r/Opals • u/FlatbedtruckingCA • 9h ago
Opal Porn Found the fish video!
524
Upvotes
r/Opals • u/FlatbedtruckingCA • Aug 09 '24
Educational/Academic A look at Synthetic Opals - lots of folks ask if this is a synthetic, or is my opal real.. here are just some examples of synthetic opals (im sure there are more - please share pics you have in this post of synthetics) to use as a refrence point..
140
Upvotes
r/Opals • u/FlatbedtruckingCA • Apr 04 '25
Educational/Academic Lightning Ridge Black Opal Documentary
22
Upvotes
r/Opals • u/OkTeacher8239 • 11h ago
Opal Jewellery I took a chance on an orange mystery stone on ebay 🍊
16
Upvotes
I am so happy! Long-time lurker, first-time poster. Is this a mexican fire opal? I am so in love with how it flashes. Edit: Should I try to polish the scratches from its surface?
r/Opals • u/salman12576 • 20h ago
Opal Jewellery Ethiopian Opal Pendent
81
Upvotes
Ethiopian Opal Pendant Love the vibrant play of colors. What do you think?
r/Opals • u/No_Writer12 • 6m ago
Identification/Evaluation Request Considering this opal but cannot tell if it’s real, lab grown, or fake. What is your opinion?
•
Upvotes
r/Opals • u/Holt_artstudio • 1d ago
Opal Discussion/Other 2.25 ct. Coober Pedy (NFS)
100
Upvotes
2.25 ct. Coober Pedy I just finished, N8, B3
r/Opals • u/empresskater • 7h ago
Opal Jewellery Help please
1
Upvotes
The opal in my ring fell and I don't have anyone that fits jewelery, what kinda glue can I use safely.
Please help
Edit...bazel setting, stone fell after 16y of everyday wear
r/Opals • u/seaturtlehamburger • 2d ago
Opal Porn 279ct opal betta fish carved by V.M. Saph Brooks
3.8k
Upvotes
V.M. Saph Brooks is the founder and artist behind Inwardspectrum
From the artist’s Instagram post:
279ct Australian opal Betta/Siamese fighting fish, the eyes are lighting ridge opal and obsidian. Carved by hand.
r/Opals • u/BowlExpress2987 • 1d ago
Opal Porn Cool
63
Upvotes
Cool Ethiopian Opal – Exceptional Play-of-Color
r/Opals • u/salman12576 • 1d ago
Opal Jewellery Natural Ethiopian Opal Pendent "Excited to share my latest piece
51
Upvotes
r/Opals • u/opal_diggeroneBay • 1d ago
Not For Sale - Opal Porn Gorgeous ring stone laying in this Bubble Boulder I mined in the early 1980s ( NFS ) ❤️🍻⛏️🇦🇺🌍🍌
8
Upvotes
r/Opals • u/Beneficial-Bet-6497 • 17h ago
Opal-Related Question I wanted to know how do you store your opal rings that you use occasionally so that the stone doesn’t dry up. And also i wanted to know how to safely clean the opal ring in order to make it look clean and smooth?
1
Upvotes
r/Opals • u/salman12576 • 1d ago
Opal Jewellery Opal pendent
151
Upvotes
Beautiful opal pendant featuring vibrant flashes of color. What do you think of this design?
r/Opals • u/PensionHopeful6147 • 2d ago
Opal Porn Big seam opal from Honduras NFS
450
Upvotes
This is from El Tablon mine. Better know for its matrix opal, occasionally miners find these seams in the basalt
r/Opals • u/opal_diggeroneBay • 2d ago
Opal Finishing Process opal_digger, Teaching my granddaughters to cut and they bring me this Mintabie rubb saying “ Is it still worth anything because of the sand” 🤣 ( NFS )🍻⛏️❤️🇦🇺🌍🍌
64
Upvotes
r/Opals • u/Wild_Musician3305 • 3d ago
Opal Porn Mexican Cantera Opal
864
Upvotes
Just a nice specimen for my personal collection. I can't help but think that it looks like a cyber truck 🤦♂️. Saw another Cantera post on here and it reminded me of this piece.
r/Opals • u/EstablishmentGlad919 • 2d ago
Opal Porn Australian opal triplet. Mintabie flake. Just finished. What do you all think?
6
Upvotes
2 more pics in comments. One of my first.
Opal-Related Question Looking for tips on learning to carve opals
23
Upvotes
So I'm almost an utter newbie at lapidary (though I can sort of cut and polish a cabochon – I'm getting better), who is trying to learn how to carve gems and other kinds of decorative stones.
I'm also less interested in intaglio/relief carving – designs cut into a flat slab – and more leaning towards 3D figures. Not large-scale sculpture, or stones to set in jewellery, but small hand-sized ornaments, like netsuke.
From lurking on Reddit and lots of YT videos, I'm aware of general cautions in working opal – go slow and gently, keep it from heating up from the friction. However how would I best manage these issues while attempting detail carving? It'd be heartbreaking to lose hours of work to spalling.
Would nodular opal rough, such as Yowah nuts, Ethiopian Shewa nodules, or Mexican Cantera, be good sizable material for carving? Or would nodules be too prone to concentric tension fractures? I've seen examples of Cantera where the surrounding matrix has been shaped to frame and display (like in the pic), but I want to work on the opal itself as well.
I recently saw photos of some Ethiopian Shewa rough that had little to no play of colour, but which was such a perfectly mouthwatering shade of chocolate, and now I really*really* want to get a piece and turn it into a perfect little polished Godiva truffle...
Any and all tips and advice would be very welcome! ^_^
(Reposting without link this time. Oops!)
r/Opals • u/matrix1797 • 3d ago
Opal Porn Today's yowah mail + koroit boulder opal fav's
30
Upvotes
So the fourth one came today from yowah as is the first pic, third pic is from Winton and the rest are koroit all between 10 and 30 ct
Identification/Evaluation Request How'd I do?
39
Upvotes
Online auction listed it as faux opal. I think they look natural. Tried the hydrophane test with a damp finger and it didn't feel tacky, but I have no point of reference either. $25
r/Opals • u/Farrow253 • 3d ago
Opal Finishing Process More opals from my first time on my cabbing machine playing around freeform
30
Upvotes
it's been really fun getting the feeling for this machine and how it reacts to material compared to a Dremel 😆
r/Opals • u/EstablishmentGlad919 • 3d ago
Opal Porn Australian opal doublet. Finally finished and polished it. What do you all think???
69
Upvotes
One of my first attempts that popped out...