That is beautiful, Phil. On my opal journey now. Physiotherapy on my hand for many months is paying off. Got almost 50 percent right and can tolerate the use of rotary tool for a while. If, one day, I can turn out a beaut gem like yours, I'll be one happy old duck! Delighted to see the video, as always. Greetings from Victoria. 😊
Hi Phil Stunning stone , can't wait to see your Opal trip , sounds like you don't want to say to much about it which makes me think , oi oi something specials coming lol
hoping that your opal trip is/was rather productive for ya! really really cool result with this one! definitely don't blame you for adding this one to your collection. my favorite part of this video was being able to watch your proficiency as you formed that symmetrical dome in a step by step process. great stone! 🍻 ✌️🐝➕
Man, you have such a good process for cutting. Make it look much easier than it is. Nice looking gem! C'mon, has to be much more than $100/ct. Look at that gorgeous color!
G’day mate, true, it could fetch a higher price, I tend to throw out a bottom $ value, if I mention pricing at all, in this case a wholesale-as is price, leaving meat on the bone for the jeweller. If it were sold loose to a customer looking to have it set, I could put a price closer to its retail value, but if it were sold to a dealer, jeweller or a retailer, the price would need to be towards the wholesale value. Also consider the risks to the opal at every stage from rough to set, the last risk is setting the opal without damage, an opal gemstone is worth more once set, partially because it’s set and partially because it’s in a jewellery piece realising its retail worth. 🤪👍
Wow Phil, thats a great stone. You really put in a lot of time to get as good as you are at this. Thats cool, and also you mentor other people trying to learn, I really respect that.
Great cutting! Beautiful opal sir. Your calibration template is awesome. I dont know where to find one. The green one i have, the measurements are way off from setting standards.
After all this time I'm still jealous of your vertical flat lap rig. I've got the standard 8" HiTech and it works great ... but ... it's difficult to see the working surface sometimes. Banger of a cut, though!
Hi Phil, mesmerising stone. Well done!! Thoroughly enjoying your journey. Bought one of Jase's machines, love it but nowhere near as good as you yet. Struggling with the transition from the 240 diamond to the 280 soft wheel. What grit is your shaping diamond wheel? Best of luck on the trip!
G’day mate, the soft pads need to be worn in, starting out they feel rough and not very flexible. Don’t spend too much time on the 280#, it’ll chew away pretty quickly if not careful, use it to take the initial high points off the stone, then switch to the 600# to get a smoothed out finish, 1200# as a pre-polish, then I jump straight to the cerium oxide polish. I usually start on the 240# to rub out/pre-form and cut. If I need to remove a lot of material I’ll use the 150# hard disk, or, as in this video when I flattened the doublet piece, I didn’t need to lose too much and didn’t want to leave coarse grit marks to deal with later, so I used the 600# hard disk. 🤪👍
G’day mate, it’s easier to highlight/contrast the opal for filming and pointing out what I’m referring too, also if I want to cut a double sided stone with a straight/even centred setting edge and not strain the eyes. 🤪👍
@@theopalmills Awsome trick! I might have to try that out when Im doing the back of small stones as it can be quite tricky to get an even edge. Cheers mate 😁
Gday Phil,i know this is probably a dumb question but what flat lap are you using and whats the grits you're goin through. Ive been cutting with a dremel but i want to get some better equipment but i haven't got thousands to spend. If you have a vid up already about it i must have missed it. Anyway, any help would be appreciated mate,cheers
G’day Jay, I use an 8 inch, vertical flat lap, as this is the style of cutting I learned. The grits are the same whether it’s for stone, metal, wood, plastic, fibreglass, the amount of removal will determine which coarseness of grit to start on. For most of the grinding, rubbing back, shaping and cutting, I use the 240# hard disk, then on to the 280#, 600#, 1200# soft resin pads, then cerium oxide on leather for a polish. 🤪👍
@theopalmills thanks Phil. And I heard on 1 of your vids that you're going to be selling those laps. So ill definitely keep my eyes open for that. Cheers.
That's a pretty Rock!
A rock ? The queen of gemstones
Wow thats a high quality opal !!
Another great cut, Phil. Thanks for including us on the journey.
That is beautiful, Phil. On my opal journey now. Physiotherapy on my hand for many months is paying off. Got almost 50 percent right and can tolerate the use of rotary tool for a while. If, one day, I can turn out a beaut gem like yours, I'll be one happy old duck! Delighted to see the video, as always. Greetings from Victoria. 😊
Awesome news! 🤪👍
That red dot is magical, the way it moves... Praying mantis eye.. great video!
They’d sell that stone for 12-1500 retail at my local shop in the US and that’s before setting! Great stone
Wonderful cut and polish. Opals have the most play of colors than any other stone.
Nice stone! Phil, you make it look so easy. Good job,great talent. Thanks for sharing
I
I enjoyed the whole process of your cutting after you picked the area of the main stone!!!
I really enjoyed that, what a great result.
Well done Phil.👍
Cheers Tony
What a great stone !! Nicely done !
Beautiful job Phil, that’s a much bigger stone than I thought you’d get, cracking job and now we know your part cat, chasing the dot around the room…
🤣👍
That is beautiful on both sides. 🎉
Lovely cut, bravo!
Stunning!.
Just beautiful ❤
Beautiful stone Phil❤
Missed your videos. Glad your back😅
Looks Great!
Gday Phill , beautiful opal 👍
hello champion.beautiful stone.beautiful cut,hugs
🤪👍
Thanks!
Thanks mate, 🤪👍
Hi Phil Stunning stone , can't wait to see your Opal trip , sounds like you don't want to say to much about it which makes me think , oi oi something specials coming lol
🤪👍
The Eclispe!!
Nice stone bud,
hoping that your opal trip is/was rather productive for ya! really really cool result with this one! definitely don't blame you for adding this one to your collection. my favorite part of this video was being able to watch your proficiency as you formed that symmetrical dome in a step by step process. great stone!
🍻
✌️🐝➕
Man, you have such a good process for cutting. Make it look much easier than it is. Nice looking gem!
C'mon, has to be much more than $100/ct. Look at that gorgeous color!
I was thinking the same thing!
G’day mate, true, it could fetch a higher price, I tend to throw out a bottom $ value, if I mention pricing at all, in this case a wholesale-as is price, leaving meat on the bone for the jeweller. If it were sold loose to a customer looking to have it set, I could put a price closer to its retail value, but if it were sold to a dealer, jeweller or a retailer, the price would need to be towards the wholesale value. Also consider the risks to the opal at every stage from rough to set, the last risk is setting the opal without damage, an opal gemstone is worth more once set, partially because it’s set and partially because it’s in a jewellery piece realising its retail worth. 🤪👍
Looking fantastic 👏
Wow Phil, thats a great stone. You really put in a lot of time to get as good as you are at this. Thats cool, and also you mentor other people trying to learn, I really respect that.
Niiïiiiiiiiiiiiice!!!!!!
what a great gem mate came out great good decision on the slices
Hope you hit the big one on your opal trip buddy 🫡🪨👍
i say $150.00. Nice work Mate!!!
Great cutting! Beautiful opal sir. Your calibration template is awesome. I dont know where to find one. The green one i have, the measurements are way off from setting standards.
After all this time I'm still jealous of your vertical flat lap rig. I've got the standard 8" HiTech and it works great ... but ... it's difficult to see the working surface sometimes. Banger of a cut, though!
🤪👍
1 vote for flat lap 😊
Hi Phil, mesmerising stone. Well done!! Thoroughly enjoying your journey. Bought one of Jase's machines, love it but nowhere near as good as you yet. Struggling with the transition from the 240 diamond to the 280 soft wheel. What grit is your shaping diamond wheel? Best of luck on the trip!
G’day mate, the soft pads need to be worn in, starting out they feel rough and not very flexible. Don’t spend too much time on the 280#, it’ll chew away pretty quickly if not careful, use it to take the initial high points off the stone, then switch to the 600# to get a smoothed out finish, 1200# as a pre-polish, then I jump straight to the cerium oxide polish. I usually start on the 240# to rub out/pre-form and cut. If I need to remove a lot of material I’ll use the 150# hard disk, or, as in this video when I flattened the doublet piece, I didn’t need to lose too much and didn’t want to leave coarse grit marks to deal with later, so I used the 600# hard disk. 🤪👍
@@theopalmills Cheers Phil, really appreciate the tips 👍
Cheers for the awsome video! What was the sharpe/texter on the sides for?
G’day mate, it’s easier to highlight/contrast the opal for filming and pointing out what I’m referring too, also if I want to cut a double sided stone with a straight/even centred setting edge and not strain the eyes. 🤪👍
@@theopalmills Awsome trick! I might have to try that out when Im doing the back of small stones as it can be quite tricky to get an even edge. Cheers mate 😁
Gday Phil,i know this is probably a dumb question but what flat lap are you using and whats the grits you're goin through. Ive been cutting with a dremel but i want to get some better equipment but i haven't got thousands to spend. If you have a vid up already about it i must have missed it. Anyway, any help would be appreciated mate,cheers
G’day Jay, I use an 8 inch, vertical flat lap, as this is the style of cutting I learned. The grits are the same whether it’s for stone, metal, wood, plastic, fibreglass, the amount of removal will determine which coarseness of grit to start on. For most of the grinding, rubbing back, shaping and cutting, I use the 240# hard disk, then on to the 280#, 600#, 1200# soft resin pads, then cerium oxide on leather for a polish. 🤪👍
@theopalmills thanks Phil. And I heard on 1 of your vids that you're going to be selling those laps. So ill definitely keep my eyes open for that. Cheers.
Love your work Phil the best of the best 🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡
I thought you said you were giving it a weigh 🤣😝
Would that red dot be classed as sun flash 🤓 I dunno 🤷🏻♀️
🤣👍