A Blue Vein of Opal
There's a moment every opal cutter knows. The wheel is spinning, the rough is in your hand, and you genuinely don't know what's about to happen next.
This week, I'm putting a 300 carat seam opal from Lightning Ridge on the wheel — and from the second you see the rough, you'll understand why it caught my eye. There's a massive purple color bar wrapping right around the rock, which is something you rarely see in even the best Lightning Ridge material. On the surface, it looks like a dream piece.
But opal doesn't care about your expectations.
Hidden inside this gem are chips, sand, and what look like cracks sitting in the worst possible places. And the brutal truth about opal cutting is that you don't know what's really in there until you start grinding. The color could explode into something breathtaking, or a fault line could open up right through the heart of it and change everything in an instant.
As the gem starts to open up, the color does begin to show through... but so do some signs that had me genuinely worried.
Will this giant piece become the gem it promised to be or will the hidden problems have the final say?
This one is a rollercoaster from start to finish, and it's exactly why opal cutting is unlike anything else in the gem world. Pure skill, serious patience, and just a little bit of luck standing between rough and something remarkable.
🎥 Hit play. You'll want to see how this one turns out.
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10 comments
Your videos have been incredibly inspiring and educational. I watch 2-3 a day. Still being fairly new to opal carving/cutting it’s been an incredible help. I look forward to the day I get an opportunity to work on material as beautiful as this. I only work by hand sanding and Dremel, as not enough space for big machines, maybe someday.
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Hi Marco Thank you for the kind words and am glad you are learning about opal.
Just to let you know we have an online opal cutting course that will fast track you to being a better opal cutter and also learning how to buy opal right and safely https://blackopaldirect.com/pages/opal-cutting-course or just go to the main menu and you will see it.
Their is also a blog with like minded people of all levels there to help you out as well as myself Regards Justin
Marco Madian
Hi Happy Tuesday … Hope all is well… She is a beautiful Stone, is she for sale?
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Hi Michael I would love to say yes but it is owned by an opal miner and they are getting it set into a pendant
Michael Richard
Cracks are one thing – they can be fatal to a stone. But webs, cotton, sand inclusion don’t necessarily mean the stone is unsound – a lot of people just don’t like them, they’re undesirable because the stone isn’t perfect with them. I have a fair number of specimens and stones from Coober Pedy. For a few tears, I chased perfect stones, too – and ground away a lot of color in the process. Now I feel that signs of the stone’s geology and formation can be ok and, in fact, sometimes add to the stone’s interest. So I would say you’ve done a great job on this piece, whatever you decide to do. Flaws are the forensic evidence of its formation – a little of that is more than ok, and there’s not much in this amazing piece. And I like big, so …
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Yes I agree Paul. Inclusions can prove the opal is real and give it personality but in the same time can reduce the value of a gem as well.
Inclusions are becoming more important in a world of AI and synthetics.
Paul Gasek
What a beautiful, beautiful opal that you’ve cut from this what will it turn out to be a pendant?
Opals are my favorite and they are my birthstone
What would be the price of something like this?
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Hi Maryann
Thanks for the comment. Opals are my fave too, obviously 😊
The opal is owned by an opal miner and is already at a jeweller being made for their own personal collection. The value was in the video.
Regards Justin
Maryann Hutchings
I am interested to purchase this opal, do you have this for sale ?
https://youtu.be/bNg-337BdEM
Thanks
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Hi Chris
Thanks for the comment.
The opal is owned by an opal miner and is already at a jeweller being made for their own personal collection. Sorry to say
Regards Justin
Chris Bolsover
Thanks for the comments guys Haha Joel he is buying his own food and carrying his weight in Lightning Ridge this year
Justin Thomas
Wowzers!!!
That is a gorgeous gem!!
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Thanks Julie Nice to see you here still as we just go the commenting working on the blogs again since the new website has been up. 🙏
Julie Steiner
The nearly 100-carat gem (great guess on your part, mate) still seemed to have some very tiny areas of imperfection. But I suppose, if one’s sense of perfection was that extreme…you could easily end up with a final stone of maybe half the carat weight. And I realize you have bills to pay and mouths to feed.
When I was your son’s age…I practically bankrupted my father, eating as I did like a horse.
Joel in Toronto.
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Haha yes when I was young also I ate my father out of house and home training to be a pro tennis player. But then realised opal was my life
Joel Roher
Justin, Now that’s a big opal that turned very nice! Someone will love it. Great work!
Thanks, Leo
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Thank you Leo yeah the opal is owned by a miner that dug it up so they are very happy
Leo Reyes
this is were a diamond wire saw comes handy!
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Black Opal Direct replied:
Very much so James but I never trusted a wire saw on opal for some reason
james brimmage
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