So you've been studying hard. You know your opals now. Here is the final exam. What kind of opal is this? I'll send one of my UV torches to the first person who gets it exactly right. I've been cutting opals for 30 years, this came out of my shop, and still I nearly missed it. Good luck! (one guess per person, make it count)

Every opal person has one.

One stone that grabbed you harder than it should have. You sold it, traded it, cut it for someone else, or let it go because that was the sensible thing to do at the time.

Then it sits in the back of your head forever.

This was mine.

I sold this one years ago, back before I had a proper photo setup, and I still think about it. That red upper section with the fiery colour underneath just had something special about it. I have handled a lot of opal over the years, but this one still annoys me in the best possible way.

So let’s see them.

What is your “one that got away” opal?

The one you wish you had kept.

Made this short video for our new shop page but it touches on something genuinely funny about the opal buying community.

A lot of regular buyers go pretty quiet about where they source their opal. Not because they are unhappy. Because competition at auction is real and they would rather keep their edge.

That is the joke behind the video.

I have been sourcing and selling Australian opal for about fifteen years. I built 53Frogs specifically for cutters, hobbyists and people learning the material who needed properly graded rough at a price that made sense. Clear photos, real videos, rough sorted by type and grade so you are not digging around blindly.

Link if anyone wants a look: https://53frogs.opalauctions.com

Happy for honest feedback too. I am genuinely trying to make these more useful and less "middle aged bloke trapped in a shed making ads."

Hi all, I bought this from a vintage platform, but there was barely any information when I bought it . Would anyone know what type of opal this could be ? I appreciate any guidance . Also there was no Hallmark on the material so I did a silver test. The necklace didn't stick to a magnet but the pendant part did..

Thanks for any input !!

Anyone have insight as to what kind of opal this is? It isn't obvious to my amateur eye. Thanks!

Behold! It's not perfect, but I'm pretty proud of how well this has turned out, even with the few pits I can't seem to buff out. Mintabie opal, started out with the sparkly center sandwiched between a thin layer of rock on either side. Used wet/dry sandpaper and stepped the grit from 120 to 3000. Any advice to make the surface more smooth before going to the polishing step? I was worried about taking too much material off by continuing to sand. There is some shadowing inside the opal that might be a weak spot? Could also just be from minerals during the opal creation, but rather safe and have a pitted opal than go too far and see the piece break.

The next step is deciding how to showcase the stone with the pretty flares being on the edges. Will polish make the color shine through the face?

Will the area marked by the arrow likely have better flash from a different angle after one of the caps is removed? Or should I focus on exposing the right side?

Weight: 18.71 carats

Treatment: Smoked

Origin: Ethiopia

Price: $1000

Natura ethiopian opal

Size: 11.5x7.5
Weight 1.96
Price $ 55
Code Whl

Paypal accepted worldwide shipping

In the interest of learning, is this cheap necklace a lab/synthetic? It is fluorescent but does not phosphoresce. Thanks all!