Let’s rewind a bit from the part where I see red opal. My son, Saxon, came to me with some rough nobby opals and asked if he could cut them. I gave him the green light, thinking they were good prac...
In a recent instalment of Black Opal Direct, we had the pleasure of interviewing Jenni Brammall, one of the driving forces behind the Australian Opal Centre in Lightning Ridge. As AOC Founders, Ru...
There isn’t a week that goes by without a memorable cutting session, but this one was particularly special as it’s a father-son opal cutting session. Working with my dad, we took on the challenge o...
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...
An incredible black opal deserves an even more extraordinary jewelry setting, and that is exactly what we achieved with Andy’s custom opal ring. An old piece of Lightning Ridge Black Opal found its...
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...