Even after 30 years of being in the business, I still get sand sucker-punched by opal. Just when you think you know your stuff an opal comes along to promptly remind you that you don’t. Like an ove...
My biggest challenge ever doesn’t seem to be getting any easier! This massive chunk of Andamooka opal is the opal that finally beat me.I have developed my skills in cutting opal over the last 30 ye...
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...
Do you like surprises? I do. Well, good ones, that is. Let’s cut a beautiful black crystal opal from a gorgeous ocean blue opal nobby!It’s not every day that I’m surprised with more than I hoped fo...
What do you get when you cross a huge piece of Andamooka opal and a lot of very hard quartz? My biggest challenge ever! (literally!) In this weeks video, we’ll work on exposing the gem inside this ...
Sometimes all you want to do is watch some therapeutic opal cutting without some dude talking the whole time. Well, today’s your lucky day! We’ve got something a little different in mind this week ...
Are all black opals created equal? What is black opal worth? Are the darkest black opals worth more? Should I only buy N1 black opals? We get a lot of questions about black opal, understandably! B...
Hey, hey, it’s cutting day! Watch Justin as he gives a rough gem makeover… how will it turn out?Assessing your optionsThis week, Justin starts with a 34ct nobby opal that has a nice, thick color ba...
Last week I explained in detail the features of rough opal nobbies and what to look out for. This week I’ll show you exactly what we get out of the piece of rough opal by cutting that very piece.We...