When my two opal miner friends said they had “the best nobby opal we have ever mined,” my curiosity was immediately piqued. They were unsure how to cut it to get the most out of the gem, so I was h...
I have been putting off cutting this piece of 166ct rough opal. The approach to a piece this large takes a little more patience and brainpower, especially when it has a myriad of problems to naviga...
There isn’t a week that goes by without me performing a risky opal cut. The risk of the unknown can be daunting with every new piece of rough I take to the wheel. Sometimes it works out and sometim...
Allawah Opal can be a little tricky to cut, especially deciphering which way to face the gem. The Allawah Opal field is known to produce spectacular Crystal Opals, let’s hope this one isn’t an exc...
A rough return isn’t something that happens very often. In this particular case, the customer wasn’t confident they could cut a decent gem out of it. Especially as this person cuts opal by hand rat...
This may look like a pork chop, but it is, in fact, a 300ct Seam Opal piece from Lightning Ridge. It looks like it may cut as white opal, however, I will investigate it further to see if crystal op...
A 100ct Nobby Opal, will it bring me obstacles or opportunities? A piece of rough this big can make for an exciting cut. Obstacles like sand patches of inclusions may occur preventing me from cutti...
This is without a doubt, the opal cut of the year! The nobby was presented to me on my last trip to Lightning Ridge for the asking price of AUD$2000. With the help of the Gemstone Flashlight, I was...
Could this Crystal Shell Fossil be the best Crystal Opal I have ever cut? It’s glassy, clear and super clean with an incredible 3D color on color. Is a fossil more valuable than an opal? In this ca...