What a beautiful gem! Funny, I also started shaping and polishing opal during covid. Its always great to see such a large Australian opal find it's shape. And congratulations on 10,000 views and 80 comments, thats huge, i also make opal videos and i really like the way you went about it,, keep up the good work!
@@ThatOpalGuy yeah dude, I did see that. It's kinda crazy that they would say that, it's almost like they've never seen a large Australian dark crystal opal before. Like just because it doesn't have black potch on it doesn't mean it's not lighting ridge. I've definitely gotten my fair share of hate too and I always just think that those people are uneducated but want to feel superior for some reason. It's always sad to see, especially in this case, like it didn't get any more crystal idk why people would shade him like that, but I really loved the video, people can be so dumb lol.
Thanks! With this opal piece I achieved an almost clean face so the deeper inclusions that come in from the back and side I can accept. But more often I push forward to get rid of all inclusions. Basically, I let the opal decide what to do. Especially when it’s a fossil 🤩
Loved the video and hope you decide to do more as I really enjoyed the way you edited it. Also the opal looks great and I think you done a fine job of cutting it. All the best mate.
Great video, excellent camerawork! I'm not sure I would have ground away so much of a wood fossil to make a small gem, rather than a collectors' piece. I have one similar, but smaller and think I would just clean the edges to expose the colour - though of course less chance of sales value in that... Yours does make an impressive crystal in the end! :)
Really good to watch and listen to hopefully the first of many, I try to cut in the same way ,get the most out of each individual stone , rather than cutting away healthy Opal just to get a straight oval etc ,so ya looking forward to future posts .
It looks suspiciously like Ethiopian Opal but I believe you. That is a special stone because I have never seen a black opal without a black matrix base. It makes sense that its an opalized fossil. That is where its rarity comes from. Absolutely beautiful finished stone. That will bring some big dollars. Well done!
Thanks! Some characteristics like those distinct inclusions are also to be found in Ethiopian opal yes, so it is kinda suspicious I agree. But it’s Lightning Ridge all right 😃
@@bunk9991 the mining company owner mentioned they found a bit more of this kind of material the next day. He suspected is was some kind of palm tree fossil. I am inspecting the inclusions to establish its just ‘sand’ or if it could be petrified wood material.
i seen welo opal just like this before ,i really don't know how you are so sure that it's australian.... the only way you can easly prove that it's autralian is to place it in a cup of water ... welo opal will lose most of the color play wile it's wet
@@asatechnics8363 well, of course I know for sure myself because I buy my rough opal from a trusted source in Australia. Of course for you as a viewer that is difficult and you need to be able to trust content. I am here to discuss and answer questions
Leuk een Nederlander te zien, met een prachtige hobby, ik vindt Opalen zo mooi, niet alleen Black Opal, maar vele soorten, ik kijk ook altijd naar verschillende Videos over Opalen, hopelijk volgen er meer mooie videos, ik kijk ernaar uit 👌✅ heb je ook een Website over Jouw en jouw Gems 😉
Ja vooralsnog denk ik vooral een mooi verzamel stuk. Als ik hem zou verwerken to sieraad zou ik hem misschien nog iets minder ‘dik’ slijpen. Maar hij kan wel zonder problemen gezet worden ja 👍🏼
@@Edelstones ik zat een beetje de denken aan een zilvere setting dan met zonder achteraan zilver te doen zodat je hem tot de zon kan houden en er doorheen kan kijken, maar een verzamelstuk is het zeker
O dear, that would something. He of course mastered so many techniques. I am still learning, so would be great to get some pointers. But I am quite confident on the wheel. And for this piece, I am curious to learn how he’s approach the inclusions too! 😅
Do you obviously did a good job. Me personally, I do not leave any inclusions. I know sometimes I’ll have a piece that I’m not gonna be able to get a stone out of it because of the inclusions, but I go ahead and finish it for myself. The stone that size being lightning Ridge clean, is quite valuable.
@@jeffreymcintyre6037 sure thing. I can always go for the clean stone that’s hiding there in plain sight. But I am still happy with how it is. Thanks mate 👍🏼
Phew, so much to take into account. I started off with a dremel and you can use different Diamond and Nova points to create cabochons. It’s the best way to start off in my opinio. And buying a proper cabochon machine is quite expensive and perhaps better when you know this is something you want to do more often and want to invest in. Also, practice with low grade opal material first. I have some lower grade Lightning Ridge material, if you are interested in that to practice with. You can get beautiful stones out of it too! Just not the most gemmy material
@@Edelstones Nice advice. Yes I have some diamonds rough stones but I intend to start with my less valuable ones which are not diamonds. Thanks for this. It really helps a lot.
Mooi gedaan Floris. 👍 ik ben ook gaan slijpen in de covid periode. Het is echt een hele mooie hobby/verslaving 😂. Ga zo door en laat je niet gek maken door zo'n pipo die hier gaat lopen haten.
Dank je Frank! Verslavend is het zeker 😅Leuk ook om je te verwelkomen bij de DOC op Facebook. En inderdaad, ik laat me niet gek maken door haters. En natuurlijk is opbouwende kritiek altijd welkom, ga een discussie graag aan. Maar moet wel beetje vriendelijk blijven.
@@Edelstones ik ben ook blij om bij DOC te zitten,mijn omgeving heeft er niks mee en komt niet verder dan " wat is dat nou waard" 🤣 best fijn om online wat gelijkgestemde te vinden die het werk wel kunnen waarderen.
Thanks for the video and that's a good looking stone you have there. How long have you been shaping opals on the wheels for? I have just recently bought for the 1st time some rough stones from Lightning Ridge to trial polishing but I'm doing it by hand on polish stones and wet & dry sand paper. Still deciding whether or not take the plunge and spend a couple of grand on a lapidary machine with multiple wheels. Any advise you could give me would be great?
Thanks! I’ve been cutting opal with my compact lapidary machine a little over two years now. I love it as a hobby! But like you, I first started with sandpaper and later also a dremel. It takes more time to get to a finished stone, but it’s great to learn the ropes and discover how color in opal can be worked best. You can also already start using Dopsticks and wax. My machine is a compact two wheel Lortone. Downside is that I have to chance the grit bands quite often. But that’s ok, for it’s just a hobby. But if you have space, I’d opt for a machine with 3 or 4 wheels :) Also, you can be patient and look for a second hand machine… saves money
If it was a real black opal from my home of Australia it would be black potch on the bottom, with a brilliant colour bar on top....and one that size would be worths tens of thousands of dollars
Its too bad it's got so much sand in it. Not sure how much a dirty opal will go for but you did a good job cutting it. If it were me I'd of cut all the sand off and you would have a small yes but a but clean opal that would probably sell for more than a larger dirty opal even with pretty color.
True. I might re-cut it as you suggest in the future and put it up for sale in my webshop. It would still have weight to it and fetch way more as a clean gem. But for now it stays in my personal collection and I do not mind the inclusions in this one. Thanks!
Ethiopian turns milky white when it hits water, so bunk...knows bunk. (below) 1/3 of that crystal is clean. Sell me that and I'll re-cut it and increase the value 5 fold. You're on your way, now start thinking about using your calculator. It'll change the way you cut. ...you've got the fever 😊
Fever indeed.. I can see the ‘perfect’ gem in there. But this one is for my personal collection, so I decided to go easy on it and keep those inclusions and just go for optimal play of color. But you are right mate, clean gem in there! Maybe I should cut more often with profit in mind 😅
Body tone of an opal goes from N7 light to N1 black. Crystal opal refers to the transparency of the opal. There are N1 black crystals to N7 white/light crystals 👍🏼
Yes it can be both. The body tone of an opal sits on a scale from N1 (black) to B7(light). Any opal with a body tone N4 to N1 may be considered to be a black opal. Any opal may be considered to be a crystal if it’s fully translucent and it has a specific clarity to it. This piece has both aspects to it, so it’s a black crystal opal.
Sure! 2K USD would get you a proper gem opal! There are many beautiful cut opals and collector pieces available starting from around 50 to 100 USD. Feel free to reach out to me via Floris@edelstones.com if you have any specific interests.
I think u nay have been scammed...to me it looks like treated opal, not black opal from Australia. If u did get the sand spots out the colour would've only got better.
Curious to hear why you say it’s not? It’s a fossil opal from Lightning Ridge, fully transparent with bright play of color. It has a black body tone. Makes it a black crystal.
@@Edelstones It is not fully transparent, it has sand and inclusions. Low value stone. Most of what you have stated on your opinion on the stone is wishful thinking, which could be misconstrued as complete fabrication. My advice is go study opal and learn rather than guess.
@@paulkeating944excuse me? Well, I am passionate about Australian opal, worked hundreds of pieces, and have a solid network. I verify my information with experts, so I am 100% certain about what I am dealing with in this case. And yes, this stone is fully transparent with no potch backing, so yes that qualifies as a crystal opal. And yes it has inclusions and sand, I mention that in the video. And in terms of value, I have not said anything about that. I only stated that this kind of material with multicolor is a rare find. Which it is!
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I have to say that opal is absolutely my favourite stone-- I love it!
Thank you for sharing!
I'm loving it ..awesome thanks for sharing this with us 🙏
NICE JOB! keep going and when you watch this video in 20 years, you'll smile at yourself. good luck
I am sure I will 🫣
It’s beautiful. Good job. The shape is also very pretty. I love these types of opal cutting videos. Beautiful piece.
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed 👍🏼
Looks like a fossilized tree that turned into opal, gorgeous
Very interesting stone. Nice video.
Thank you Sharyn!
Beautiful colors, thanks
What a beautiful gem! Funny, I also started shaping and polishing opal during covid. Its always great to see such a large Australian opal find it's shape. And congratulations on 10,000 views and 80 comments, thats huge, i also make opal videos and i really like the way you went about it,, keep up the good work!
Thank you Carlyn. Wasn’t expecting so much traction with this video. Just a fist try 😊
I look forward to your content, going to check it out!
did you read any of the comments claiming this was "welo" and that he was lying? I am like...OMG...have ANY of you cut ONE opal in your life?
lol....
@@ThatOpalGuy yeah dude, I did see that. It's kinda crazy that they would say that, it's almost like they've never seen a large Australian dark crystal opal before. Like just because it doesn't have black potch on it doesn't mean it's not lighting ridge. I've definitely gotten my fair share of hate too and I always just think that those people are uneducated but want to feel superior for some reason. It's always sad to see, especially in this case, like it didn't get any more crystal idk why people would shade him like that, but I really loved the video, people can be so dumb lol.
Great video, , excellent commentery and finished stone,
Yep I start jewellery making in covid,
To use the opals I've cut ,
Thank you Scott! And good luck with your jewelry projects 👌🏼
Beautiful opal
Chanced upon your video and loved it. Beautiful stone
Thank you, glad you stumbled upon it. It’s been a fun process of cutting and sharing the video.
Great job
Thanks Charles 😄
Btw, @edelstones that is a lovely stone you have there. Thanks for sharing.
You are most welcome. Thanks.
I like it tht you keep the inclusions in the opal fr me it’s really part of the stone
Thanks! With this opal piece I achieved an almost clean face so the deeper inclusions that come in from the back and side I can accept. But more often I push forward to get rid of all inclusions. Basically, I let the opal decide what to do. Especially when it’s a fossil 🤩
I’m just starting out with Opal cutting, I hope I can do as well as you. Beautiful stone.
@@scottlubsen9004 thanks mate. And good luck! Practice makes perfect as they say.
Loved the video and hope you decide to do more as I really enjoyed the way you edited it. Also the opal looks great and I think you done a fine job of cutting it.
All the best mate.
Thanks Scott! It was fun so I hope to share more of my projects in the future 👍🏼
Great video, excellent camerawork! I'm not sure I would have ground away so much of a wood fossil to make a small gem, rather than a collectors' piece. I have one similar, but smaller and think I would just clean the edges to expose the colour - though of course less chance of sales value in that... Yours does make an impressive crystal in the end! :)
Thats is awesome
Thank you! The play of color was a nice surprise 🤩
Super leuk gedaan Floris, met een prachtig resultaat!
Dank je Bert 👍🏼
Really good to watch and listen to hopefully the first of many, I try to cut in the same way ,get the most out of each individual stone , rather than cutting away healthy Opal just to get a straight oval etc ,so ya looking forward to future posts .
We can agree yes! But I also go for the perfect oval sometimes too :)
It looks suspiciously like Ethiopian Opal but I believe you. That is a special stone because I have never seen a black opal without a black matrix base. It makes sense that its an opalized fossil. That is where its rarity comes from. Absolutely beautiful finished stone. That will bring some big dollars. Well done!
Thanks! Some characteristics like those distinct inclusions are also to be found in Ethiopian opal yes, so it is kinda suspicious I agree. But it’s Lightning Ridge all right 😃
@@Edelstones I dont doubt you for a moment. You just have a very rare black opal and it is gorgeous
I never would have thought this was from LR.
@@bunk9991 the mining company owner mentioned they found a bit more of this kind of material the next day. He suspected is was some kind of palm tree fossil. I am inspecting the inclusions to establish its just ‘sand’ or if it could be petrified wood material.
@@Edelstones Awesome!
Forget the haters who don't understand opal.
It's def ridge opal and your video has been shot well.
Keep cutting my friend
Thanks! Can’t wait to create a new vid and share. It’s fun.
i seen welo opal just like this before ,i really don't know how you are so sure that it's australian.... the only way you can easly prove that it's autralian is to place it in a cup of water ... welo opal will lose most of the color play wile it's wet
@@asatechnics8363 well, of course I know for sure myself because I buy my rough opal from a trusted source in Australia. Of course for you as a viewer that is difficult and you need to be able to trust content. I am here to discuss and answer questions
@@Edelstones dude ... i'm from andamooka
@@Edelstones i will ask again for the 6'th time .... can you place that opal in a cup of water and film it for us to see ?
Great video has got me thinking about getting some rough opal and having a go myself, will be watching for you in the future.cheers😊 8:06
Thank you! Have a go at it!
Beautiful! Im trying to start but I get nervous with such small specimens! I need bigger opals!😊
Haha. We all need chunky opals :)
Great sir!
Leuk een Nederlander te zien, met een prachtige hobby, ik vindt Opalen zo mooi, niet alleen Black Opal, maar vele soorten, ik kijk ook altijd naar verschillende Videos over Opalen, hopelijk volgen er meer mooie videos, ik kijk ernaar uit 👌✅ heb je ook een Website over Jouw en jouw Gems 😉
Beautiful black opal. Yes alot of inclusions. Messes with the value of the stone.
Suuuper mooi collectors piece of miss een leuk stuk voor in een hanger
Ja vooralsnog denk ik vooral een mooi verzamel stuk. Als ik hem zou verwerken to sieraad zou ik hem misschien nog iets minder ‘dik’ slijpen. Maar hij kan wel zonder problemen gezet worden ja 👍🏼
@@Edelstones ik zat een beetje de denken aan een zilvere setting dan met zonder achteraan zilver te doen zodat je hem tot de zon kan houden en er doorheen kan kijken, maar een verzamelstuk is het zeker
@@joostlammertsvanbueren1868 jij snapt het! Ik zal eens nadenken over een passend ontwerp …
@@Edelstones ben benieuwd!
I’ve mined lightning Ridge a few times and been around the area a lot of times , and Ive never seen that type of opal in the ridge before🤔
Came from Berglund opals if your interested to know it’s source
@@Edelstones 👍🏼fair enough . The colours seemed right and pattern
It kinda looks Ethiopain
this would be a great piece to facet
Sounds interesting. I don’t have those skills 😬
heresy
Muy buen trabajó saludos
Gracias 😃
Flagstone and rolling broad flash patterns and it is a dark crystal around a N5 B3
Sounds about right.
I'd like to see Justin from Black Opal Direct do a reaction video to this, giving his commentary on the stone as well as your technique.
O dear, that would something. He of course mastered so many techniques. I am still learning, so would be great to get some pointers. But I am quite confident on the wheel. And for this piece, I am curious to learn how he’s approach the inclusions too! 😅
I am quite sure he would not have left this inclusion. But he is cutting gems, this looks more like a natural shape
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. It looks like an Ethiopian stone. Just saying nice job beautiful Stone keep up the good work.
Do you obviously did a good job. Me personally, I do not leave any inclusions. I know sometimes I’ll have a piece that I’m not gonna be able to get a stone out of it because of the inclusions, but I go ahead and finish it for myself. The stone that size being lightning Ridge clean, is quite valuable.
@@jeffreymcintyre6037 sure thing. I can always go for the clean stone that’s hiding there in plain sight. But I am still happy with how it is. Thanks mate 👍🏼
@@jeffreymcintyre6037 yes, Ethiopian opals often have this sandy appearance.. still it’s a 100% LR fossil piece. Mined by Berglund opal
Hi! I'm always fascinated by beautiful stones. I wanted to cut myself my collection and I don't have any machine yet to do so. Any recommendations?
Phew, so much to take into account. I started off with a dremel and you can use different Diamond and Nova points to create cabochons. It’s the best way to start off in my opinio. And buying a proper cabochon machine is quite expensive and perhaps better when you know this is something you want to do more often and want to invest in.
Also, practice with low grade opal material first. I have some lower grade Lightning Ridge material, if you are interested in that to practice with. You can get beautiful stones out of it too! Just not the most gemmy material
@@Edelstones Nice advice. Yes I have some diamonds rough stones but I intend to start with my less valuable ones which are not diamonds. Thanks for this. It really helps a lot.
@@jansSundews I did not mean Diamond as a gemstone. But Diamond impregnated bits you can attach on a Dremel and work with to create a cabochon. 👍🏼
I just subscribed
as did i
gallaxy opal
Mooi gedaan Floris. 👍 ik ben ook gaan slijpen in de covid periode. Het is echt een hele mooie hobby/verslaving 😂.
Ga zo door en laat je niet gek maken door zo'n pipo die hier gaat lopen haten.
Dank je Frank! Verslavend is het zeker 😅Leuk ook om je te verwelkomen bij de DOC op Facebook. En inderdaad, ik laat me niet gek maken door haters. En natuurlijk is opbouwende kritiek altijd welkom, ga een discussie graag aan. Maar moet wel beetje vriendelijk blijven.
@@Edelstones ik ben ook blij om bij DOC te zitten,mijn omgeving heeft er niks mee en komt niet verder dan " wat is dat nou waard" 🤣 best fijn om online wat gelijkgestemde te vinden die het werk wel kunnen waarderen.
It appears this was a large gem. Possibly some outer work would have helped save it.
Keep cutting plzzz
Just by hearing his voice speaking English i now he is a hollander 😂
Haha. Now I feel embarrassed 😳 But I enjoyed sharing nonetheless
Hi all, I also made a short video of the final result of this piece 🤩th-cam.com/video/slaJeaWJaSs/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the video and that's a good looking stone you have there. How long have you been shaping opals on the wheels for? I have just recently bought for the 1st time some rough stones from Lightning Ridge to trial polishing but I'm doing it by hand on polish stones and wet & dry sand paper. Still deciding whether or not take the plunge and spend a couple of grand on a lapidary machine with multiple wheels. Any advise you could give me would be great?
Thanks! I’ve been cutting opal with my compact lapidary machine a little over two years now. I love it as a hobby!
But like you, I first started with sandpaper and later also a dremel. It takes more time to get to a finished stone, but it’s great to learn the ropes and discover how color in opal can be worked best. You can also already start using Dopsticks and wax.
My machine is a compact two wheel Lortone. Downside is that I have to chance the grit bands quite often. But that’s ok, for it’s just a hobby. But if you have space, I’d opt for a machine with 3 or 4 wheels :)
Also, you can be patient and look for a second hand machine… saves money
@@Edelstones Thanks for the tips mate, I just purchased another parcel of rough stones and hopefully all goes well?
Lol. Just keeg grinding.
All new 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
We’re. On USAARE YOU
🎉❤🎉❤❤
If it was a real black opal from my home of Australia it would be black potch on the bottom, with a brilliant colour bar on top....and one that size would be worths tens of thousands of dollars
Its too bad it's got so much sand in it. Not sure how much a dirty opal will go for but you did a good job cutting it. If it were me I'd of cut all the sand off and you would have a small yes but a but clean opal that would probably sell for more than a larger dirty opal even with pretty color.
True. I might re-cut it as you suggest in the future and put it up for sale in my webshop. It would still have weight to it and fetch way more as a clean gem. But for now it stays in my personal collection and I do not mind the inclusions in this one. Thanks!
Ethiopian turns milky white when it hits water, so bunk...knows bunk. (below) 1/3 of that crystal is clean. Sell me that and I'll re-cut it and increase the value 5 fold. You're on your way, now start thinking about using your calculator. It'll change the way you cut. ...you've got the fever 😊
Fever indeed.. I can see the ‘perfect’ gem in there. But this one is for my personal collection, so I decided to go easy on it and keep those inclusions and just go for optimal play of color. But you are right mate, clean gem in there! Maybe I should cut more often with profit in mind 😅
Opals are either black or crystal...not both.
Body tone of an opal goes from N7 light to N1 black. Crystal opal refers to the transparency of the opal. There are N1 black crystals to N7 white/light crystals 👍🏼
That looks nothing like Australian black opal! Looks more like Ethiopian opal to me.
luckily, you are wrong.
Cant be both its either a crystal or a black opel
Yes it can be both. The body tone of an opal sits on a scale from N1 (black) to B7(light). Any opal with a body tone N4 to N1 may be considered to be a black opal. Any opal may be considered to be a crystal if it’s fully translucent and it has a specific clarity to it. This piece has both aspects to it, so it’s a black crystal opal.
black crystals are a thing. I have one myself, a gorgeous eggplant fossil opalized wood specimen with little pinfires of sunflash color.
Can a poor guy like me own opal? I got only 2k
Sure! 2K USD would get you a proper gem opal!
There are many beautiful cut opals and collector pieces available starting from around 50 to 100 USD. Feel free to reach out to me via Floris@edelstones.com if you have any specific interests.
@@Edelstones wow I can become an opal owner that’s nice
you can. just dont try to buy the highest quality.
I think u nay have been scammed...to me it looks like treated opal, not black opal from Australia.
If u did get the sand spots out the colour would've only got better.
Nah, it’s directly from a very trusted miner and I do know opal. Thanks!
Ethiopian opal
nope
@@ThatOpalGuy mate I'm from lightning ridge that's not Ethiopian opal that's been smoked too make it look black
@@BobsYaUncle6933 sure.
It's not a crystal!
How is it not?
Curious to hear why you say it’s not? It’s a fossil opal from Lightning Ridge, fully transparent with bright play of color. It has a black body tone. Makes it a black crystal.
By definition it is a black crystal opal.
@@Edelstones It is not fully transparent, it has sand and inclusions. Low value stone. Most of what you have stated on your opinion on the stone is wishful thinking, which could be misconstrued as complete fabrication. My advice is go study opal and learn rather than guess.
@@paulkeating944excuse me? Well, I am passionate about Australian opal, worked hundreds of pieces, and have a solid network. I verify my information with experts, so I am 100% certain about what I am dealing with in this case. And yes, this stone is fully transparent with no potch backing, so yes that qualifies as a crystal opal. And yes it has inclusions and sand, I mention that in the video. And in terms of value, I have not said anything about that. I only stated that this kind of material with multicolor is a rare find. Which it is!
More videos thanks 😃
🥹
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