Opal Business

[nwphew]

Hello,

I''m new to the gemstone world, but have a lot of interest in Opal. I''m looking for some advice on how I should potentially enter the market as a Opal dealer. I have the resource to get rough as well as cut and polished. I''m trying to figure out where to start, but just don''t know. Any advice would be helpful.

Thank You

 

[Barrett]

You have resources to get rough but are those resources for "cheap" rough..as in rough at mine direct or wholesale prices...you can''t buy retail and sell retail or you won''t make any money...so if you have a good connection that is a good start...do you want to buy rough and have it cut to sell finished stones?...or will the finished stones be cheap enough for you to flip them and turn a profit? One of the most important things is tyo build a buyer base and happy customers..the folks on this site have a few sellers that they constantly talk and rave about because the seller has good material at fair prices and is customer oriented..those sellers didn''t just start selling stones and have all these folks just jump on the band wagon..it was word of mouth that got lots of the folks on here to start buying from the same few sellers...you must get vout there..sell at gem shows..set up a website, etc. I never messed with opal before until a few weeks ago when I went and met up with the owner(Dennis patrick) of a Black opal mine in Honduras and discussed direct buying from him..the key to this was a little insider tip i got about the this material...the key is the black opal from there has never been stable so for years it was considered worthless..now the owner of this mine developed a techniuque to stabalize 100% the black opal using a large vacuum chamber and some new techniques pioneered in Australia..no sugar daddy''s or anything like that..clean natural opal..this all came out in quartzite this last time so is still fairly new to the market..hence fairly priced...might take off..might not..it''s sure a heck of a lot cheaper than lightning ridge material..so good luck on your endeavor and let us know how it goes...here is a pic of one 23 gram piece i picked up as a sample..I also have a 17 gram piece I got which is all broad flash but that piece I sent off to get looked at so when I get it back I will throw up a pic of that but this 23 gram piece is about standard for the material

 

[Barrett]

another shot

 

[Barrett]

another

 

[nwphew]

I''m getting them at wholesale. My plan is to sell cut and polished opal, in which the prices for the quality will be very attractive to potential customers. I''ll be taking a trip later this month to purchase a large amount opal so that I can get started. I''m also working on a website and just trying to decide the best way to get started. My main goal is to make potential customers happy, so I''ll always put them first before I worry about a dollar. Unhappy customers will lead to no customers.

Would it be a good idea to get an appraisal through EGL before selling opal? I ask because I thought that would be a way to ensure the customer of exactly what they are getting and how much of a discounted price as well.

What is the best type of camera to use when photographing opal? I''ve tried with my digital point & shoot camera, but not having any luck at all.

 

[Barrett]

I would say the only time you should pay for an appraisal would be for a stone over $500 or over $1000 or some set amount..for anything cheaper for you to tack on the price of an apprasial to the opal will make the competitions prices more appealing...the part of your market that only spends 50-200 don't really care about appraisials..but the more expensive stuff it would be a good idea..keep us informed
J

 

[chrono]

Typically, most vendors and cutters do not provide certification unless requested or only on high dollar value items, say something over USD$1000. I have heard that AGL does $25 brief so that might be a good option for those who want a cert for the less expensive opals to prove that they aren’t doublets, triplets, or something else.

 

[nwphew]

Thanks for the advice, it will be very helpful once I get started.