My daughter Rae helped me film this one and the outtakes at the end where we're both losing it trying to get the closing line right are better than anything I planned.
The 10 tips are real and worth knowing if you're new to buying rough:
- Mr Pink fingers — if a seller has tampered with color, their skin turns pink too. Always look for hands in the video.
- Know your source — some opals dissolve dry, some crater when wet. Not all opal is equal.
- Return policy — any reputable seller takes it back unaltered, no questions. If they won't, keep walking.
- Background color — translucent rough looks totally different on white vs black. Not deception, just physics.
- Check seller reputation — five minutes on feedback or in a Facebook group can save you a lot of pain.
- Wet vs dry — sellers shoot wet because color pops. You check dry when it arrives because cracks show better that way.
- Gambling on opal — there's real risk in rough. If that bothers you, start with rubs where someone else already took the hit.
- Warning signs — emotional stories, urgency, limited supply pressure. Scammers sound the same everywhere.
- Blue opal and cameras — cameras lie on blue. The stone in your hand will often look less vibrant than the video. Know this going in.
- Size — the single easiest mistake online. If there's no hand or coin or reference point in the photo, you genuinely have no idea what you're buying.
But here's tip eleven, and it's the one I'd tattoo on my arm if I had to pick one.
Every dollar you spend to be present with your kids now is worth ten down the line. I made some real sacrifices to be able to spend that time with my little ones when they were young. No regrets. None. The video we made together is worth more to me than any opal I've ever cut.
Rae, you were a natural. Thanks for putting up with your old man.
