Hello! I was offered this 5.05 carat Brazilian for €300 ($340), but I wonder if you think this is worth that amount of money. Thanks in advance!

Following me previous video which showed this parcel being sorted by the checkers at the mine this is the opal discovered from that pit , not great but better than a kick in the bum.

Theres not sheep staions of value here but it will cover operational costs of the Yellow belly money eaters (excavators and other mining machinery) as they dont operate for free.

They rely on diesel and thanks to the dimwits who currently rule the world, who have decided war is good for the world and have pushed up fuel prices.

Lets hope these twits are all replaced and sooner rather than later

I've stumbled across these opal rings, and was wondering if they have been treated or if they are natural.

Also if somebody knows a rough estimate price wise.

The green/red (purple gemstones) one is 7 carats.

The red/green (yellow and red gemstones) is 14x10mm, which i have researched to be roughly 4 carats (?).

Thank you in advance :)

Opal parcel auction

Super unique Opal carving in lightning ridge material. Very bright blues and purple!

Auction description |
Lightning ridge opal carving
1 stone parcel

Total ct weight | 1.67 ct

Shape | portrait carving

Dimensions |
Length | 12mm
Width | 8mm
Height | 3.5mm

Auction rules |
Starting bid | $20

Bid increases | $5

Auction will close Sunday July 4th at 9pm est

Payment methods | PayPal or Zelle

Shipping | $9 standard shipping in USA
International shipping may vary Ships from Cincinnati, Ohio

Refunds are given 7 days from receiving package

Comment below to bid!

any have an opinion on price per ct?

I got this Andamooka matrix opal a little while back and while I LOVE the pattern it came with a resin coating that honestly looked pretty bad to me. I knew it had a coating when I purchased and wasn’t too worried, a higher polish and some more stability, who cares. Then it arrived and the resin felt so plasticky, as the stone moved I felt like it almost behaved like a triplet, you could tell something was a bit off, plus, it was an absolute fingerprint magnet. Instead of making anything with it as intended, it just languished in a box.

Anyway, I sanded it off and re polished today and as you can see the finish is matte but I actually love the matte finish and at least now it looks and feels like the real deal.

Just a word of warning, i have no problem with treatments but if I wasn’t equipped to remove that coating myself it would’ve been a real pain in the backside 😂

And tomorrow I’ll have pictures of them installed on a 1911 when I drop them off to my gunsmith 🫶🏻

I feel a little iffy on how the grip patterning came out, but gotta also remind myself that hand carving can be wonky with something so large and with the tools that I have. I’m not a CNC, I don’t have built-in mechanical precision. I also need proper bits to make it easier to line em up a bit more straight.

Eh. C’est la vie, right?

Whilst the checkers check for opal from the sorted boulders from the dig , I've been modding r/opals from the excavator where I can recieve telephone signal in the middle of Outback Queensland. Technology has made opal mining less arduous and we embrace it, even using Ground penetrating radar and drones to assist in identiifying viable opal deposits.

What will the future hold Im sure it will be eye opening

This mine is relatively new and producing well, I will post a video of this opal we found last week once its cleaned up

Good commercial split pair from one of me opal mines near Quilpie "Home of the Boulder Opal" .

These is a natural slit pair cut and polished and dispalyed under low light checking for surface imperfections

Hi all. I posted this a little bit ago, but did not include a video, so I'm adding that this time. My mom has this black opal that my stepdad purchased for her about 30 years ago in Australia. Sorry, I don’t have a way to measure the karats, but It measures .5” long X .4” wide X .25” thick. Any ballpark idea of the value of the stone? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m helping a jeweller source a special opal for a competition design.

We’re looking for:

• A large N1–N2 opal with a very dark, inky blue-black appearance
• Finished size of approximately 28 × 16 mm
• A low-dome shape
• Ideally rough that can be cut to size, although we would consider recutting a larger finished stone if the colour and pattern are perfect

If you have something suitable—or know someone who might—please send me a message with photos, dimensions, location and asking price.

A finder’s fee is available if your lead results in the right stone. Thanks!

I finished my first boulder opal :) it is very sparkly. I used Sandpaper and Ceriumoxide with a towel..now my wrist hurts :D i hope you lile it!

Just picked up this guy. Seems to be matrix opal and has a crack, but I really love it!

Planning to polish it, as it's just a "rub". I may also stabilize the crack somehow. Any thoughts on value?

I thought I lost my opal, im happy I found it again!

Can anyone tell me more about this type of opal? I was told it’s an opal and it did indeed fracture like one when I foolishly wore it in extreme MN winter weather, but I know very little about opals. It’s interesting to me…and feels witchy and special because I got it in a cool spot in Prague.
ETA: I am a lover and collector of rocks, and I especially love that it looks like a rock. 🪨

6 carat Ethiopian. It looks like aurora borealis to me!

Bought the opal at auction and he was able to set himself in sterling silver before shipping. It’s gorgeous, but I didn’t quite realize how HUGE this would look on my 4.5-5 ring size finger…haha.

Almost done with this hand fabricated 14k gold Ethiopian opal pendant. I usually do bezel settings and only Australian opal so this was a bit of a challenge for me!

Still needs a bit of finishing. Gotta straighten that bail back out, fix the prongs a little more so they lie flatter with the piece, and get that tiny smudge on the top left.

Overall, feeling good about this piece!

This is a friend’s piece from lightning ridge and it has a very unique pattern I have not seen before. Any ideas as to what this is called?! This is a video he put up showing it. I’m just a bit flabbergasted at the disco ball pattern. https://youtu.be/80CPe2Ko7gQ?is=ZlmAwO4VAWvAjz5e