A nice stone there and great encouragement for people to enjoy cutting opal even on the cheaper parcels...also I appreciate the skill a slice like that took on a dremel! Great stuff mate
I get a lot of people send me emails with this type of thin shell material so only fair I cover one every few months. Now... back to some Boulder opal this weekend. 💪
Ones that ending up being more of a surprise are always more fun. I love boulder opal for that. Some of the seams that look like nothing can end up being gorgeous
The reddish hue you described as a shadow as seen in this crystal opal is actually what's known as the tyndall effect, this effect is often seen when backlighting transparent and translucent opals the effect isn't exclusive to opals, a more prominent appearance of this effect is seen in the synthetic "opalite" glass, the broad spectrum light is scattered within the material, some wavelengths of light are reflected from the blue end of the spectrum whilst others are transmitted through the material. The wavelengths that aren't reflected are thus transmitted resulting in a somewhat reddish hue, though in some other materials slightly different discrete wavelengths may become apparent owing to this phenomena, Oregon sunstone for instance shows more of a green reflection and orange transmission rather than red/blue like opal. This effect is the same cause of the colour we perceive the sky to be, and, is one of the few optical phenomena to be found apparent in solid, liquid and gaseous mediums.
Yeah that is correct but I try to keep scientific terminology to an absolute minimum on this channel or I could get out of hand. Its most obvious on any gem crystal belemnite where the entire stone will glow orange. I have thought about making a video on it but dont think it would have much interest. I've made a science demo on it before using a couple different colloidal solutions for first year uni physics students. Essentially shorter wavelengths scatter more, longer wavelengths are transmitted more.
i have some of these dark Coober shells and shell pieces they are great thanks Ro good job, i use them for inlay if they are thin like that once the potch is gone from both sides the colours really pop thank you
shame about the off cut, but the final gem was very nice 2x👍 I snapped more than one thin opal attempting to clean them up. If you put any pressure on a thin area they just crack.
@@RoysRocks I just find it easier to make a fitted bezzel onto a thicker sheet and glue the stone in rather than makeing a doublet. The cost is less and the work is less 🤷♀️
I have a bunch of super thin material. I just attempted one that looked promising...it turned out to be 3 micro pieces of color. I struggle when buying. Lesson learned, unfortunately.
I have a lot of small thin scrap pieces/offcuts I’m using to practice on. There’s quite a bit of colour in some but I’m wondering if these scraps, after polishing, can be bonded together or even if they’ll bond to metals like silver, gold or even platinum? I’m not a big fan of jewellery but I’d like to join bits to make a larger piece to cut into a small basic object? I’m wondering if it would hold together through shaping & polishing or would it need embedding in a resin? I guess I could just dive in & find out
Just a question: with the stone so thin, would it be possible to grind away the back and replace it with a black background (to intensify the colour)? Or is that something you wouldn't even do with a thicker stone? (But I guess a dark crystal would be worth more then a doublette?) Anyway - it's beautiful! ❤
If it is thick enough to be set you never want to add a backing. That loses a lot of value in comparison to a dark crystal but if it is too weak then you might as well doublet away.
Really? I had never heard a single good comment about music only during the carving. Everyone always wanted explanations of the cutting process. I havent used just music for well over a year.
@@Lmatdhr The potch is behind it and you can see it through the face. It also casts a shadow into the crystal. By definition it is a crystal opal. You could call it a "crystal opal layer" if that helps but crystal opal is crystal opal. If it were not crystal there would be no transparency in the colour bar just a solid body tone.
Oh well, It could have been opal in or on wood for more difficulty. The best one I ever saw, or biggest contour polished anyway, made its way to the Natural History Museum in Qatar. It was like your forearm multi-color gem opal on a limb cast. You have not been derided properly without having to sell rough, LOL. Keep pointing out this opal cutting is not rocket science!
A nice stone there and great encouragement for people to enjoy cutting opal even on the cheaper parcels...also I appreciate the skill a slice like that took on a dremel! Great stuff mate
I get a lot of people send me emails with this type of thin shell material so only fair I cover one every few months.
Now... back to some Boulder opal this weekend. 💪
Ones that ending up being more of a surprise are always more fun. I love boulder opal for that. Some of the seams that look like nothing can end up being gorgeous
I prefer the boulder seam hunting for sure.
Though this stuff you can tell if it is a win or not almost straight away so a bit easier.
Very pretty little gem. Enjoyed the carving.
Its a nice little piece. Better than nothing. Maybe not worth the time but... fun.
So pretty, thats my favourite color combination in opals ❤️
I'm more of a green fan myself but any dark blue stone is also nice.
You have a sixth sense in regards to the questions I’ve been pondering. Another helpful vid- thanks!!
Thats good. Seems you are in the same boat with many of the people that have sent me emails.
Hahaha! The Mentubi joke at the end.
Haha cursed material that.
End stone, although small, is very nice. Would make a nice little pendant 😊
Would be a very small pendant. I was more thinking ring or earring.
Very satisfying to watch been doing pieces like that for years
They can get addictive. I did 2 others along side this one... both immediate fails.
Thanks for the video Roy.
No worries man.
The reddish hue you described as a shadow as seen in this crystal opal is actually what's known as the tyndall effect, this effect is often seen when backlighting transparent and translucent opals the effect isn't exclusive to opals, a more prominent appearance of this effect is seen in the synthetic "opalite" glass, the broad spectrum light is scattered within the material, some wavelengths of light are reflected from the blue end of the spectrum whilst others are transmitted through the material.
The wavelengths that aren't reflected are thus transmitted resulting in a somewhat reddish hue, though in some other materials slightly different discrete wavelengths may become apparent owing to this phenomena, Oregon sunstone for instance shows more of a green reflection and orange transmission rather than red/blue like opal.
This effect is the same cause of the colour we perceive the sky to be, and, is one of the few optical phenomena to be found apparent in solid, liquid and gaseous mediums.
Yeah that is correct but I try to keep scientific terminology to an absolute minimum on this channel or I could get out of hand.
Its most obvious on any gem crystal belemnite where the entire stone will glow orange.
I have thought about making a video on it but dont think it would have much interest.
I've made a science demo on it before using a couple different colloidal solutions for first year uni physics students.
Essentially shorter wavelengths scatter more, longer wavelengths are transmitted more.
Good job, you did well
Always tricky on the thin ones.
Thank you. Very informative. ✌️♥️♥️
No worries happy to help.
i have some of these dark Coober shells and shell pieces they are great thanks Ro good job, i use them for inlay if they are thin like that once the potch is gone from both sides the colours really pop thank you
It is just about the dream inlay material.
The thicker bits can make some insane doublets too.
@@RoysRocks yeah agreed it is super material
thx roy
Hope it helps.
Great video. Excellent results
50% lucky 50% unlucky... I'll take it as a draw.
shame about the off cut, but the final gem was very nice 2x👍
I snapped more than one thin opal attempting to clean them up. If you put any pressure on a thin area they just crack.
I'm not sure why this one was so super strong even with what I still think was a crack.
You could also flatten the back and make it an inlay. 🙂
I haven't done any inlay work but the offcut jar(s) have plenty of material for it.
@@RoysRocks I just find it easier to make a fitted bezzel onto a thicker sheet and glue the stone in rather than makeing a doublet. The cost is less and the work is less 🤷♀️
Beautiful colour, could you get two little stones from the off cut to use as a matching set.
Maybe. I only see one really good square on the think end but probably some smarter approaches if I look at it again.
@@RoysRocks Worst case scenario you could make a couple of doublets?.
I have a bunch of super thin material. I just attempted one that looked promising...it turned out to be 3 micro pieces of color. I struggle when buying. Lesson learned, unfortunately.
It is certainly not something I buy too often anymore (but I used to buy it a lot).
Most come in parcels where I was eyeing off other stones in it.
I have a lot of small thin scrap pieces/offcuts I’m using to practice on. There’s quite a bit of colour in some but I’m wondering if these scraps, after polishing, can be bonded together or even if they’ll bond to metals like silver, gold or even platinum? I’m not a big fan of jewellery but I’d like to join bits to make a larger piece to cut into a small basic object? I’m wondering if it would hold together through shaping & polishing or would it need embedding in a resin?
I guess I could just dive in & find out
You certainly can with the right resin. Most just go with a standard 2-part epoxy.
Cool
Another one for the collection.
Just a question: with the stone so thin, would it be possible to grind away the back and replace it with a black background (to intensify the colour)?
Or is that something you wouldn't even do with a thicker stone? (But I guess a dark crystal would be worth more then a doublette?)
Anyway - it's beautiful! ❤
If it is thick enough to be set you never want to add a backing.
That loses a lot of value in comparison to a dark crystal but if it is too weak then you might as well doublet away.
USE FOR INLAY???
The offcut could be for sure. It is in the offcut bucket for a later project.
Ma guy get the music back while u carving..u can give ur input at the end of the video mate
Really? I had never heard a single good comment about music only during the carving. Everyone always wanted explanations of the cutting process. I havent used just music for well over a year.
Not a crystal if backed by potch…
Any precious opal that is transparent is crystal opal.
if you can see what is behind it, it is a crystal opal.
@@RoysRocks you can’t see what’s behind it as it’s got porch back, it’s crystal once you remove that but then it’s just doublet materiial.
@@Lmatdhr The potch is behind it and you can see it through the face. It also casts a shadow into the crystal.
By definition it is a crystal opal. You could call it a "crystal opal layer" if that helps but crystal opal is crystal opal.
If it were not crystal there would be no transparency in the colour bar just a solid body tone.
Oh well, It could have been opal in or on wood for more difficulty. The best one I ever saw, or biggest contour polished anyway, made its way to the Natural History Museum in Qatar. It was like your forearm multi-color gem opal on a limb cast. You have not been derided properly without having to sell rough, LOL. Keep pointing out this opal cutting is not rocket science!
Not rocket science just time and fighting for a result.