Polishing a 250 carat Ethiopian Opal
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- This 8 minute long video shows the entire process of polishing a rough 250 chunk of opal from start to finish. This includes wet grinding on a Diamond Pacific Genie, and Dry final polishing with diamond paste.
Even more importantly, it shows why larger Ethiopian opals are so rare. They are highly prone to cracking during, and after they are polished. This is due to their hydrophane nature; they absorb water. So as they are allowed to dry out, their surface contracts and creates cracks. Much light the surface of a desert as it loses its moisture.
I consider myself a savvy cutter and an honest gem merchant. So I always ensure that any stone I sell is totally stable before It goes on the market. This video illustrates why. And also why you should always ask a stone seller how long ago a stone was cut. If cut very recently, it may be worth it to wait. Instead of placing that burden on my customers, I take the burden and risk of waiting for a stone to stabilize before I sell it.
Diamond Polishing Paste. I Like this color coded stuff that is cheap and despite its lower price, seems to be well graded:
amzn.to/3oJEZLk
Mounted felt buffs. At least 10 of them, but It's good to have extras.
I am using these:
amzn.to/3x2aZyf
I run a Nova type wheel on my genie, which is a soft diamond cutting and polishing wheel. They can be ordered in sets of 6 here:
amzn.to/3qQKHhl
This stone is not yet for sale.
However, there are currently several Ethiopian opals listed on my etsy shop here which are over 10 carats and are priced at below wholesale costs:
www.etsy.com/s...
Disclosure:
I am a member of the Amazon Affiliates program and Earn a commission on any sales made through the links to the products I endorse. I make a great effort to only endorse products which I myself use and enjoy.
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As a raw stone it was a 10/10 for me. I like the hard edges and the natural looking.
i though it was that much more spectacular as it was in the rough.
Honestly thought the same. It’s a shame because it looked so vibrant on its own.
Same here. Rough looks more radiant !
so much material was lost.
same here, rough is look awesome
Astounding in the rough👌...if there's a skill to just hive off grit & enhance the rough🤔🤔🤔
I would have left it as a specimen piece. It was so lovely
If I could do it again, I certainly might do exactly that.
Amanda Mc Carthy ... oh wow, rewound.. and ya! That was spectacular to start with
I do love the final product I must say....you also do have a valid point....but the fact that he put his heart and soul into the final product makes it more valuable and personal to me....it's LIKE having a Picasso in stone
What a damn shame, that was such a beautiful stone to begin with. Better luck next time!
wow my country Ethhiopia is blessed by beautifful opal!
Opals are pure magic solidified.
You are a matchless ' stone designer in the world ' i think. Thank you
*chuckle*. Just as I was thinking I would love to see that stone in the sun, you did it! Beautiful work.
The finished product is breathtaking
Wow what a beautiful illusion from the shape of the stone and the sunshine does it justice 😃
WOW! That was gorgeous rough!
Absolutely beautiful stone. Keep up the good work.
thanks!
How amazing and beautiful. The polishing craft work is exceptional too, good job!
Should’ve repaired cracks with opticon. It’s amazing stuff.
So gorgeous! I love your informative videos. This is Diann btw. I don't have my own TH-cam account so I'm using my son's.
Thanks Diann! Yeah, this was an interesting stone for sure. Make sure to watch the follow up video!
It was so beautiful before it was polished
SO beautiful! Looks like liquid rainbow on the inside.
Maybe this would look best with a diamond cut to better reflect the light in the stone and reproduce those beautiful colors before you cut it. Maybe those sharp angles pre cut is what was helping produce wonderful colors.
He wet sanded it. Ethiopian opals actually lose their colour when they get wet, and can take days to regain them.
I totally agree. the stone is too clear, it needs facets to reflect and create brighter shades. Otherwise it just turns into sone kind of lens :D
That is righteously gorgeous!!!
Wow lots of work and Knowledge!
Very interesting!
It was so sad to see those cracks showing up...
I am wishing you good luck that it won't crack much further!
Very good policy not to sell stones that could still develop cracks. Good for your customers - and for you, of course, as it's always a great idea to avoid annoyed customers.
Nice work. That is absolutely stunning.
The rough one was the most beautiful you made a huge mistake
man, im sad to see that natural stone disappear...
If u treat it smoke or acid so it goes black will bring bak the colour but Ethiopian opal does do tricks and can look plain when water is introduced
i think this is one of the reason why all types of diamond and or gem are expensive cos they polish and cut it carefully.. to make it perfect
Hello?
do the hydrophenic or dry ethiopian opal also having a tendency to get crack after drayed on the rough stage?
The cracking was hard to see but you definitely made the best of it!
It was hard to get it to show up on camera but it was obvious enough in erson that I'll need to cut it off and re-shape/polish. Hoping the third time is the charm!
How is it now several months later?
Would be nice to get more a out the stone. Thank you.
Young opal specimens are a lot of fun to work with. Sometimes there is a crazy color layer in the bottom of the egg as we say here.
Nice video, liked 👍
Thanks Ren!
The real art would have been to leave it raw but what do I know. I just thought it looked beautiful as it was
Ficou linda a gema
I just started Opal Lapidary I buy alot of Welo Opals on Amazon, beware the treated stones, your tips are very helpful. thank you so much
I had no idea you could buy opals on Amazon.
I have some of this stuff...it's pretty cool looking but next to Australian opal it looks fake ..even tho I know it's not...
Looks like the arkinstone from the hobbit looks beautiful
Seems like he lost the beauty of it as he grinded it down
I agree
Just like everything else human's touch, life could be beautiful in purest form but they started to modify it & it lost most of it's charm
This is a beautiful stone my guy...
For cracks you can put them in a hot pot with Hughes Opticon fracture sealer for 3 to 4 days, pull it out, clean with alcohol, then let it dry for 3 to 4 weeks. Works wonders! I use a Mini crock pot.
You use Opticon on ethiopian? I always wondered about that
I thought you can seal the cracks heating it up on vacuum with resin.
Interesting... and yes, “frame yourself in the name of the the Lord “Yod Hey Vav Hey”
I was told that can't be done with Ethiopian opals (and only Ethiopian opals), all others can be "stabilised".
@Dfg Sdfg unless it's Andamooka matrix opal. But that is always disclosed.
That rough one is more spectacular
Why on Earth did you do that to such a beautiful stone?
why would you not increases the value by a huge amount
@@yubz1496 if it's that rare, leave it alone
@@roughroosterknifesharpenin5531 its how it works bud
I liked it Raw untouched at the beginning, although both are nice.👏
Honestly, Me too!
Or you can treat it..... Oooops nobody does that do they. Great video. Top job.
Beautiful beautiful stone
That is really pretty.
BEAUTIFUL!
Very beautiful stone
This ‘non-hydrophane’ type opal material is probably better kept wet just as it comes out of the earth. It typically continues to craze over time no matter how much you remove and re-finish. They make awesome freshwater aquarium decor, and to keep them well preserved. Some may use oil treatments during the drying process to try and prevent crazing, but over time they eventually slowly craze the surface.
So know you tell me!!! lol.... just kidding :) you're 100% right on this. But I have to say, the cracked up specimen makes for a great conversation piece.
I was wondering since Ethiopian opal is porous could you treat it like concrete opal or matrix opal from Australia with sugar and acid.
IT LOOKED BETTER WITH THE OPAQUE STONE ON IT!
It's amazing and fantastic.
Beautiful
Sir ' i live Pakistan ' i have one opel in an excellent length ' but his one side has damaged when i obtained ' you can give a better shape to my stone ' as still it is in good condition. Thank you
Would it not be better to dry grind it if it can crack when wet?
Now does the oils in his fingers have anything todo with the cracking?
Have you tried to do a full dry cut and polish, I've cut many smaller welo opals this way and had no cracks. You just have to take it slow and as gentle as you can be.
This is crystal non hydrophane opal. This will almost always crack even if you give it a bad look ;) for cutting gems you take the hydrophane opal. They don’t crack so easily at least. These stones are strange and amazing. They soak up water loose the color and need days to be dried out again and getting their full color range back :)
@@weisswurstfruhstuck8523 ok, so how would a hydrophobic stone crack as the stone dries out. By its very definition it has no water in it, and how would that perform better than a stone that loves water (hydrophilic)? I literally have no idea how that would work, please if you know something I don't please share. I need all the knowledge I can get in my brain.
Cheeky J no it’s called hydrophane. I was confused by this too first. I am cutting them myself now since a good while. I would explain it like this maybe. As the non hydrophane is so dry or not alive drinking and soaking water it cracks easily when watered or cut as gem.
And the hydrophane they are living beings for me in the meanwhile now and they soak in the water dry out and therefore don’t crack.
I first thought must be the other way round but it is not. World is a strange place and as these stones are very new last ten years I think discovered at all they are not fully understood too yet. And still new material is found there which all is different in how they react on cutting also. But overall you could say hydrophane is better chance to not crack. But even the hydrophane are very easy to crack when warmed up or even just soaking water again for the first time. This happens too. But as this non hydrophane crystal stuff anyway has not much color you rather go for the overall rule to stay cutting mostly with the hydrophane :)
Hope I could help a bit. If you are more interested check the site of the GIA on welo opals.
Ah and every stone has some amount of water in it always. But these hydrophane opals really seem to have their own lives and drink it up and dry it out :)
Here is a article on opalauctions that might be of interest for you then too :)
www.opalauctions.com/learn/a-z-of-opals/hydrophane-opal-information
@@weisswurstfruhstuck8523 brill, thank for the info. A very good explanation, I shall keep it in mind when I'm next looking into Ethiopian opals. I'm currently trying to get some black opal from Indonesia, should be getting it in the next week or so. New play things are always good.
Very pretty!
Hello good morning beautiful champion your opal i will leave my like
Crazy sparkles.
Wow it’s stunning 😍😍😍😍😍
Stunning
How much?
Wow Bagus sekali batu nya
So will all Ethiopian opals crack? And how to stabilise ?
i was wondering, if i want to renew a polished piece of ethopian opal, which sand paper i should use? (just to wipe the scratches off)
I'd start with 1200 to remove a scratch, but you'll have to re-polish it afterwards. You can then go to 1800 and 3000 grit to put a decent pre-polish on it and then move to diamond polishing compounds on wool buffs to finish it out. I have a few other videos on some easy dry polishing methods using inexpensive tools.
I have purchased a lot of Ethiopian opal and polishing it can be tricky because the color bars are very thin........if you remove too much all you have is a piece of glass.
Huge and beautiful stone, we also do manufacturing in Jaipur, India. 😊
Looks great
How price that opal??
Olá amigo mais uma escrita 👌👌💎💎💎sucesso,👌
If you put it in a Ziploc bag let it dry slowly it won’t crack just a FYI. Take 24 hrs
See, I'm just getting into Opals, I love the Aussie Opal Hunter show, and I like the idea of being a gem shaper but jesus christ getting only 40ct out of a 250ct specimen is just too brutal for me. I get upset watching people shave a few ct off of other opals, this weird Ethiopian stuff is nuts. Is there no way to stabilise the stone? Or are you always at the mercy of it cracking later on?
This piece was doomed to crack, regardless of if it was cut or not. Now that it is cut, I've kept it. It looks like crackle glass with blue and green color play inside. It's beautiful in its own way as the cracking occurred very uniformly; like the surface of a dried lake in the desert. I know there is a lot of debate about polishing vs specimen, but in the end, it's all up to the holder of the stone. And sometimes curiosity gets the best of you.
Q show, parabéns!
Everybody seems to think it was better in the rough; either way, it is one truly beautiful stone.
Yes, that does seem to be the general consensus Maybe I'll re-post this video... but it will be played in reverse!
so great
beautiful
That was a beautiful specimen. If you are going to cut it why not cut it for a setting?
Od kog materija ja napravljen opal?
Would there have been any way for you to ensure that there would be no cracks when drying the opal out?
Nope, araid not, just the luck of the draw. Having had some experience with this, I expected this to happen
@@earthartgems thanks for the reply. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Thanks for sharing your experience
@@mmmmmray You're welcome. One thing I did learn from this: the region where the ethiopian opal is mined from does play a large role in if it will craze or not. I ran into the same vendor a few months later and he explained this to me. He also dries out some of the opals ahead of time so you can buy them dry and this way you already know that they are good pieces. this piece, I purchased wet and kept it wet until I cut it. If I kept it wet after I cut it (like in a jar) then it would have stayed intact.
@@earthartgems That's really good information, Austin! Thanks for the fact. Do you happen to know what it is about this region that causes these opals to have such a characteristic?
@@mmmmmray I would not be able to say off the top of my head, A good ethiopian vendor should be able to say if they are selling gem grade or specimen grade stones.
Very nice
What is black thing inside?
What's the point of letting it dry out and continuing to recut it? Just put it in a small bottle/jar of water or treat it!
When will the stone be on sale?
Uau!!!
Linda Opala!!!
😲😲😲
How much did you sell it?
I did not sell it I still have it
Could you tell me the full range of grits you use for welo opal. Not crystal ones but the „normal“ more easy to cut hydrophan ones ?
As I am a beginner I appreciate any knowledge given to me upon these stones :)
I use the same range of grits either way, although others may disagree with my process. I start at 220, then do 280, 600, 1200, 3000. then I move to the dry diamond paste: 4 micron, 2 micron, 1 micron and then 1/2 micron for the final finish.
Austin Moore ah okay thanks for your sight on that. I guess every cutter has a bit different way of working anyway after some years.
I heard from some others they finish with 10.000-15.000 grit even for example. I am collecting now information for me and will start trying with something in the middle of that all that’s suggested.
@@weisswurstfruhstuck8523 Finishing at 15,000 is perfectly acceptable too. It really just depends on what tools and machines you have and what you are comfortable with :)
Austin Moore ; i worked on grinders for 15 years with plastics for orthotics; live the idea of buying opals in rough and transforming them; where do i go to get started???
@@STLpsi You're best bet is to buy some cheap rough to play with until you can figure out how to get a polish on it using the tools you have. there are a ton of online sellers of opal rough, and you can also do an internet search for your local rock club to see if they have an annual show that you can go to to see and buy rough in person. Going from dental polishing to opal should be fairly easy. a lot of people like to carve opal and other stones using dental tools/abrasives.
Unique. Specimen.
If you took your time and kept heat to a minimum, could you work that stone without water? Its such a shame that Ethiopian Opal crazes so badly, it would be nice if someone could find a way to polish without water. Gorgeous stone BTW.
Technically, yes, the main reasons for water are three-fold: 1. reduce heat/friction. 2. clean off the stone as it is cut. 3. reduce airborne particles. But this stone was doomed from the start I later found out. It was stored in water all its life and is a specimen grade opal, not cutting grade.
Oh! I didnt know there was grades of Welo opal. Other than just good and lousy, I wasnt aware of "cutting grade". On many occasions I wanted to buy some off Ebay but was afraid of the cracking and crazing. I will look for the better grade in the future. Thank you for the info and response.
@@bunk9991 I did not know this either until after this experience. I now know to ask a seller if it is "cutting" grade, or "specimen" grade. The later of the two are usually kept in water to keep them from cracking while cutting grade can be left out to dry.
@@earthartgems Thank you for that info Austin. I used to cut aussie opal but its so expensive now, I cant afford it. I will use your knowledge to see if I can get a parcel of Ethiopian that is cuttable. Do you have someone you trust to buy opal from?
@@bunk9991 You're very welcome. As for the rough, I cannot say that I do. I typically wait until the local gem shows and then buy my rough in person so I can inspect it and ask questions to the seller. But those only happen about 2 - 3 times a year and sometimes the vendors don't even show up... I kinda stopped cutting a while back unless a worthwhile piece comes across my desk.
Quebrou a peça parceiro!
How much was it for the rough stone and the finished piece, as in of the price comparison???
The rough was $101. The finished piece has no price, As I am not selling it. Its really hard to gauge what it is worth due to the current cracks.
@@earthartgems Well.....there goes your Ben Franklin. :(
@@JerryGiesler09 A lesson well learned...
@@earthartgems thankyou for sharing that experience. It must be a real bummer when one goes to far to watch the brilliant colour of a true gem just disappear especially if it was potentially worth big bucks. Every opel cutters experience at some time I suppose ?
If you cut it in half you have 2 good big places less chance of cracks
How much will you sale ?
Your going to have to cut and re cut it because it’s not stable material. What they call none hydrophane
How do you know how many carats it is I would like to learn
I weighed it on a scale
What in the world do you do with a stone that size.
Is there such a thing as too big?
i liked it better on the rough. it had more fire and character
Wow Good👍👍 boss
Polishing my first opal. I've heard some colored diamond paste colors can soak into a ethiopian opal. Are you using a clear or special diamond paste for an ethiopian opal? Just wondering how you get around the colors bleeding into the opal?
It is a risk with ethiopian opal, if the opal is more porous than normal, then you may get some color bleed. On this piece, I did not have that issue.
Ain't it funny because I thought that it was much more beautiful before it was messed with.its like all the life and beauty was grinded away.
How much that will worth ? Thanks
It's worth several hundred to ME.... In other words, Someone would have to offer me at least $500 or more for me to part with it..I just like it... but I am not sure it's actually worth that much on the market... but to get a better context for that, make sure to watch the follow up video where the opal cracks.