and I am very happy to see so many others who share a passion for this gem. Thanks for all you do!
Happy Opal Month! I absolutely love opals. They are the most beautiful of gems. The ideal opal for me would be vivid, oval-shaped with a high dome, one where the whole face has color, not directional, and with a floral pattern of rainbow colors. I particularly love crystal opals for the 3D color-on-color. ♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
Green neon-bright crystal opal=magic
What I love about opals is that no two opals are alike!
It’s impossible for me to choose a favorite color or pattern, as they all have their own individual beauty and fire. Flagstone flash, pinfire sparks, streaks of chaff, they all mesmerize and pull you deep into the heart of the stone. I do love the clear, deep color over the milky, almost opaque colors. Shape does not matter, as I love the specimens almost as much as the cut stones. Thank you for taking us on this spectacular journey with you and revealing the heart and life of each stone, whether it cuts a gem or not.
Opals are without a doubt my favorite stone, they’re just gorgeous. While I’m definitely a sucker for stones in general with striations, the moss opal is my all-time fave. Thank you for hosting this giveaway! Much love and support from Ohio (we wave our corn fields in your general direction!) Lol good luck everybody!
Dear Justin and Black Opal Direct Family, I am so ecxited for this oppurtunity… I have learned so much from You Justin, and I am so glad to see your deep love for this magical gem. The feeling what we share. 🙂 My favourite is white opal with flagstone or pinfire pattern, beacause my mom had an opal earring when I was a little girl, and I was so in love with it. It was a tiny little white opal drop. So I love white opals an crystal ones. If it has a little lilac/lavenderish riflection, is ans extra magic for me. 🙂 As shape I like drop, oval or round. But to be honest I see magic in all tipes of opal. To win for me would be just so wonderful, I always desired to have a stone that was “born” in Your hands. So thank you for the oppurtunity. I send a big hug from Italy.
Evelin
G’day Justin loved the video as always.
Every Opal is totally unique and I adore all the different colours, no matter It’s shape or size they are all truly beautiful.
Being of Aboriginal origins myself I love not just our beautiful Opals but also all the amazing stories behind how they came to be, opals have spiritual power and connection to our Dreamtime and our Ancestors. My Opals are not just my lucky stones but my connection always to home and to my Ancestors.
Hi Justin, just wanted to say I am a complete fan of your videos and I watch them every time you bring one out! They are completely addictive, very therapeutic and the gorgeous opals you cut always turn out spectacular. Your expertise is astonishing! My favourite kind of opal is crystal opal, if I have to pick a colour, it would have to be purple though I do have a fondness for oranges too and my favourite pattern is the elusive script pattern. Please don’t ever stop making your videos. I’ve learned so much! Thank you!
wowwww there are a lot of comments! so sad i’m just seeing this post now I’ve been on your website for years 🙁 but still I loveeeeeeeee a floral opal although I don’t think I could truly ever decide which is my my favorite. Any color but the more colors the better! I think oval is my favorite shape unless it’s cut to a custom shape for when I’m setting it. they’re all gorgeous! thank you so much for this opportunity you guys are amazing!
Hello from the UK. Oh my goodness how do you choose?? All opals are beautiful. The colours!! What an amazing job you have bringing those beauties to life.
Thank you for the competition – hope I get lucky.
Congratulations on the channel, I love to see the work of cutting the opals. On the other hand, for my taste, what I like the most are free form opals, dont know if it makes much sence but the perfect opal for me would be with a free form 3d and polished face, and everything else in its rough natural form with all the layers with sand and potch inclusions.
Regarding patterns I especially like flagstone, chaff and script patterns.
Best regads
Almost gave up the site scrolling is so bad on mobile but I persevered. Something in red opal colours that speaks to my lizard brain. Hard to pick a fav though.
Hi Justin, here from your YT channel. I can’t actually say that I know much about opals as I bought my wife a triplet and though to myself, wow what a gorgeous stone for the price, lol. But I started finding out more 2 days ago and stumbled luckily on your channel and I am in more love with these stones. I love all colours, and for sure the more colourful the more gorgeous stone. I also don’t know anything about jewellery, as got recently married and get lost in jewellery stores and run away after looking at the price haha. Anyway I got so much respect for all of you and can understand now why these cost so much and how much with love these stones are crafted. You’re my teacher now so back to your videos I go, thanks for being awesome 👌 👏 👍 😍
Hello Blackopal team,
Very impressive how many comments have already been written. This just shows how successful you are.
I have to admit that in reality I don’t think I have ever seen a really good black opal. What I have seen in Germany in the jewelry stores, were mostly only white opals. Probably it is like many products that the really good opals can only be seen in certain trade shows or in the country of origin.
I find the opal special in that so much color and variety can be created with a relatively simple cut. Only with opal is a polished surface enough for so many fascinating colors to be seen.
I am fascinated by these different patterns and colors that can be found in one stone. Some stones look like the well-known pictures of distant universes, clouds and stars from NASA. It is incredible that from stardust, time and the right conditions so something incredible could arise.
Good luck with your next projects.
Best regards
Hello from Portugal.
The attribute I really love is the stone color. Mostly the greens, yellows and blues as it gives some energy to the stone making it to look electrified or that was strike by a lightning.
Been watching your vids for over three years now and love learning about Opal and it’s many forms and features. My favourite attribute of opal is when you get a beautiful pinfire opal with the full range of colours, I think it is just stunning.
Keep making you amazing vids. Would love to see more of the mining/buying side of things if you could ever arrange that!
Colour on colour😉
I love the striated opals the most, but they are all beautiful!
The ugliest Opal is more beautiful than any diamond, especially Flagstone.
I was lucky enough to be taken on a tour of some old diggings while hitch hiking through Coober Pedy from Darwin as a teenager and i found what would be considered worthless potch, even potch blew my mind and had me marveling at how nature could produce something so awesome.
Sometime later i saw a piece of the most beautiful opal in a shop in Adelaide with the most beautiful attribute, it was the the flashes of red and orange with teased my imagination into believing the stone was not only on fire from the inside but somehow alive with its colour. Colour is by far my favorite opal attribute.
G’day Justin & Co,
How can you go past the vibrancy and variety of colour in opal?! All other attributes accentuate the colour.
Keep up the great work.
Rowan
Have just He been getting into minerals and gems more so minerals but I did get my hands on some opals recently and have been completely facinated with him ever since. It’s truly an awe inspiring gem. I can’t believe I have gone 32 years in this world and have only in the last few months been acquainted with this incredible gem. I can stare at the very small pieces I got recently (maybe 10-15ct roughs) for incredibly long stretches of time they truely are a gift from the earth. In my want to know and see more about these wonders I came across your channel and I thoroughly enjoy watching you cut these beautiful stones. I look forward to seeing more and more of your content! I am hopefully to be able to even purchase a stone of yours one day but in the mean time am very content with even just the content.
Have just He been getting into minerals and gems more so minerals but I did get my hands on some opals recently and have been completely fascinated with them ever since. It’s truly an awe inspiring gem. I can’t believe I have gone 32 years in this world and have only in the last few months been acquainted with this incredible gem. I can stare at the very small pieces I got recently (maybe 10-15ct roughs) for incredibly long stretches of time they truely are a gift from the earth. In my want to know and see more about these wonders I came across your channel and I thoroughly enjoy watching you cut these beautiful stones. I look forward to seeing more and more of your content! I am hopeful to be able to even purchase a stone of yours one day but in the mean time am very content with even just the content. Sorry for the double post but I’ve just seen the competition video above and would like to add that some thoughts to hopefully be in the running! As far as my favorite attribute it’s incredibly hard to pin that question down. It’s surely a combination of the both the depth and number of colors that are in these gems but also the way In which they change at different angles and light sources. It’s just beyond words the feeling they invoke as I look at them. As I said before I just can’t believe I have only somewhat recently been introduced to such a lovely gift from the earth.
Ooh hard to choose. Harlequin or script is my favourite. But my favourite opal ive seen you cut is the one that came from under your dads house. That stone is just wow 💎
I have been thinking how to explain what I enjoy, love, and look for in opal. Here it goes:
Color: unusual combos like yellow with purple, teal with orange
Shape: medium domed Tear drop or high domed cushion
Pattern-on-Pattern: like background of moss with clover above
For rings and earrings: I like dark opals if the color is brightness of 4and above with bigger patterns, love all crystal opal, or prefer less bright black opals with small patterns.
But my favorite opals for necklaces are Boulder and Peruvian for the unusual formations/inclusions. I never tire looking at them.
Thank you BOD for the chance to share my thoughts with a global community. Good luck to all!
Hi 🙂
I really like the crystal opal with deep blue, green and purples…. could look at them for hours 🙂
Love the show and really wanna give it a go!
I am new to the opal scene but the colors of the gems and rich history of its mining are my favorite attributes.
Thank you for the contest and the opportunity to win. An ardent follower, from India, of your your videos on youtube. Love watching how the final stone emerges from the rough stone, the decisions which are guided by your experience in creating the final stone. The final stone is as much a result of the craft, as the stone itself. Fell in love with Opals due to your videos.
I love the color, depth and how colors come alive and play with the light as it hits at different angles.
Definitely my favorite attribute in an opal is play of color without it its just pretty silica.
I would Just to comment on you and Your Work and the time you Put into Explaining about opals, The time that you take into Cutting the opals into a design that attracts the Best shape and Colouring of your work. With you Explaining and showing off your experience to others opal enthusiast,You’r Videos helps for the first timer and the younger Generation to proceed into the opal world.
Hi Justin and Tamika,
I love watching you cut those opals…they are my favorite gem. It’s like there’s life inside the stone that just wants to come out. Watching you as you work to find that special spark in the stone that’s just waiting to be released…is so satisfying ! Especially when it comes to the reveal. Thanks for sharing your craft and including us in on your joy when you find the “fire” inside.
My favorite pattern I guess might be the black cloverleaf pattern….but truly….I like them all !
Kind regards,
Eileen
It would be a special kind of torture asking me to pick a favourite opal…but…to me the brightness of colour would come first, followed by the combination of colours, whatever they were:aquas, greens and oranges with some yellow flashes here and there, in a black Opal or a crystal. My favourite shape would be a cushion cut; striking, strong and a statement of beauty… oh lawdy…🤩
opal has a spectrum of colours, its like looking inside a kaleidoscope each twist of the angle move there pops out colours and edges of the next colour are hidden .
Pattern favourite or likes the most depends on how many colours you like to see from lines to blocks to freckle specks twists of colour that roles slow to fast, i like them all. each stone has its growth of how it has grown in in the earth of angle nand been fed by mother nature over the years.
forseeing ahead of the beauti that can enhance a shape of inteligently making it a wow it also depends on the jewerly its set in and also the colour. graspering the colours to be exsposed to make the best shape ,,i like squares amd ovals and teardrops but then again some have the beauti of been left unshaped as well it will tell its story more..
im still learning about differant types of opal as theres the dirt around them old seaside sands, some feel more brittle to cut and in perfections that are mixed .. some of the opal i think isnt formed yet to be moved as needs to mature , i think also they feel differently smootheness n coldness of each, i guess its the areas where it comes from.. i guess thats why they say beauti is underneath ahhhhh soo whats down under our feet as we walk.. i like all opals boulder to coober pedy to lightning ridge and other opalism colours found elsewhere…
There are so many things to love about opal! I’m relatively new to the world of opals, but I have been coming to your channel to help learn. There are so many opals from different locations, with many patterns and types that it’s hard to choose a favorite. Recently, I’ve become very fond of good honeycomb Ethiopian opals, beautifully accented Koroit boulder opals, and flagstone or floral black opals. When you see that lovely play of color, how can you not fall in love?
About 6 years ago I was given a black opal rough stone that glowed blues and purples. It piqued my interest. Up til this point I wasn’t a fan of opals. So I bought a lot online of low grade rough opals to try and learn. Your videos have taught me so much over the last couple years! I have become a huge fan of opals, but Black Opals are my favorite. I do t have a favorite pattern, I love them al! I love how each one has its own unique dance. When it comes to shape, I prefer to let the stone tell me what shape it wants. I think spending a couple days with y’all and learning more hands on would be the ultimate dream come true!
I love love love the color change Opals have. Blue, green, gold to orange! That is my absolute favorite thing about them. They could be any shape, size, color and I would love it and admire the pure beauty in it.
I really love when crystal opals have really brilliant coloring all around from all angles! I have a small but brilliand crystal opal piece (that I actually got from Black Opal Direct) which I ended up making into a free-form moon and it has to be my favorite piece! Don’t know how I’m gonna turn it into a piece of jewelry yet but I’ll figure it out!
Love the opportunity to win some of your amazing work! I had never seen such high quality opal until i found your channel and went down a real rabbit hole researching and learning more about opals. your channel has been amazing for learning more about opals and cutting gems. I use synthetic opal in my own work as a glassblower which is what initially got me interested in the world of natural opals, unfortunately natural opal cannot be used in glass work but i do love watching you reveal those amazing patterns. My favorite is the flagstone pattern crystal opals you cut with the 3 dimensional color patterns they just look amazing I particularly like the gems with red and yellow colors!
appreciate the hard work you all do to make these videos for our enjoyment.
Hello from Germany and thanks for all the videos. What I like most are free form opals closest to the original “rough shape”, but the most important for me is the type, as I really love mosaic-like flagstone opals. The more red the better 🙂
My favorite attribute? When the opal has enough depth to have multiple patterns show. I wouldn’t say no to any combination like this.
But if you made me choose, then ribbon with script or chaff. Love those shiny strokes with fun stuff on top. Thanks Justin, you make learning about all this so much easier. Much love.
G’day black opal direct team,
Hard to choose one attribute of opal that stands out but i love Andamooka crystal. The town and fields ,the rarity and the stability of this awesome crystal that comes from the heart of the desert makes it my favorite . keep up the good work crew.
Opals are absolutely the most beautiful gem in the world. I love the magnificent white Australian opals, and of course I’d love to find a beautiful script Pattern in reds, yellows, oranges (good luck, I know 😎). Thanks for the great informative YouTube videos, Black Opal Direct, I look forward to each one!
I love watching you share your joy. It’s easy to see why you have such a passion for these beauties. I love the idea of a ound blue/green flagstone pattern round that looks like earth. I have never seen one that matches what I have in my head, but I would love a stone like that surrounded by two silver/white gold waves that wrap around it to set it in a ring.
You said to leave an attribute of an opal that i like.. I do not discriminate, I love all opals. I do like crystal opals, but then again I love black opals, each has a place in my heart, it depends on my mood or thoughts on that particular day. I love all shapes be they free form or shaped because as a carver I know you follow what the stone askes you to do not what you want to do to it. I have worked in stone, horn, wood, each will tell you what it wants you to do, you can never force it into a pattern that you want it to do.. it never works.
Happy Opal Month, everyone and greetings from Germany!
My favorite opal is a classic oval black or crystal opal with a chaff or flagstone pattern. I might be a bit unoriginal or boring, but it just appeals to me the most. 🙂
Being in Germany, unfortunately I can’t join you for the live cutting sessions anymore with the changed times, but that’s ok. I usually catch up the next morning while having breakfast. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and letting us be part of the excitement. May you be ‘going in’ for many years to come!
Fossil Rock hound as a kid born & raised Florida hunting fossils at the many shell pits. Opal is incredible really like the Crystal cabs cathedral patterns .Boulder Op is badass too. Found you through Pulitzer he recommended your cutting videos. My son & I enjoy the time we spend with your skills & wonderful family. Thank you. My wife’s B stone is opal found that out after watching your vids woops. Peace in the feast Opal for the Beast. Much love to you all. MEB II 2022
Hi there. I’m Abelardo from Miami Florida. Opañs are one of the most beautiful gems I’ve ever seen. All their atributes make opals a unique stone. I’m particularly attracted to their
vibrant colors and the way the patterns and colors change as the light hits it. A work of art of nature.
The most fascinating thing about opals is that they shine bright without facet cutting necessary and that you get every new look a new impression about the glowing patterns. What a miracle of nature and physics!
The question is like being at the ice cream shop with all your fave flavours but you can only get one scoop. I’d choose a lemon sorbet with a little sprinkle – yep, it’s a round/oval crystal opal with floral pattern.
Hope my commet was fun to read 😉
Hi Tipper, Justin and crew. Thanks for the hours and hours of great opal surprises. My favourite attribute for opal is boulder opal it’s brilliant colours and after watching my favourite YouTube video of Black Opal Direct you’ve opened my eyes up to a lot of fav types of Spectacular Aussie Opal esp the flagstone. Ok I would be so great full if I won a parcel as everyone here so good luck all.
Thanks again for the great work!!!
Hello and happy Opal month. I would love to win one of your Opals, especially after watching all your videos. I’m an Australian that moved to the US at a young age, joined the military and now live in Japan. We love visiting Coolangatta and teaching my kids about Australian culture. I would really like a nice Opal to give to my wife. I think my favorite attribute is the depth of the colours. Opal just always look so unreal. They are the most incredible gems on earth.
Hmmm.. I think what I love most about opal is color and depth of color. It’s got to be bright and deep enough to pull me in, like a dream.
Wow! So many hopeful winners. I, too, think it’s difficult to choose just one attribute, but do find myself drawn mostly to the flagstone and broad flash patterns, ideally in a brightness of 4. The deep blue/green seduces me, but the liveliness of a luscious, multicolour pin-fire makes my heart sing. I first found you, Justin, and your videos, at the start of the pandemic at the same time I had just started making a new bed quilt. I noticed the colours in my quilt echoed the vibrant colours found in your beautiful opals. By the end of my construction, I had decided that my quilt was indeed a reflection of your breathtaking gems and named my latest work “Black Opal”. [I am honoured it has been accepted into our provincial quilt show this month, where I will be on hand to explain how and why it got its name, despite there not being a speck of black in the quilt!] Thank you for all the beauty you have brought into my life. G’day to you and your team.
My favourite aspect of opal is play of colour, specifically the way that unexpected colours reveal themselves in dark and black opal. I love how cutting opal always seems like a journey, and it is never formulaic. The cutter must understand the opal and respond to it as it develops to get the best final product. Thanks for introducing me, and so many of us, to the world of opal!
Totally addicted to watching a master craftsman cut opals. Thankyou for your hard work. Im amazed by crystal opal, teardrop /oval cut, double sided upload was definately my favourite so far, besides being an outstanding opal reflected on the rarity, outstanding. Stay blessed all.
Great to see Saxon manning the helm while Tamika was away! I love how versatile opal is for it’s ability to look dazzling in so many shapes and sizes. Brings a smile to my face when Justin comments that the stone is telling him to cut it a certain way. The stone and the master craftsman combining to bring out the best in natures beautiful opal!
Hi Justin and BOD family,
Aussie living in Thailand here who is posting in hope of winning my October-born wife her birthstone from my homeland.
Your videos have taught us much about all things opal and we congratulate you on making a living doing what you love…the secret of life right there.
My favorite attribute: beautiful blues that only mother nature can produce. Script pattern is something special also…as if opal wasn’t rare enough..add onto that the rare script.
Dan
I stumbled on your podcast and glad I did. I love your opals you seem to pull out of a glob of Mother Earth with each one different. I am not educated enough to know which attributes yet but love your presentation. I am learning much. I remain amazed how God can bring such beauty from so deep in earth. Like all artists, you bring life to the stone as you cut it for others to enjoy. Thank you. Jack B Burkett, Elkhart, Indiana U.S.A.
Ohhhh I really love the crystal opal, and the dark opal, well…. All of it really. I love the bright & colourful ones. I like the purples mostly and the full spectrum as well. Absolutely love the floral pattern as well as the rare script one you cut a while back. Love the new cutting room & the special glazed wooden opal bench that tells a story. Can’t wait to get that one piece that speaks to me. 🙂
Happy Opal Month Justin!!!
In 1957 my dad left Greece and came to Australia. I really don’t know anything about his life there, never told me. When he got engaged to my mom, the only gift he would accept was a ring with an opal stone.
I never got the chance to see it because it was stolen on his wedding day. But the story of that beautiful ring was the reason i was drawn to your channel and to the amazing world of opals. God bless you, your family and team!!!
Well, for me personally, the most important attribute for me is the colours shown inside of the opals. The colours inside the opals, be it blue, yellow, orange or red, are always so mesmerising and beautiful to me. There is simply not a perfect word to describe how beautiful a opal is to me.
On a unrelated note, just discovered your youtube channel very recently and I’ve already enjoying the content!
Hi! Simple answere: oval shape, crystal, 3D colour on colour, harlequin! I love it! So… Just(in) keep going(in)!🤗
Oh my, such a loaded question. I (as a US Yank) never thought much about opals, I grew up believing if you bought your own they were bad luck 🤣. I LOVE watching you work. As an artist is AMAZING… My favorite would have to be anything worth 🔥 especially rainbow jems
My favorite attribute of opal is the uniqueness of the play of color in each stone. All stones, especially those that display optical phenomenon, are unique and individual in their own right, but none quite so much as opal in my opinion; Labradorite, moonstone, star sapphire, ect these all are fantastic stones in their own right, but, presuming the quality is high, they will tend to have relatively similar color, uniformity, and directionality. Opal on the other hand, especially in its highest grades, has wild and unpredictable play of color that is rarely ever even similar between two stones.
Wow, what an incredible spoil this would be to win. I absolutely LOVE Opals especially Black Opals; they are my favourite semi-precious stone. All I can say is my favourite attribute of an Opal (and what makes me drawn to them) is definitely COLOUR, the mostly rainbow colours (no other stones can measure up). Before I knew too much about Opals, I didn’t realise the stunning colours that came from triplets and doublets was because of the backing placed on them that makes the colours of the Opal pop and I really loved these colours. A miner told me that my preferences that I was describing sounded like a Black Opal if I wanted a solid Opal and when I searched these, I absolutely fell in love. That is why I love following Black Opal Direct and watching the gorgeous gems that emerge.
I would love to win this prize as my Hubby is apart from me at the moment as we are in the process of relocating and he had to move first for work and until we can find a place to stay suitable for our family; an opal would make me so, so happy as I miss him so much already. Praying! 🌈😍💖🎁🙏 #OpalMonth #OpalOctober #Win #BlackOpalDirect
Hi Justin and Tamika and the rest of the black opal direct team,I’m sure October is an even busier time than normal for you guys and yet y’all still found the time to do something SO generous for all of us fans,that truly is a testament to your generosity and kindness. Thank you guys so very much for this opportunity and for all you do for us opalholics! Now for the question/contest… My favorite attribute of opal has to be the patterns and play of color (I know that’s two things but I can’t choose which I love more) the way each gem is unique. Regardless of whether or not they have the same pattern or not, each opal seems to have their own personality and the patterns and play of color are what seems to give that to them so that’s why I chose these attributes as my favorite. Now this next thing isn’t necessarily an attribute but I just wanted to share while I have your ear… My husband Anthony McClain is a huge fan of yours and your channel on YouTube has changed his life. The joy he gets from watching you cut opal is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. Learning to cut opal and create gemstones of his own (all of which he gives to me or our daughters)has made such a huge difference in his life. It couldn’t have come at a better time in his life, instead of having a midlife crisis that might have caused him to do something crazy he instead found a joy and a calm that I can never personally thank you enough for. I hope you read this Justin and realize how much you have touched some people’s lives for the better and I got one am forever grateful 🥲. Keep “goin in” friend…
And I *for* one am grateful
Hey, my favourite opal attributes are: love pin fire! All the colours, of course! I too think oval the most pleasing shape, followed by round. Having been lucky enough to have been in a mine in the Grawin field I would have to say… seam opal has my vote. Thanks
Found you a few years ago … then again recently watching several hours a day … I’m addicted!!
So many beautiful patterns, my favorite being script. Black opal of course. I’m in envy over the script you birthed and making ring for yourself!!
Thanks for the chance to be part of this wonderful opportunity. the reason I am entering this “contest” is so that I can hope to be selected and give this Opal to my daughter – she is one of the strongest humans I know who have overcome so much and always with a smile ( well – mostly) she has started metalsmithing and I am in awe each and every day!she shared your link with me and I am signing up! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
She reminds me of an opal- colors change at different angles each time you look at her- beautiful in a quiet way- colorful and full of surprises. Thank you so much!!! I love opals and her and now your blog!
I believe I have followed your channel for a few years and it’s been an adventure, I never get tired of watching how you delicately turn rough and complicated opals into something so magical and beautiful beyond words. Your videos have thought me so much and made me feel like I should give this a try too. But unfortunately, as I live in Malaysia to get all the tools and materials can be costly. I do jewelry crafting with cheaper crystals that have been processed and hopefully 1 day I will get to work with opals as well.
Besides that hopefully, I’m not too late to join this contest and who knows I might get lucky to win my birthstone. This would be a gift for my birthday this 31st October. My favorite types of opal will be
– pattern – Flagstone, honeycomb, floral, or pinfire
– color – I love red or green
– shape – Oval, pear, or freeform
Thank you for the opportunity!
Hi! My favorite opal attribute would have to be.. floral patterned crystal opal with all of the colors, especially pink! (And I’ve never been a “I love pink” kind of girl) they just look incredible. Thank you for continuing to put awesome opal content out there so I can get my high end opal fix! I love it!
My favourite attribute would have to be straw and pinfire… but a bright broadflash really makes it pop too! But then again script or writing is so fascinating. Honestly how could you choose? Each stone is so unique and beautiful in it’s own way! I guess that’s why I love opal so much 🥰
Hard to pick a favourite attribute in an Opal when they’re all so unique and each one is stunning in its own way. But…I do love any Opal which has bright colour and particularly when the colour is blue/green/aqua. The one you just cut in your YouTube video is a cracker. The blue/green colours are truly gorgeous and the drop shape compliments the stone perfectly. 💙 💚
Thank you for having a giveaway as I could never afford to purchase an opal. I watch your videos to see the beauty come to life. I love all the patterns flagstone etc. oval is my favorite cut and the more colors the better. There is something truly magical about opals
Opals are magic, all rainbows and light! I find watching Justin mesmerizing and have discovered that black opals with a floral pattern have definitely cast a spell on me.
I love how opals change color and every one is diferent. Diferent colour combinations and patterns. My favourite ones are the ones with blue sparkles in it, the darker the better😀. Your videos are great to watch, it is great to see a stone tur into a sparkly gem.
Thank you
Hi, I really love the colour and being the first person to see it’s beauty
Cool patterns are the best! Script patterns rock!
Thanks for all the vids. Lots of fun to watch.
I like opal with very deep colour. Black opal also looks very exotic overall.
Just starting to learn about this magnificent gem. What drew me to it and what I love about it is the play of colors! Especially the reds and orange
My favorite attribute of opals is the colors, the patterns, EVERYTHING!
Looking at how beautiful and honestly just incredibly amazing they all are makes me feel so good inside lmao.
The way the light reflects is insane! The different patterns that can be created and just how unique the silica structure is !! I don’t even know if I can pick an honest favorite they all have such a special quality I’m obsessed with them all!
The most beautiful attribute of opal is the unique nature of the color and pattern – but more importantly how it makes me feel…..I look at opal and the rest of the world melts away and the world is just right.
Thank you Justin for introducing me to black opal – I didn’t even know I loved opals until your channel got me hooked. (Also remember your show is good for sleeping!) If I win an opal from you, which would be as gorgeous as the opal itself, I will shape it by hand and sleep with it under my pillow because it is magical
I am a little late to the contest party but my 2 cents is that floral patterns in blue in an oval are probably my favorite.
Love your channel. Wish that I had more time for my faceting/cabbing hobby. 🙂
Some day.
Howdy BOD Team!!!
Y’all have made me an Opal Convert. Thank you for the ongoing education and the Zen : )
Love, love, love green/blue PINFIRE on any opal body tone, settled in a square cushion cut. &/or a multi-color moss pattern any way, shape, or form!!! Cheers!!
Hi guys.
Love your work and watch every week. Massive fan of all things opal but my favourite is dark crystal opal. In black opal I like script and floral pattern, and always love anything with a brightness of 5 🙂
Cheers from Toowoomba.
Matt Stark
The attribute I love. The best opals are Australian
My favorite attributes are the color and pattern of the stone.
Blue & Red colors.
Flagstone pattern works for me.
Before I say anything, I’d like to say I am new to Opals and your channel. As a kid I used to collect rocks and minerals to balance my time when not practicing music. Now, after being retired for 5 years I’ve discovered your channel and I’m feeling like the kid I used to be, as I watch your videos. Thank you for sharing.
You asked for an Opal attribute? That’s almost funny in my mind. Opal…how does a person single out one property of something that is so dependent upon ALL of its combined attributes to determine its overall value? I wouldn’t attempt to do that with either of my daughters and I don’t think I could do it with an Opal either. If there was ever anything that should be evaluated or considered ‘in whole’ (based on all of its attributes), it IS an Opal. I suppose you could say I believe the most important attribute of an Opal is the entire package…and THAT is, to me, the most beautiful and mystifying feature of all Opals.
Greetings from Denmark! I really enjoy your youtube videoes. They remind me of looking into the night sky with a telescope, which I think is why I love the dark opals, but also the moss, due to all the tiny details and colors, resembling the attributes of the universe.
If we had opal in Denmark, I would be out digging from dawn till dusk.
Thank you for those colorful treasure-unveiling videoes!
O wow! Finally after almost a month of trying I hope this is the spot to enter the contest!
Where to start…? I will try to keep this short and sweet. I love opal in a way that burns like the hottest flames of the sun through my soul. An intense passion for every color, pattern, size, shape, inclusion, sand spot and partridge in pear trees. If i had to chose only one to hold forever it would have to be a top gem crystal opal with 3d color on color with all the magical colors of the rainbow, such as the one Justin lately added to his personal collection from the YouTube video. That gem made me gasp for air. I can only dream of such things though and will never be able to purchase a piece of pure perfection and joy, gift from the earth. Sadly i have been chosen by fate to move on and prepare the next level of life for those to follow. I build now,i will build in whatever heaven there might be. Anyway thank you for letting me enter, though many are more deserving. Keep up the blessed work of bringing magic to the world. Mostly oval magic! Can a ‘merican say gday without getting in trouble? I hope so..Gday and gdnite. Great aussie accent right? Sounded good in my head! lol!
Hello!
I love floral or flagstone black opals. I like the colours and depth of solid black opals. They are like deep pools of water reflecting a night sky. I love how quintessentially Australian opals are, and although I don’t own any jewellery I plan to get something opal one day!
Cheers from WA for the video content.
I blooming love pinfire black opal with allll the colour! But let’s be honest I love any opal as long as its australian !
My favorite and most important attribute would definitely be the color, the brightness and constrast in colors is what really catches the eye, a bright blue and orange/red on a Floral or Flagstone would look amazing on a wedding ring.
I absolutely adore opal patterns!! They come in so many different forms, combination and variations. It’s im possible for me to only pick one opal atribute as i love them all, but pattern must be at the top of the list🤩
My favorite attribute – When mining for diamonds, you know what you’ll get. Same for emeralds, sapphires, etc. With black opal, I love how there is no two similar stones. Each piece has its own “soul”; imperfect, cloudy, potched, and incredible beauty just below the surface. But it takes dedication, passion, appreciation, and the help of others to truly shine. It evokes emotion, a self-reflection of the soul of the person viewing. When you see that slight glimmer of red, like an ember waiting for your attention to set it ablaze. It’s just incredible.
My favourite attribute about opal is that it brings everyone together to celebrate these beautiful gems. As far as patterns go I’m a sucker for the moss and pin fire combo in greens and golds.
Hi from Canada!
Took a hot second to finally make it to the comment section here! Quite a fan club comment section going on here…almost got a cramp in my finger scrolling for so long!
Just recently found your you tube channel and absolutely love your videos. I am hooked on watching opals get cut now…
I love opals because of all the various tones of color and all the shades they have. It’s precisely why I am hooked on the videos you make now…always watching to see what comes out from the stones. I’m a pro artist here in Canada so for me, I just love seeing how the light refracts through the different opals…totally mesmerizing to watch.
I don’t know what patterns or such I like best….I’ve only just recently learned about words like “potch” and “knobbies” etc from your videos this past week…but I do love the pinkie reds, fuscias, and the bright purples…ok and the blues and greens and yellows and oranges….you get the point. Opals are beautiful!
Thanks for sharing your vids….you make cutting opals loom real easy which means it’s probably really hard…..
Best,
Jaala
Well, I have been watching and learning honestly. I think the ones that have really struck me have to be Script and Ribbon patterns. and I really love the ones that Flash blue green to yellow-orange just something that captures my soul. I absolutely love them.
Hi Justin
I just recently discovered your You Tube.channel and I have to say that I had no idea that opal could be so colorful. All I have to say Is WOW. I would have to say so far that I am loving the deep electric blue and green colors as well as hints of pink. I tend to be drawn to the oval shape and the flagstone pattern. Keep up the good work. You have a great channel and I am a new subscriber. Thank you.
Hi Justin & Tamika! I’ve loved absolutely everything about black opal since I was a child seeing my mom’s peacock brooch which was made by my grandmother’s closest friend. But I’d say my favorite attributes are pinfire with pinks and lavenders. (Though that massive pinfire one with red you cut a while back was gorgeous too.)
Opals are captivating to look at. I, like you Justin, love oval shape opals. High dome, even better 🤓.
I want your job. I think I’d Thoroughly enjoy using the wheel and shaping gems. I tickles my happy place.
My dad always had gems in the rough in our attic, like treasures. And my late mother used to try and get me to feel the energy from crystals. I never felt anything, but I won’t discredit that maybe she did.
Anywho, keep going in! 🥰
This is going to sound weird. I’ve only discovered Opal in the last few months. What do I like most? If you look at them up-close it could be a NASA photo by the Hubble telescope. It puts things into perspective. I know that sounds weird, but thats what black opal looks like to me and I love it.
Good day my friend
You are very inspiring with very intertaining content , you deserve to have a show in the national TV .
Best Regards from Baghdad/ Iraq
Haha thank you Haider
Guess it is to late to be entered for your giveaway but I will say anyway, my favorite attribute is the color.
refined fire opal is my favorite
Hey Justin,
I just wanted to thank you for bringing me to the wonderful world of opals. Ever since I watched your first video, I was hooked. It’s always a pleasure to See those muddy stones turn into precious gems.
I mostly love opals with really dark blue chef / flagstone patterns. There is something calming about looking at those stones. It’s like watching into the depths of the sea and sinking deep down into it.
I always dreamed about owing one.
Maybe i am lucky this time🤗.
Greetings from Germany
Micha
Welcome Micha Sorry for the slow reply but thank you for the very kind words
Love your material. My favorite opal pattern would be script in blues, reds, and yellows in a pillow cut. That’s a hard one. Stay safe.
Just finished going through your blog and I have to say, it was an undivided hoot. Your writing style is so engaging, I felt like I was on a wild goose chase with you. The picture you included were also a hoot, and I’m persuadedconvinced that you must have a photographic memory because they were so vivid. Keep it up, it’s a real trip!”
Well, thank you so much for your lovely words! Glad you enjoy what we do 🙂
Haha Thank you Yo can also thank Tamika for that she helps me with them. I am glad you enjoy
My favorite attribute with opal is the history behind each and every stone and where they come from. Something so small that pack a lot of good memory.
My favourite opal is the “rough opal cut of the year”. I just finished watching the video and the large stone truly is the stone of a lifetime! How beautiful it is! The smaller stones make a lovely bonus and are also very beautiful! What a gamble to pay out so much for the rough stone, but what a winner once it was cut! A calculated risk that paid off!