The transformation of this half rough opal!

Millions of years ago, on the border of an ancient inland sea, a gem was born. This is the tale of the half rough opal…

Join me today as I uncover a stunning gem from a half rubbed, half rough opal!

I got this gem from a miner who had uncovered some of the color but hadn’t taken away all of the potch in this half rough opal yet. I can see there’s a thick bar of color running through with some beautiful green, blue, and yellow. There is potch in the face on one side and some sand inclusions that I hope to get out to make this stone a magical gem. Let’s give it a clean and polish and see what we get!

It’s cutting time

Today I’ll be making an oval (surprise!) by polishing on the wheel. After getting out the sand inclusions seen on the side of the nobby, the opal is ready to go on a dop stick.

I begin polishing on the 360 grit diamond wheel before taking it to my 600 grit soft diamond. This leaves me with a high polish and a fantastic looking gem.

Now for the reveal… 4.03 carats! Happy dance! This beautiful gem black opal is an N3 with a brightness of 4.

Leave a Comment

Item added to cart.
0 items - $0.00