Rough opal nodule with a clean color bar - I'm going in!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Why are we in love with gems that we find on this earth? What's the big deal?
From little things, big things grow.
The life journey of an opal is something to marvel at.
Its journey from the underground, all the way through to wearing it as a piece of jewelry.
It passes through a lot of experienced and expert hands, each one carefully studying it to ensure it's showcased in the best possible way.
I find it fascinating that you never really know what to expect, there is so much mystery and intrigue, coupled with joy and at times, heartbreak.
Join me as we expose yet another magical gem opal from Lightning Ridge, Australia.
To buy our gems they are on our website for sale below
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Thanks for watching :)
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After my mother died I bought an opal from you to remind me of my mother. It has a green flash like the green flash in her eyes......
Aww that is precious
@@blackopaldirect it was bought during Covid . It is also a ribbon opal so for me it also symbolizes a ribbon of hope. That in spite of everything there was still hope
❤
May she always be remembered and loved through all of us. I'll say a prayer my friend. God bless you and you're family
Opals connect us all in some way💗💪🏽
This act of love brought tears.
Hi my name is Karla and I'm new to your channel. I want you to know, yes, some of us do fall asleep to your videos. But!! It's because not just that your craft is beautiful but your beautiful in your craft. Your gentle voice and your deepest compassion you have through your Father brings out a love you have that's every special. Thank you for sharing your story and love for opals with us. It can make a person sleepy because your videos are so soothing and relaxing 😊❤
Thanks for subbing and I love your words. thank you for chiming in.❤️
Gems are fascinating to hold and look at. I remember a kid at my infant school had a ball bearing and I had never seen one before. When I felt the weight of it I was completely fascinated by it and wanted it. I suppose it is the same with adults and gemstones. Opal is my favourite to look at and 2 years ago I had £2 on an australian harness race and the horse had opal in its name. It was 150-1 on the betfair exchange and the complete outsider of the field. It was my last £2 and put it on it and it won.
The only time I have ever put money on a horse with opal in its name and it made me £300. Happy days.
Great reflection on life and a beautiful gem 😎😎😎👍👍👍
It really is! 🙏
I always enjoy watching you cut and polish Opals as it calming me as I watch the beauty appears like magic ! Thank you for sharing this with me !
You are so welcome!
I have a few of yours stones from the Denver gem show. We plan on making a set for my future bride. Necklace, ear rings, and ring for our wedding. You will be a part of our story forever. Thank you for all your hard work. You're amazing!
Marry me instead 😂? Congratulations, and may the bride be a happy one.
The way you take a piece of rough opal a make it a gem, I wish I could do that with people.😊
Many don’t realize the gem is already inside them, just have to polish out the rough spots
Wish I could do it with myself lol
My very favorite gem...the beautiful Opal. Each one unique and stunning ❤❤
What a TREAT! It's been a long, sad month on TH-cam! It's good to have you back for the weekly meditation on beauty & craft!
Im sorry I am back now
I started buying and cutting opals because of you. As beautiful as your cuts and polishes are with your majestic gems, they are not even halfway as awesome as your spirit and zest for life's philisophical side. I get my Australian black opals at such a great price, and I am bound to one day make a real beauty.
I haven't ever been able to go to the Tucson Mineral/Gem show. But I was so happy when I saw you there a couple of weeks ago on a TH-cam channel I'd seen only once before. I'm sick now so I'm being emotional but I really do love your channel. These are such amazing gorgeous opals! Thank you for giving us a love of beauty and wonder.
I'm sorry I missed you
Simply beautiful!!! You are amazing and thank you for sharing!!
I inherited my love of rocks from my Grandmother. She loved to find rocks and had quite a collection. I loved to see how passionate she was and it rubbed off onto me.
Thank you Justin for another beautiful Black Opal cutting and polishing session as always ❣️
Yay! A new video!
Photography is phenomenal, audio quality superb. Then the story…it’s all good stuff mate.
Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you so much!
I love watching you turn a questionable stone into a thing of beauty! My wife's favorite stone is the opal and I have a couple glassblown globes with opal in the center.
Beautiful stone. So happy to see you back again!
Thank you so much 😀
@@blackopaldirect thank You! Watching you also connects me to my father. Rock hounding, and lapidary work was something we shared throughout my life. 🥰🥰🥰
What a beautiful message you're telling here. The value is given by the feeling it gives you. I love it.
To share a small story, I have an opal in my collection...not valuable, but given to me by the miner (a good friend of yours Justin) when I had the pleasure of going mining for black opal myself. To someone else it could be just a colourful rock. But to me it absolutely priceless!
Thanks for sharing Justin! What a great video as always :)
Well said and it's a lovely story too.
Thank you Kate :) @@kateg7298
Thank you WM
I feel that way about my watch. It brings me happiness every day. It’s like a constant companion
Beautiful Justin, your voice is so calming and a perfect fit for your life advice. People are missing you mate ❤
I appreciate that! Thanks Robbie
I used to own a country taxi. My most prized rock is a piece of ballast from the railway track at Wolseley, S.A. Vic border. Stuck 3 hours waiting for the crew change to arrive. Pub had a party. We joined in and had a ball!! Picked up my usual, bit of ballast and it has a great story for me. (Got hundreds of bloody rocks from railway sidings!!!!). LOL
I lost an antique NZ jade pendant, that was handed down through my mother's line, yesterday. I consoled myself by imagining a little girl who feels all alone finding it and wearing it and feeling the love of my ancestors through it, as I had. Made me cry happy tears.
I wanted to see the flake you cut off too. My heart jumped when you started cutting it.
I guess you know what you’re doing. Stunning stone.
Glad to see a new video. I hope you did good in the States.
What a gorgeous little gem. Very nice 👍 😊
Thank you! Cheers!
I love your explanation about gemstones, and I feel the same way. I am truly obsessed with gemstones and even common rocks but I don’t care if people think I’m daffy, they make me happy.
Nice I'm glad we are on the same page
The beauty I’ve found through opals and Gemstones has inspired me to share them now and hopefully soon to create my own legacy with.
Opals make me wonder about our creator. The beauty of him is indescribable but I feel like I get a glimpse through the fire.
Imagine a black opal in a watch... timeless.
I have one
@@blackopaldirect would love to see the watch one day.
If you like something, you like it! I grew up in a very religious home where any displays of extravagance or wealth were greatly shamed. Growing up I always felt guilty for appreciating gemstones, but as an adult I've come to accept it. Understanding the science behind gems, such as crystallography and material science, has made me appreciate them infinitely more.
Special because every stone's different the uniqueness of the universe😊👍
And your father is still around. He's in your heart. Yuh big goof😊👋👋👋❤ and it shows in your work and dedication
Yes! Thank you!
My heart is so happy every time I see you work your magic 🧙 I am glad to see you back doing what you do best. I hope you had a great time in Tucson ❤
Thank you so much!! Good to be back
Thank you for sharing your story and wisdom
Thanks for listening
All opals no matter what their value price humans put individually are priceless to me
Opals and gemstones give me joy and they help me find my inner strength
This is my take on these incredible things Mother Earth has provided to treasure
Loving what you do and doing what you love is the best that life can offer you, but the reason we all love you is your grateful for it. p.s. and your fantastic at it, don't ever stop.
What the hell, Justin? I actually started getting all choked up during this video. Hit hard when you started talking about the connection with your father. I was NOT prepared for this at 9:30am on a cold Sunday morning. I must have some opal chips in my eyeballs.
I'm not crying... You're crying! Gosh! 🥹
This video means a lot to me. I have always loved opals and my father and I used to travel to Nevada to mine them. I have some stones that will always be dear to me as they invoke fond memories. I was offered many times in my youth avenues to make a living the opal community but my life path led me to the creative arts as I e always been an artist. I now live my alternate life path vicariously through you and your videos and I thank you.
Nice opal. Very nice color. Keep the videos coming. I love watching you cut them and polishing them.😊
Beautiful words about gems..about life..about love.Thank you.
Thanks for listening
Opals are just ridiculously insane!! Every pieces are so mysterious and beautiful. Price is just a number considering it is a baby from earth and the most important, Justin put his touch on it 😊 Thanks for sharing ;)🙏
I totally agree!
I love collecting these shiny rocks. ❤️
You too huh
What a beautiful gem.
Thank you for letting us peek over your shoulder while you work. You are truly an artist.
You are so welcome
Gorgeous
I agree that the Opal is especiallly the most beautiful, the colors are magical.
Your video brings back memories of cabbing with my dad ,in our lapidary rockshop when I was younger ,I have a 137 carat blackopal that I just inherited ,because of his passing ,I was going to cut it ,and your video brings to that place of cutting again ,great video
Thank you
Such a wholesome guy Justin! I still hope to meet you one day! I’m Pablo from California. I been watching you for years! I cut and polish opal for fun because of you! Because of videos like this! 🎉❤ thanks!
we will meet one day
Love the green flash in this one! ❤
That stone is a beautiful gem now, Justin!!🎉🎉
I bought my mother a opal ring 25 years ago, dead 8 and i pull it out and look once and a while, though a cheaper crappy opal, she loved it.
Stunning ! ✌
Really like your perspective...
I really like your videos, I wish you had time to do them more often. I would watch ones with no commentary as well.
More to come!
For me, it's all about one word: Awe. We see the special beauty in some rocks, and we experience awe. For me, that means that I think I'm sensing the touch of the Artist who made this world. So when I cut a cab out of an agate or a jasper, I'm not creating anything new. I'm just exposing and showing off the beauty that the Creator put there. And I consider it an honor and a privilege to be able to do so.
Agreed
This has been my favorite hobby since i picked it up
I remember buying an ethiopian opal in a very large size and very colorful, until now it doesn't crack when worn in the heat of the day ❤
Clicked fast! Hi Justin!
To quote a very well esteemed shiny connoisseur. My Precious
So glad to see you again! Hope you had a wonderful trip. What happened to the other piece of opal? ❤️BOD 😊
Haha it will be cut this week by saxon
@@blackopaldirect oh. I look forward to seeing that! Missed you all
I love Opals thank you for sharing your gifts I need to buy some 😊love from Coboconk on Canada
Because they're shiny, sparkly, and look like magic.
It's been a while since I heard such true words I was never into smithing however I can greatly respect and admire your connection with your father as a father myself with only a very few family air looms. I am cognizant of the rarirty. Which of course is what I apply to it and any object
Yes any object you can gain a connection to
Ermagurd I just noticed your table!!!!😍😍😍sooooo pretty!
Thank you! 🤗
What a gorgeous piece. Aquamarine, Opals and diamonds are a girls best friend.
Ty
Such beauty in an stone called Opal......Thanks Justin....
Old Shoe🇺🇸
Thanks Shoe
I’ve been watching your videos since last year , that’s when my wife got into lapidary work. I wanted to know if you don’t mind what kinda polishing wheel you use with the cerium on it at the end of your videos. The one where you spoon the powder in and add water. Wonderful Job and that pesky sand spot would’ve drove me crazy!!
You really have a great channel and do great work! I have been cutting myself for over 20 years and have cut some nice opals. But opals are making me nervous...I specialize in large stones. At the moment I'm working on a 58kg rainbow obsidian from California. Keep up the good work!
Havent seen you dop for a while, but i've been cutting opal recently and its scary we dop identically. Even the same burner and brand of metho. I've just adopted...adobted it through watching you over the last 6-8 months.
I bought a stick of wax and bought 3 packs of craft sticks separately and made my own dop sticks at about a 3rd the cost people are asking for ready made bundles.
I've cut two amazing half carat crystals in the last couple of says after taking a break from cutting. Hand cutting gets to me after so many, arm can only take so much.
Hanging out for your rough restock, I hope you can put some nobbies up. Ridge material is far easier to cut than Mintabie and easier on my arthritis when hand cutting. Cabber I was excited about getting about now has been delayed indefinitely, just didnt have the money after clearing debts. So gotta get back into it and sell a few.
Haha nice. I shall call you my twin
very nicely done and said. thank you for sharing.
My pleasure!
awesome . thanks for sharing these
Well said. Cheers
Absolutely gorgeous. I’d love to own it!
Missed you 👍💥
I missed you
Justin you always make such beautiful opal cuts Always love watching your videos
remember that song. "oh my papa, to me he was so wonderful !"
great stuff man ...loved your commentary
Glad you enjoyed
Awesome gem! Loved watching
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great vid as always I was wondering why you left the sand spot in the first cut, the spot was only small but didn't think you'd be happy with that.when it comes to valuing it must be difficult.the opal I have has received quite a few different values,I paid 1680.00 for it it's a 3.3.ct dark opal with lots of pink blue green orange a bit of yellow and I been given anywhere from 1500 hundred to six thousand as a quoted value for the stone
Beautiful gem opals 😮
Making the world beautiful, one rock at a time.😊
Yeah
Beautiful thoughts Justin. it's not only Taylor Swift who has a deep side, even us blokes can wax lyrical (at times)!
Aussie Jeff
Hi Justin, ive been watching your videos for a year or so and ive learnt
so much about opals. I love your knowledge and compassion for this lovely gem. One thing though, Lightning Ridge is mentioned numerous times but where in the world is your workshop / studio, is it at Lightning Ridge ??
42 wallaby way Sydney
Gorgeous stone. I hope to afford one for my grandson's 21 birthday.
Good pattern
Well said jt
Thank you
When will there be a live show again?
Next week
Priceless pebble perfectly prepared.
Thank you
Opal is my favorite gemstone
So beautiful ❤
اشكرك للمعلومات كيف اتعلم منك الصقل❤
Nature took millions of years to develop as we know it today .. imagine what it took ( millions of years) and through miraculous conditions, environment that were presented in order for certain gems, rocks to form....
Impressive slice my friend!
Thank you
Great to see copious quantities of water being used thank you
Do you ever leave sand spots/potch in the final stone, on purpose? I've enjoyed watching you cut and polish, but also feel sad when so much is often removed to get the perfect stone revealed. I may have to custom order from you to get the right one for me...
Sometimes I do but then it doesn’t sell so I end up recutting it then it sells
' How can you put value on a rock? ' For all the people who say this, I feel very sorry for you! When you hold a rock or a gemstone, you're holding a piece of this Earth
The master at work.
Why did I become a geologist? This is why. Now, I do nothing with gems, I drill horizontal holes in the ground. But this is where it started.
Amazing 👏 opal please 🙏 more shows 🙏 lol 😆 😂 🤣
More to come!
Awesome
Congratulations, Justin. What did you do with the other half?
Saxon will cut it