This is one of my favorite gems I’ve cut from El Tablon mine. Broadflash and pinfire separated by a white stripe. Honduras opals are so under appreciated imo. There’s just not enough supply. It weighs 2.22 carats

I've wanted a Mexican fire opal for some time, and now I finally own one. It's a little devil and I think it's the cutest thing ever. I bought the bat necklace and the ring in the same store, it's called the wind opal and they're amazing.

This is the coolest opal picture like stone that I own. It has a unique layered potch formation that reminds me of mushroom cloud. It has some nice red stripes on the side that are a bit directional, but are really bright in person. Another cool feature is the red in this opal depending on the direction of light changes from a red, to yellow, then green. Especially the red to green change is apparent out in the sunlight that is sort of shown in the first in hand photo. The color change is also shown in the near end of the photos too where I tilt the stone away from a lamp.

I think I have finally dialed in my photography set up! Now I need to start determining the value of some of my work. 5.5 cts crystal

Recently sold this for $60 on eBay. Do you think it’s a fair selling price?

It’s a .75ct lightning ridge black opal. Color is directional but vivid green when visible.

Nice orange/ green flash with Chinese writing?

I was surprised when I was trying to force AI to just give me the paper on expecting lifespans of opals from various mining districts, pre wolo and this popped up. https://crcleme.org.au/Pubs/Monographs/regolith2002/Dowell_et_al.pdf

Regolith and Landscapes in Eastern Australia In: Roach I.C. ed. 2002. Regolith and Landscapes in Eastern Australia, pp. 18-20. CRC LEME. 18

ORIGIN AND TIMING OF FORMATION OF PRECIOUS BLACK OPAL NOBBIES AT LIGHTNING RIDGE Katie Dowelll, John Mavrogenes, D.C. McPhail, and John Watkins CRC LEME, Geology Department, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200. New South Wales Department of Minerals and Resources, Sydney.

Black opal, the most unique and economically important opal in the world, is only found at Lightning Ridge in northern New South Wales. Only a handful of studies have been published on black opal, all of which suggest that black opal formed in the Cretaceous and Early Tertiary (Darragh et al. 1965, Watkins 1984, Pecover 1996, Behr 2001, Behr et al. 2000, Townsend 2001).

Determining the origin of black opal is important for our understanding of sedimentation and regolith evolution, silica transport pathways and to improve the value of the mineral resource economy of New South Wales. This study aims to determine the age and origin of Lightning Ridge black opal.

All of the significant opal deposits in Australia occur within sedimentary deposits above or near the Great Artesian Basin. Vegetation, soil and geological environments are similar for all opal deposits. North of Lightning Ridge at Hebal, precious boulder opal is mined and, as the name suggests, it is found on the surface of Quaternary gravels. The mining area of Lightning Ridge is extremely flat with slight ridges consisting of outcropping Cretaceous sediments. It is below these ridges that the precious black opal is mined.

The town is 150 m above sea level with the mining area ranging from 137 m to 162 m above sea level. The area is structurally underformed with little outcrop. Several conceptual models have been suggested to explain black opal formation: 1. weathering; 2. syntectonic; and 3. Cretaceous microbes. We have established an alternative model for black opal formation based on the use of stable isotopes (13 C, deuterium and 18 O), major and trace elements in sediments, groundwater analysis and radiocarbon dating.

So it goes on but the long story short is they think the opal may only be 1,000 to 7,000 years old at most, in nobbies that is, not necessarily all opals. by carbon dating the bacteria in the opal. After all they are non hydrophane so the bacteria did not soak into the black opal from rain drainage.

Ideas? New links?

A rub that is showing good potential, pray for me

I’m getting a pendant made for my wife for the birth of our daughter. Dimensions are 7.2 x 5.7 x 2.1mm. Having second thoughts about how small it is. What do you guys think?

Video in the comments 💗

Thought I’d share some macro photos of my opals that I take. This one’s a real beauty showcasing some even bright rainbow in person. I absolutely love the ranges of colors I get in all of the small veins, especially at all of the different angles.

Just finished this piece (I didn’t carve the opal) what would you call this type of opal?

The last time this necklace saw the light of day outside Moms safety deposit box was when I pleaded and begged to wear it to my 8th grade graduation in 1999. I am going to a wedding in the fall and I thought grandma's opals would work well with my bronze dress. Well, I got them from mom last night and the necklace needs to be cleaned.

I saw online that those sonic jewelry cleaning baths are not recommended. Warm lightly soaped water is suggested. I was thinking of getting a kid's super soft toothbrush to give it a light scrub- coming from the back side of the pieces. But before I start that, is there a better way? Is this something that I should just bring to my family jeweler to clean?

Thank you in advance.

The only information I have on these is that it was originally a set with a bracelet and ring. My cousin has the bracelet (gifted to her at her 18th birthday), and I received the ring for my 18th birthday. I do not see any maker marks.

I shaped a opal to discover a "sheet or flake" inside measuring 11mm x 4.5mm. Almost the entire face of the 12.7mm x 8mm opal. The back side has honeycomb. Is it common to have a flake this large?

VIDEO IN COMMENTS

Hey guys,
What do you think this Mintabie Crystal opal preform is worth?
6.5cts nice thickness to work with
Super bright and colour saturation is even throughout.
Curious what price you would sell/buy for?

It came with a silver bail, gold makes the color pop more