Any Opal lovers out there? Show and Tell please.

[minousbijoux]

Acinom, thanks for adding those two, as I was missing them but was too lazy to dig them up. They are definitely two of my favorite opal pieces ever.

 

[missy]

Acinom, thanks for sharing my opal. Very nice of you to include it.

As many of you know black opals are extremely difficult to photograph and never look as good in the photos. And though it still does not do justice to my ring this is one of my favorite photos I have so far. Taken with my phone. One day I will get my friend who has a real camera to photograph it.

Thanks for your lovely comments Minousbijoux and Bron357.

 

[pinkjewel]

Acinom, thanks for sharing my opal. Very nice of you to include it.

As many of you know black opals are extremely difficult to photograph and never look as good in the photos. And though it still does not do justice to my ring this is one of my favorite photos I have so far. Taken with my phone. One day I will get my friend who has a real camera to photograph it.

Thanks for your lovely comments Minousbijoux and Bron357.

Missy- that is STUNNING!!!!!

 

[Vesper]

My wedding ring is a small black opal from Lightning Ridge.

https://youtu.be/DxWAY4TYdAw

Here is my Great Grandmother's opal wedding ring.

 

[theredspinel]

Acinom thanks for posting my black opal pic! I've been off this forum for so long (feels like years haha) due to other stuff going on but so lovely to come back and see this amazing thread and my beautiful baby in it!!!!

I've actually started the setting process for it but I won't give anything away right now, I want to post it when it's completed and surprise you all here

 

[jordyonbass]

Acinom thanks for posting my black opal pic! I've been off this forum for so long (feels like years haha) due to other stuff going on but so lovely to come back and see this amazing thread and my beautiful baby in it!!!!

I've actually started the setting process for it but I won't give anything away right now, I want to post it when it's completed and surprise you all here

I'm looking forward to seeing it, that stone is spectacular! Aaaagh my opal addiction is getting worse

 

[MissouriRiverSapphireCo]

Here is a Welo crystal opal faceted by Nick Fabri for my wife, around 1.6ct IIRC. Mostly orange and green broad flashes, with lots of purple visible when viewed from the side. Please excuse the horrid setting, saving up for something nicer.

 

[jordyonbass]

Oh wow that faceted opal looks amazing!! That is definitely something I am going to have to try once I have done the faceting course at my local gem club.
I mentioned it previously in this thread but I'll say it again - I love Welo opals, I find their crystal opal to be just so much more pleasing to the eye than Aussie crystal opal. I know I know - it's blasphemy for someone from Australia to say that...

 

[theredspinel]

Acinom thanks for posting my black opal pic! I've been off this forum for so long (feels like years haha) due to other stuff going on but so lovely to come back and see this amazing thread and my beautiful baby in it!!!!

I've actually started the setting process for it but I won't give anything away right now, I want to post it when it's completed and surprise you all here

I'm looking forward to seeing it, that stone is spectacular! Aaaagh my opal addiction is getting worse

Thank you jordy! I know, tell me about it! I seriously considered NOT starting the setting process and just blow my limited budget on another opal from Justin my husband had to talk some sense into me.

I'm hoping after this project is done I'm going to save for another opal from him.... how can I just stop at one?! Opals (especially black) are and always have been my most favourite gemstone.

Please start a thread documenting your opal cutting journey, maybe blog style, I for one would be thrilled to follow your journey. Not to be pushy but you could start from the very beginning and document your thoughts/feelings and how hard/easy it is to get the rough and etc etc. You simply can't talk too much when it comes to opals!

 

[jordyonbass]

Acinom thanks for posting my black opal pic! I've been off this forum for so long (feels like years haha) due to other stuff going on but so lovely to come back and see this amazing thread and my beautiful baby in it!!!!

I've actually started the setting process for it but I won't give anything away right now, I want to post it when it's completed and surprise you all here

I'm looking forward to seeing it, that stone is spectacular! Aaaagh my opal addiction is getting worse

Thank you jordy! I know, tell me about it! I seriously considered NOT starting the setting process and just blow my limited budget on another opal from Justin my husband had to talk some sense into me.

I'm hoping after this project is done I'm going to save for another opal from him.... how can I just stop at one?! Opals (especially black) are and always have been my most favourite gemstone.

Please start a thread documenting your opal cutting journey, maybe blog style, I for one would be thrilled to follow your journey. Not to be pushy but you could start from the very beginning and document your thoughts/feelings and how hard/easy it is to get the rough and etc etc. You simply can't talk too much when it comes to opals!

I thought about starting a thread when I first began at the club late last year but PS seems to me to be more about finished stones and jewellery rather than the processes that go into faceting and cabbing stones. While posts pop up in threads here and there about lapidary work, for the most part people want to see the bling here (nothing wrong with that either!). While I am not at all a trade member in any way, I also don't want to upset any mods or trade members by starting a thread about lapidary work. Unless Ella gives me the nod, then I'd be happy to share

I find it a bit of a coincidence that you've brought this up though - I have a friend of mine who has recommended that I start an online blog, she thinks that a lot of people would be interested in watching someone go through the learning curve of lapidary. I didn't think a blog would have that much of a following but then again I'm a bit of a luddite for my age

 

[theredspinel]

Oh I'd definetly follow a thread here or an online blog...and this is from someone that generally has zero interest in handsy stuff like this. The more interested I become in any topics it always branches of into wanting to learn/hear/see differing aspects of it.

I think as a novice in the whole field I'd more enjoy a learners/beginners perspective into this new world rather then a pro doing it mainly because then it would feel like being taught....?

Besides I'm more interested in your emotions and thoughts in your head during each stage then learning the actual art

 

[jordyonbass]

I completely understand what you mean by being taught by a pro; as I have been learning at my club I've had some of the older club members go through some of their tips and advice a bit too fast and I haven't quite understood what they have been trying to explain. Some of the newer members are able to break down the explanation further in a way that I can comprehend.

If you want to know my emotions, a lot of it is frustration at this point. I've been working on mostly petrified wood, jasper, malachite and common yellow opal (looks nothing like the good stuff though), they are not the greatest stuff to work with and I can be impatient which is not a great combination. The feeling you get when a stone cracks or splits after you have been working on it for hours can be quite gut-wrenching!
I have a 20 carat chunk of pink sapphire that I am doing next, I'm really going to have to take my time and learn to be patient

 

[Ella]

Acinom thanks for posting my black opal pic! I've been off this forum for so long (feels like years haha) due to other stuff going on but so lovely to come back and see this amazing thread and my beautiful baby in it!!!!

I've actually started the setting process for it but I won't give anything away right now, I want to post it when it's completed and surprise you all here

I'm looking forward to seeing it, that stone is spectacular! Aaaagh my opal addiction is getting worse

Thank you jordy! I know, tell me about it! I seriously considered NOT starting the setting process and just blow my limited budget on another opal from Justin my husband had to talk some sense into me.

I'm hoping after this project is done I'm going to save for another opal from him.... how can I just stop at one?! Opals (especially black) are and always have been my most favourite gemstone.

Please start a thread documenting your opal cutting journey, maybe blog style, I for one would be thrilled to follow your journey. Not to be pushy but you could start from the very beginning and document your thoughts/feelings and how hard/easy it is to get the rough and etc etc. You simply can't talk too much when it comes to opals!

I thought about starting a thread when I first began at the club late last year but PS seems to me to be more about finished stones and jewellery rather than the processes that go into faceting and cabbing stones. While posts pop up in threads here and there about lapidary work, for the most part people want to see the bling here (nothing wrong with that either!). While I am not at all a trade member in any way, I also don't want to upset any mods or trade members by starting a thread about lapidary work. Unless Ella gives me the nod, then I'd be happy to share

I find it a bit of a coincidence that you've brought this up though - I have a friend of mine who has recommended that I start an online blog, she thinks that a lot of people would be interested in watching someone go through the learning curve of lapidary. I didn't think a blog would have that much of a following but then again I'm a bit of a luddite for my age

You would be welcome to start such a thread as long as the wording is not promotional and the piece you show is not for sale. Thank you for asking and please consider this our blessing.

 

[jordyonbass]

Oh wow, thank you so much for the blessing Ella!!
It wouldn't be a thread for showing off stones so much as it would be a 'this is what I have learned and this is what I am doing at the moment' kind of thread. More or less my odyssey with learning to cut stones

 

[Ella]

Oh wow, thank you so much for the blessing Ella!!
It wouldn't be a thread for showing off stones so much as it would be a 'this is what I have learned and this is what I am doing at the moment' kind of thread. More or less my odyssey with learning to cut stones

Yes we are always happy to have these types of educational threads as long as permission is obtained first.

 

[chrono]

Thank you, Ella and Jordy.

 

[jordyonbass]

Oh wow, thank you so much for the blessing Ella!!
It wouldn't be a thread for showing off stones so much as it would be a 'this is what I have learned and this is what I am doing at the moment' kind of thread. More or less my odyssey with learning to cut stones

Yes we are always happy to have these types of educational threads as long as permission is obtained first.

Thanks again Ella, I really appreciate it! I will probably post it in this forum since colored stones is what I am interested in unless you would prefer it in a different forum. I tend to be a bit descriptive with my writings so if anything ever comes across as promotional or anything like that then please let me know and I will be more than happy to fix it, I love this place and wouldn't want to upset anyone!

 

[Ella]

Oh wow, thank you so much for the blessing Ella!!
It wouldn't be a thread for showing off stones so much as it would be a 'this is what I have learned and this is what I am doing at the moment' kind of thread. More or less my odyssey with learning to cut stones

Yes we are always happy to have these types of educational threads as long as permission is obtained first.

Thanks again Ella, I really appreciate it! I will probably post it in this forum since colored stones is what I am interested in unless you would prefer it in a different forum. I tend to be a bit descriptive with my writings so if anything ever comes across as promotional or anything like that then please let me know and I will be more than happy to fix it, I love this place and wouldn't want to upset anyone!

We'll let you know, I am sure it will be fine. This forum is fine.

 

[GregS]

You beat me to it Acinom. I need to bring it out and wear it again.

I have a big honeycomb/cellular Ethiopian Opal I want to set for my fiance. I will try to get pictures of it tomorrow and share it.

 

[theredspinel]

Oh wow, thank you so much for the blessing Ella!!
It wouldn't be a thread for showing off stones so much as it would be a 'this is what I have learned and this is what I am doing at the moment' kind of thread. More or less my odyssey with learning to cut stones

Yes we are always happy to have these types of educational threads as long as permission is obtained first.

Thanks again Ella, I really appreciate it! I will probably post it in this forum since colored stones is what I am interested in unless you would prefer it in a different forum. I tend to be a bit descriptive with my writings so if anything ever comes across as promotional or anything like that then please let me know and I will be more than happy to fix it, I love this place and wouldn't want to upset anyone!

We'll let you know, I am sure it will be fine. This forum is fine.

Yay!!!

 

[aussiejamie]

Looking forward to watching your skills develop Jordy!

 

[jordyonbass]

Looking forward to watching your skills develop Jordy!

Thanks Jamie! You've got a shoutout coming for all your help as well mate

 

[_lovesvintage_]

I am enjoying seeing everyone's opals. Here is my tiny boulder opal that will be made into a ring and my circa 1890s Victorian opal ring that I found at an antique mall.

 

[theredspinel]

Loving the new additions. What a unique ring that will be lovesvintage! Please post pictures when it's completed

So... more, more, more!

 

[_lovesvintage_]

I will on this thread when it gets done later this year, theredspinel. I am actually in the process of having a pair cut so that I can have earrings too. Not exact matches since the stone for the ring is from a different seller. The same person will set the ring and earrings. She also referred me to the boulder opal cutter. As of now it looks like they will be in silver because of the cool tone of the colors (she only works with natural white gold that goes better with warmer tones), but it could possibly change once the stones are with her and she sees them in person. Thanks for your interest.

 

[_lovesvintage_]

So here are the 9 mm round boulder opal pair... to be set in silver with designs still in progress, but definitely will be dangles.

 

[packrat]

I love opals. They have a lot of meaning to me. I have this one [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/opal-pendant-by-dk.211868/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/opal-pendant-by-dk.211868/[/URL] (surprisingly enough, for all the times I've told the Grampa's Opal Story--I didn't put it in the thread hahahahaha--you all could probably recite it by now anyway!)

I also have a round fire opal that my grampa set for gramma in a crazy yellow gold pendant-it reminds me of the 80's. Gramma and Grampa had taken it to a jewelry place one of the times when they were in Australia and were told it would be worth a nice price--but it's got a crack in it or something-I can see the lines in it-and the jeweler didn't understand why grampa had bothered to cut it and then to set it. Grampa just shrugged-he said it was beautiful, he loved it, gramma loved it, his job is to make gramma happy. Gramma gave it to me to wear when JD and I got married and I remember how her hands shook when she brought it out for me. I was about half scared to wear it. But she said if there was anything I could wear that would mean Grampa was there when I walked down the aisle, it was that opal. After, she told me she couldn't take it back, that she knew Grampa would be proud that I wore it and that I loved it, beautiful in spite of, or because of, its flaws, and she knew that of all the family, I would feel it in my heart when I wore it.

I've tried to take pictures of it when i first found PS but they were terrible..maybe by now with the newer cameras etc, it would respond to having a picture taken better than in the past.

 

[_lovesvintage_]

What a great story packrat... please post pics when you can. I remember the thread about your pendant too...thanks for the reminder.

 

[MiriamS]

I recently received this Welo opal ring created by David Klass. The opal was purchased from Jim McCormick. These are David's pictures.

 

[Acinom]

Great new additions ladies!
And thank you for sharing your story packrat.
Gorgeous opals vesper I love these meaningful pieces
Amazing pendant MissouriRiverSapphireCo. Beautiful colorplay
Lovesvintage: ah!!! Opal Paradise. Stunning stones.
MiriamS: wow!! DK did such a great job. What a beautiful ring. Please start a thread with lots of pics. The stone and setting are gorgeous.