What a blessing! I’m sooooo happy for Phil, his family & mining parter ! That’s awesome.... definitely a once in a lifetime gem! Looks like it couldn’t have happened to better person at a much needed time! 🙏❤️ #blessed #thankful
5 ปีที่แล้ว +32
I would love (for his sake) to later learn this was just a small piece of a much larger section in his hole. That is too precious!
Holy cow that's amazing, I had it paused when you were doing a close up of the stone and one of my coworkers asked me if it was an aquarium, then you zoomed out and he sat next to me and made me restart the video. That's an amazing stone, and story to go along with it1
I visited Lightening Ridge a few years ago. I have family that lives there. They gave me a tour and the history of the town. Absolutely blown away by the beauty of the land and the gems that so many people seek. One day my girlfriend and I want to move to Australia and get a small plot of land out there so we can dig and meditate in nature. Beautiful gems and beautiful people in Lightening Ridge.
I wanted to be a gem collector a lot of years ago and this reminded me of why! Just a precious gifts! Thank you so much! One more reason to live for! :)
I love it ! Reminds me of a story I read about a guy who was hunting in the Appalachian Mountains. He was walking along an old logging road towards his hunting spot which was quite aways away from where he had to park his vehicle. Along the way he started kicking a bud rock, and as the story goes he said he’d kicked that rock about 1/3rd of a mile when at the last kick the rock rolled in and out of a puddle of water. To his surprise it turned out to be a giant gem of some kind. I want to say it was opal, but I’m not sure as I read this story some time ago. Anyways, the man stood over the stone in disbelief. I think he actually ended up buying a large parcel of land near there and started mining for whatever gem stone he’d found. Now the mine is open to the public, for a price. One can go and pay for a day in the mine and whatever they find they keep. I really, REALLY want to rub out some opal gems just to say I did, and maybe make a few pieces for my wife and myself. I am giving this some serious consideration as the creative side of me is now seriously piqued !
What an amazing stone and a lovely person. I enjoyed their conversation and the industry nomenclature/slang as much as the stone. I've got a really large Australian opal in a ring and after my engagement ring (a tanzanite colored fancy sapphire), it is my absolute favorite piece of jewelry.
Wow....just think how sad it is, that we are stuck in the middle of a frigid winter here in Toronto, snow & ice & common pebbles on the ground everywhere, and, thanks to Justin et al, we also hv now developed opal fever!! 😳 You couldn't see one on the ground right now, & more snow's expected...but, hey, spring's not too far off!! We could see one then!! I can hardly wait!!! (Thank you, Justin)!! Oh ....wait....we don't HAVE opals here....WAHHHHH!!!! (Thank you, Justin....sorta... ) 😭😭😭😁
In-freaking-sane stone. Looks like a royal gem from Poseidon's throne room. You guys have 100% given me the opal fever. If I ever make my way across the world to Australia, I have to visit Lightning Ridge. Off topic, but I'd love to know if Lightning Ridge has a bizarre, paranormal aspect to its history. With miners? There's almost always tragedy involved. In all the old mining towns here in the states, you have crazy ghost stories and weird encounters. Super cool stuff. I bet the Aborigines have a tale or two to tell about that area.
So...this dogtooth calcite was replaced by the opal? Would that make it a seudomorph? The specimen went from common to rare? Awesome,stunning piece. Scared me to think the metal could scrape the tip....isn't there a hard plastic tool?
@@Pinkeyes_1 if he bought the entire market by himself the price would crash dramatically due to his demand and then when he buys them all the price will sky rocket higher than ever since he will have most of the market
@@silencz1 Most likely a typo.....Bush Jr. was in office and Trump. With that being said stupid people have been rich. Hell, Al Capone had an IQ of 75 and ran a city basically. That's right a man who let him self have syphilis for 20 years which eventually killed him was rich. One typo....eh you got a shot at being rich. Lol
Absolutely amazing!!! How often are stones like this found? It is so bright and colorful, such brillent Blues and green that it almost looks fake. Just stunning. How much would a stone like that be worth?
@@blackopaldirect Well done sir, in all my time watching You Tube videos i have never seen anyone do that. I to, cannot stand trolls. Thank you, and for your very informative videos.
Wow, truly a life changing gem. How will Phil generate funds to live on and still hang on to this museum displays Le gem? He referenced being out of funds - is he still mining for opals?
I don't understand how this changed his life, he still has the stone, so its not like it made him rich, maybe it motivated him again but, if anything it stopped him from changing his life.
I've been watching your channel for a few days, and a question has come to mind. You didn't start your lapidary career cutting opals, what stones did you learn to do this with? I have bucket loads of agate and quartz type stuff in my back yard, and I'm playing with those. Some of them are really pretty, but nothing valuable. Where did you start learning?
There is a saying that "something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it". In this case, sure a $ figure could be put on it, but I seriously doubt that Phil and Andrew would ever sell this one. That makes it truly priceless.
You missed "the money shot!" When you make these great vids, always "pay off" the viewer's natural response, which in this case is "How much is it worth?" and "Is he going to sell it?"
Black Opal Direct More viewrs are agreeing with me than you...I don't think it was an "of course" that he would put it up for sale--might have "changed his life" in other ways. I have a buddy in the American Opal Society who scored a 1" nobby in a $50 jar, cut a perfect blue-green flash and only missed a perfect windmill pattern by one "vane," and has turned down $25K for it...it has become a symbol of "winning," I guess. Been "for sale" for over 10 yrs now! Also, the VALUE of the stone is interesting and informative even to a casual viewer or newbie, not only a prospective buyer...you go into a jewelry store and ask the price of a diamond, they don't say "Well, if you want it badly enough, you'll make us an offer...", do they? I note at least 10 other viewers have asked the same question in the comments. I stand by mine.
He’s still in a state of disbelief! Understandable too!
What a blessing! I’m sooooo happy for Phil, his family & mining parter ! That’s awesome.... definitely a once in a lifetime gem! Looks like it couldn’t have happened to better person at a much needed time! 🙏❤️ #blessed #thankful
I would love (for his sake) to later learn this was just a small piece of a much larger section in his hole. That is too precious!
What a great story and an even better opal. Thanks for sharing the wonderful story. We hope you find another one even bigger.
Holy cow that's amazing, I had it paused when you were doing a close up of the stone and one of my coworkers asked me if it was an aquarium, then you zoomed out and he sat next to me and made me restart the video. That's an amazing stone, and story to go along with it1
william instad of working what are you doing watching youtube?/? by the way its amazing stone, i want to know how much worth?
I watched the whole thing in 480p so I'm now guna rewatch in 1080 😂
Wow that's a gorgeous opal.
So happy for you!
What an amazing find.
Hope you find lots more.
Take care. God bless you and yours! 👏😊👍
I visited Lightening Ridge a few years ago. I have family that lives there. They gave me a tour and the history of the town. Absolutely blown away by the beauty of the land and the gems that so many people seek. One day my girlfriend and I want to move to Australia and get a small plot of land out there so we can dig and meditate in nature. Beautiful gems and beautiful people in Lightening Ridge.
see you there one day m8
Too bad you have to be subject to the qween
I wanted to be a gem collector a lot of years ago and this reminded me of why!
Just a precious gifts!
Thank you so much!
One more reason to live for! :)
relatively new to opals.. what an absolutely incredible channel.. Really love this and love all the passion put into it
Opals are hypnotic it has a new pattern every time it changes angle and light direction, stunning, far better than a diamond in my opinion.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE the stories you share! Hearing the emotion as he speaks about this one is priceless :D
It looks like the colour goes down to the level of the holes - what a massive gamble, grinding the face so it was smooth all over.
I love it !
Reminds me of a story I read about a guy who was hunting in the Appalachian Mountains. He was walking along an old logging road towards his hunting spot which was quite aways away from where he had to park his vehicle. Along the way he started kicking a bud rock, and as the story goes he said he’d kicked that rock about 1/3rd of a mile when at the last kick the rock rolled in and out of a puddle of water. To his surprise it turned out to be a giant gem of some kind. I want to say it was opal, but I’m not sure as I read this story some time ago.
Anyways, the man stood over the stone in disbelief. I think he actually ended up buying a large parcel of land near there and started mining for whatever gem stone he’d found. Now the mine is open to the public, for a price. One can go and pay for a day in the mine and whatever they find they keep.
I really, REALLY want to rub out some opal gems just to say I did, and maybe make a few pieces for my wife and myself. I am giving this some serious consideration as the creative side of me is now seriously piqued !
Great story teller with great enthusiasm.
Wow! You seem like a nice guy and it makes me like this story even more. It's beautiful!
Thank you Michael
I never appreciated opal until seeing this video of this stone. What a beauty!
Yay my job is done. :-)
Great story about this visually stunning & exquisite Opal.
that green and blue is the opal i like best, its from the refraction angle of the silicate, really nice to see opals of such color
What an amazing stone and a lovely person. I enjoyed their conversation and the industry nomenclature/slang as much as the stone. I've got a really large Australian opal in a ring and after my engagement ring (a tanzanite colored fancy sapphire), it is my absolute favorite piece of jewelry.
Such humble amazing people ❤️
Simply Beautiful and the story made my heart say awwwe congratulations..way to go..:))
Have been binge watching this channel and now me mates are hooked! What a stunner! Uk
Haha you got opal fever now. 😊❤️
WOW! My jaw dropped when I saw this stone!!
Fantastic find so happy for you.Its very beautiful.Thanks for the you tube story
Wow, absolutely stunning. I could seriously stare at that forever. What a lovely story. 💗
Took so long for him to tell the story
Rob Edwards sorry
Oh my!!
Despite being a mammoth by opal standards, it was when he turned it over to reveal all that near perfect, ebony-black potch that I gasped!
I know, I nearly fell out of my chair!
i bit late but... i discover this channel yesterday and i don't understand what's the deal with the black back ???
@@marianotombetta4149 Being dark, it enhances the brighter colours and therefore makes the opal much more valuable.
@@marianotombetta4149 the blacker the background aka the potch, the more valuable it is
Absolutely stunning ! Justin do you think he'd ever sale that piece ?
Absolutely stunning opal. Blue and green, my favorite colors.
Awesome. I couldn’t ever bring myself to part with a stone like that if I found it! Makes it priceless really 🇬🇧👍👍
You and me both!
Stories like this certainly feed the rock hound fever
Mission accomplished hahah
Enjoyed your video and gave it a Thumbs Up
how much?
We love stories like this!!
More
More
More!!
Wow....just think how sad it is, that we are stuck in the middle of a frigid winter here in Toronto, snow & ice & common pebbles on the ground everywhere, and, thanks to Justin et al, we also hv now developed opal fever!! 😳 You couldn't see one on the ground right now, & more snow's expected...but, hey, spring's not too far off!! We could see one then!! I can hardly wait!!! (Thank you, Justin)!! Oh ....wait....we don't HAVE opals here....WAHHHHH!!!! (Thank you, Justin....sorta... ) 😭😭😭😁
Oh this is the one I mentioned in a comment the other day I saw it on your TH-cam shorts this is the favorite piece I've seen i think
In-freaking-sane stone. Looks like a royal gem from Poseidon's throne room. You guys have 100% given me the opal fever. If I ever make my way across the world to Australia, I have to visit Lightning Ridge.
Off topic, but I'd love to know if Lightning Ridge has a bizarre, paranormal aspect to its history. With miners? There's almost always tragedy involved. In all the old mining towns here in the states, you have crazy ghost stories and weird encounters. Super cool stuff. I bet the Aborigines have a tale or two to tell about that area.
Absolutely stunning!!! 😍😍
So...this dogtooth calcite was replaced by the opal? Would that make it a seudomorph? The specimen went from common to rare? Awesome,stunning piece. Scared me to think the metal could scrape the tip....isn't there a hard plastic tool?
That's a really nice peace my friend. Excellent..
Wow what a piece beautiful colors
If I ever be rich, I'll buy all the opals in the world. OMG do I love OPALS!
pondo78 you’d never have enough money
i dont know if you have ever held gold before, but thats my love
@@Pinkeyes_1 if he bought the entire market by himself the price would crash dramatically due to his demand and then when he buys them all the price will sky rocket higher than ever since he will have most of the market
If I'm ever rich.....your welcome. No one will ever take you seriously talking like that.
@@silencz1 Most likely a typo.....Bush Jr. was in office and Trump. With that being said stupid people have been rich. Hell, Al Capone had an IQ of 75 and ran a city basically. That's right a man who let him self have syphilis for 20 years which eventually killed him was rich. One typo....eh you got a shot at being rich. Lol
Never seen anything like it. Had not even heard of opals before. incredible colors.
Fantastic find mate well done👍
Jo was rubbing this big massive knobbie 🤣
haha then after that she started cutting the opal
That was very interesting you have a fine collection and your new helper is pretty fine as well. I can’t imagine your wife is very happy about that.
His story gave me goosebumps.
Making this beauty would have been an awesome video!
Absolutely amazing!!! How often are stones like this found? It is so bright and colorful, such brillent Blues and green that it almost looks fake. Just stunning. How much would a stone like that be worth?
Jetee Phillips I'd say we'd have to mortgage our houses to pay for it 🤔🤔
@Donald Kasper Is that an assumption or a statement?
@@michael49777 Silly man. Negativity I am not a fan of. commenting all over my videos with negativity Donald got yourself a blanket ban.
@@blackopaldirect Well done sir, in all my time watching You Tube videos i have never seen anyone do that. I to, cannot stand trolls. Thank you, and for your very informative videos.
Wow that was beautiful to see thanks. Do you have any other friends with opals like that to put on the channel?
So did he ever fine any more great opal? We need an update!
No I don't think so
@@blackopaldirect Pity
Craaazy find! What kinda ballpark value would a stone like that go for?
They want $500,000
@@blackopaldirect wowza
@@blackopaldirect I don't know a thing about opal but that almost seems low. lol I would be thrilled to see a piece like this in a museum.
The stone is gorgeous but the color in the ‘holes’ is even more fabulous!
It is
Why would anyone thumb down this video that stone is incredible truly a once in a lifetime find amazing 😯
Just jealous competitors. It's fine it just a reminder that I am doing great.
@@blackopaldirect yes that's what it is jealousy. Why can't people just be happy for other people's good fortune...
I would love to see this done too more pieces!
That is so lovely!!! I am happy for Phil!!!!
Wow, truly a life changing gem. How will Phil generate funds to live on and still hang on to this museum displays Le gem? He referenced being out of funds - is he still mining for opals?
Since then they have still been mining. I’m not sure if they have found anything since
It's very much like "The Royal One" but smaller. Nice stone!
Amazing!!!!!!! Beautiful color!!!!
Wow, right place, right time. Fifteen years final paid off.😎🤟
That's a beautiful Opal
What's the approximate value?
that was Awesome would have changed my life too
Beautiful stone mate
It's funny though how dremeled stones turn out .
What is the value of that stone?
I named my budgie opal tide pod. Shes a beautiful opal mate...with love from texas
Hahah nice
How much would it bring?
Mindblowing...what a story and what a stone... lovely video Justin🙏👏
Greets , the Dutchguy🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱
I don't understand how this changed his life, he still has the stone, so its not like it made him rich, maybe it motivated him again but, if anything it stopped him from changing his life.
Duane Dodson it’s like acquiring a house. He may not have the money yet but when he sells it he will.
Thank you. I love y'alls desire for black opal with a 'Noubii' that worth the life of a miners glimpse at black Opal.
Had to watch this twice.
Talk of a Man's world.
Oh my! That’s crazy big!! I’m very happy for him. That’s a once in a lifetime find. He’s still excited.... awesome!
Still gazing upon this piece? Can we get a follow up?
I've been watching your channel for a few days, and a question has come to mind. You didn't start your lapidary career cutting opals, what stones did you learn to do this with? I have bucket loads of agate and quartz type stuff in my back yard, and I'm playing with those. Some of them are really pretty, but nothing valuable. Where did you start learning?
So what about the guy who gave/sold the mine? How is he doing?
I never met him so I don't know sorry
Guess i was the only one who was waiting to know the value on this "Life Changing Opal"
400k
@@blackopaldirect what? Wow. I didn't know blue opal was so precious...How does it compare to other types of opal in this size range?
@@esejsnake1503 This has an increased value due to the type of specimen it is
Holy hell... 400k?? I don’t think I’d ever stop mining after finding that!
There is a saying that "something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it".
In this case, sure a $ figure could be put on it, but I seriously doubt that Phil and Andrew would ever sell this one.
That makes it truly priceless.
What’s the most expensive stone you’ve polished?
How much is it, 30 or 200 grand??
If I ever traveled uproad can you suggest the best places to mine opal
Badr Essam Lightning Ridge is
Once in a lifetime find 🤗
You missed "the money shot!" When you make these great vids, always "pay off" the viewer's natural response, which in this case is "How much is it worth?" and "Is he going to sell it?"
Will Shaw of course it’s for sale and if someone with enough money is interested then they will ask. Otherwise 🤷♂️
Black Opal Direct
More viewrs are agreeing with me than you...I don't think it was an "of course" that he would put it up for sale--might have "changed his life" in other ways. I have a buddy in the American Opal Society who scored a 1" nobby in a $50 jar, cut a perfect blue-green flash and only missed a perfect windmill pattern by one "vane," and has turned down $25K for it...it has become a symbol of "winning," I guess. Been "for sale" for over 10 yrs now!
Also, the VALUE of the stone is interesting and informative even to a casual viewer or newbie, not only a prospective buyer...you go into a jewelry store and ask the price of a diamond, they don't say "Well, if you want it badly enough, you'll make us an offer...", do they? I note at least 10 other viewers have asked the same question in the comments.
I stand by mine.
@@blackopaldirect , Couldn't you at least give a ballpark figure of the value?
@@davidgraham2673 2 million wouldn't cover it
@@krazykangaroo43 , I was afraid of that. It's ten dollars out of my price range. Guess I'll have to buy the fake stuff at Walmart.
If you notice when handed it to Justin he didn't want to let it go. Watch his hands, he was so terrified he would drop it.
I sure was haha
Ohhhh my goodness 😍😍😍 what’s would the estimate value of this opal be worth Justin?
Wow! That's a beautiful opal.
Amazing 😊 Colours
That is unbelievable. How would you rate that as far as quality and brightness etc?
barrynzay it’s a 5 in brightness but it’s bodytone varies throughout the gem. But all is considered black opal
How did it change his life? What's the rest of the story?
Wow! That's an unbelievable find. Its better than winning the lottery.
whats it worth ?
Geeeooooddd!! That’s a million plus dollar stone!
That stone is just beautiful
What would the market value be on a stone of that size?
$400k
Black Opal Direct W O W wow wow wow
What is it worth? 😅 waited to hear that but Nono how come?
Beautiful.
Nice find 👍
Off the pick, a shard of colour.💙241 cts. black OPAL!
How much would that incredible piece sell for ball park figure?
Thanks
It's so cool, congrats!!!
What was it worth??
What is that thing worth? Thanks
Beautiful Opal!!
Crazy beautiful rock!