Let's map this out again

When I came across this piece of rough opal, its organic shape struck a similarity to the map of Australia and who doesn’t want an opal that is shaped like Oz?

With the sand wreaking havoc on my intended map of Australia I have to restrategize my approach to cutting this beautiful piece of Lightning Ridge opal. There is a visible line of potch running through the middle, so slicing it seemed to be the most logical place to start — goodbye Oz! Mother Nature had only lightly painted this piece of rough opal with color and as I grounded each piece I was rapidly losing color…eeeek! If you think we’re in the clear, think again, now comes the sand spots and pits — with the Dremel in hand, the sand began to disappear but so did some of the color.

Side Note: Where there are pits and sand spots, the color bar doesn’t carry through underneath, there is no way to get rid of the sand and keep the color.

Lost map of Oz bounty

The final bounty was well worth it in the end, I couldn’t be happier with the end result. Starting with the big guy, 7.39ct freeform dark opal with an incredible broad-flash of golden orange and red, find it here. Secondly, a lovely round 2.70ct dark opal, here. Next, is a nice oval shape coming in as a 1.54ct dark opal, sold. Lastly, is the gorgeous freeform drop-shape 1.12ct dark opal, here.

Once you have watched the video above — hit this link for one of my many successful opal carving videos here. Thanks for spending your time with us here at Black Opal Direct, we hope you enjoyed the video.