Easy peasy lemon squeezy is my prediction on how this rough opal piece is going cut — low stress and smooth sailing or rough and ready?
I am so excited to cut and shape this piece of rough opal and the game changer will be if we can get some green coming through the blue.
This is the piece from the parcel of my last Lightning Ridge trip that I have the highest hopes for, my expectations sit around the $4000 – $5000 mark, (fingers crossed).
Firstly, we’ll need to navigate through the white cap and a mountain of black potch to find where those colors live and hope they are not just infused in the potch.
As we begin grinding away at this delicate gem we will face some sand monsters but I am totally up for the challenge to bring this beauty to life!
Join me on this journey to witness the decision making that goes into cutting rough opal.
My heart still races every time I start shaping a gem, I love what I do and hope you all enjoy the ride along with me.
The Final Gem — Spoiler Alert!
The final opal that emerges out of the rough is a beautiful 5.70ct N3 Black Opal with a brightness of 3 — sitting at around $4500.
The combination of blue and green is the ultimate dream (see what I did there) and some lovely flashes of red to top it off.
As a result, we end up with a solid gem that met all my expectations with little to no drama — smooth sailing after-all.
