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...
Ever wanted to know what really goes into mining, finding, and cutting opal? In last week’s episode, we went underground in Lightning Ridge on the hunt for color. This week, watch as we take the op...
Nine hours west of New South Wales’ coastline is a town that consists of a few restaurants, a couple of pubs, and one surprisingly decked-out grocery store; Lightning Ridge. In today’s video, we f...
On a cool, overcast winters day here on the Gold Coast, Justin takes us into his workshop and shows us the romance of opal.How does opal make you feel? Even in a job as great as Justins, it’s impor...
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...
Storytime! Let’s quiz Justin on some of the beautiful gemstones in his personal opal collection. Join us as Melinda (Black Opal Direct’s newest member!) is introduced and gets to ask Justin for th...
What exactly is play of color? Is it unique to opal—and how can you tell? This week, Justin dives into what play of color means across different gemstones, and why opal’s version is truly one of a ...
This week Justin has some bad luck with a piece of nobby opal that looked promising but ended up a bit of fail! Then he decided to try one more piece… which opal has the better gem?Justin starts wi...
Justin’s back this week and he’s got something on his mind… welcome to the opal color rant. In the early days of opals discovery, when someone stumbled across a gorgeous gem that resembled a rainb...