From the moment this rough opal hit the wheel, I knew it wasn’t going to give itself up easily. What followed was one of the most stressful cutting sessions I have had in a long time. Why? Because ...
There is something about picking up a rough opal and having absolutely no idea what pattern is waiting underneath the skin. You can see the color. You can see the potential. But the pattern? That s...
This piece of dark opal rough came from a recent parcel and was 'unassuming' at first. But a red color bar running through the rough hinted at something worth chasing. Once put on the cutting whee...
This piece of Mintabie rough had me genuinely excited before I even touched the wheel. A thick color bar with layers of squares stacked through it. That can mean one thing... harlequin. Well, I hop...
This week I have a stunning 40 carat Lightning Ridge nobby on the wheel. It's half potch, half color, with gorgeous blue and purple running right through it. That kind of split is exactly what you ...
This 13.25 carat nobby came from one of the most stunning parcels of rough I've had my hands on in a long time. This video will be part of a series where I cut every nice piece of rough from that p...
Months of planning, a pegged claim and a dream that started long before the first bucket of dirt was ever pulled from the ground. This is Justin and Saxon's Lightning Ridge opal mining operation. P...
I just got back from Lightning Ridge and brought something back that had me buzzing. A parcel of fossilised opal that looks like it was once a massive piece of ancient wood, millions of years in th...
The moment I saw this black opal nobby from Lightning Ridge, it caught my eye for one very specific reason. The potch line was almost perfect and the color looked like it could be a near match to o...