My Special Gemstone - Black Opal Pendant

Wayne & I drove to one of the mining towns in Lightning Ridge in 1993. It was the shipyards in Glengarry about an hour and a half drive from Lightning Ridge. It was raining hard, but we didn't mind the drive - I thought this trip is exciting as I've never been here before.

It wasn't a real good day to fossick because it was raining but we were determined to get some Opals.
Wayne was filling his buckets with so much opal matter; potch with colour and the rest are just something to play around it. We found this piece of opal rough which showed a slight of colour flash.
I told Wayne I will take this home and cut it myself. It was getting dark and we decided to pack up and leave.
As we were heading towards Lightning Ridge, we didn't realize that the heavy rain has caused so much flooding and turned the roads into a slushy muddy road. I thought no worries Wayne; we've got our mobile phones with us we can always ring for help. Wrong!! The mobile phones wouldn't work.
Wayne was struggling to drive through the mud and slush, the windscreen wiper was on overload, mud was all over our windscreen - couldn't see a thing and the car was crisscrossing and sliding on the road. The motor was overheating as it was filling up with mud/slush.
Wayne had to stop every 20 minutes, and then I would hop out of the car and clean the windscreen with a towel just so Wayne could see. It was already dark and we were worried. We didn't tell anyone where we were heading that morning. This was bad! One rule everyone knows is that when you drive out in the bush/outback you've got to tell someone. Well, tough luck for us - we didn't tell anyone.
It was luck that got us through the horrible drive back. We drove into the petrol station around 8:00 pm and the Manager saw the state of the car and said - where the hell have you been!!!
I couldn't wait the following morning to find out what that piece of Opal rough we found would bring for us.
It was a difficult Opal stone to cut as all I could see was a very thin colour bar. I prepared myself for the challenge. I donned my cutting uniform, tools, and polishing gear. The Opal stone was hard to cut. I could see a glimmer of colour. I had been polishing for one hour to get to the colour bar and looks like the stone is not going to give me nothing.
As I persevered, voila!!! There I was amazed at the bluish/green/orange colour bars - it was magical. The colours glimmered and flashed in front of me - I couldn't believe my eyes. I was so pleased with myself!!!
Now my dilemma - I want to keep this stone for myself - how to tell Wayne - I want this Stone! Yes, Yes, Yes, I was allowed to keep it. Our Italian Jeweller friend set it for me. It is set in 18k yellow gold, intricately handcrafted, about half an inch in width. The Opal is bezel set. Opal weighs 15 carats this was the outcome! I love this Opal and I treasure it!

Opal Cutting Is Fun - My apprenticeship Experience

Wayne, my husband is passionate about Opals. I would watch him day after day and this would be his daily routine. I was made to be "just the observer". He would check out a rough opal, follow and read through the colour bar. He would then snip bit by bit into the colour bar. He gets the cutting machine ready. He would then start the dobbing of the Opals. This is the tricky part. Sometimes I would help him and burn my fingers. At the end of the day, I would have blisters on my fingers.

Dobbing the Opals into a dobbing stick was always without incident. The wax must be extremely hot so it sticks to the Opals and into the stick. You are not allowed to wear gloves. Blisters on my fingers then became hard calluses. I didn't mind it because I enjoyed watching Wayne get the thrill of the finished Opals at the end of the day.

First he would use the 1600 grit wheel. This takes time as this is the first stage of shaping the opal. Black Opals are normally shaped oval with a nice cabochon. The next stage would be getting to the colour bar. Then the 600 grit wheel is used.
This is painstakingly difficult. As you get closer to the colour bar, the cutting becomes delicate. It’s a matter of losing the colour or getting the best colour of the opal there is. The transformation from rough to rub and shaping the opal to show the colour is just a fantastic experience. As you progress into the final stage of the cutting process, the result can be exhilarating.

As my apprenticeship was nearly getting to a close, I was promoted to Assistant Opal cutter. Sitting side by side with Wayne was my proudest moment. Wayne had the confidence in me to cut Black Opals. I tried to keep my emotions to myself and got down to the task at hand.

From rough to rub, preparation to dobbing, shaping and between Wayne and i, we would cut around 100-150 Opals a day. It's also a strain on your eyes when you do the cutting. I would always look forward to a 20 minute coffee break. Wayne is tough to work with; we would only have coffee breaks after 2 hrs of continuous work with the Opals. As soon as our eyes were rested, we would get back to cutting the most beautiful gem in the world -Opals.
As you watch the stone transform and gleam right into your very eyes, there is no other job as fulfilling as an Opal cutter.

Investment opals

Opals are unique to Australia 99% of opals originate from Australia . There are three main fields
Queensland opals
White opals from South Australia
Black opals from Lightning Ridge

Black opals are the rarest and are considered best investment opal. Not all black opals increase greatly in price Red Fire opals are best investment Followed by orange, green, blue colours. Red opals are less than 1% of all opals mined and it is the precious red opal on black potch, which is natural formed with the opal that is best investment. Over the last 5 years black opal has increased by 20-30% PER ANNUM.
Yes that¡Çs per annum, and we are discussing wholesale prices With new opal mining laws now in place and with added fuel costs less opal is now mined and therefore less black opal with red fire will be found. Therefore supply and demand opals prices will increase. Opal collectors now place orders for red fire opals so when they are mined they are sold immediately. Collectors realize value of these investment opals .
Red fire opals we sold for $1,000 per carats 5 years ago are now snapped up at $2,500 to $3,000 per carat. Examples of new costs for the opal mining industry To make an open cut mine you now have to lodge $250,000 with mines department as security so that you will fill the hole in after you have finished mining and revegetate the area. There is now safety courses and mining courses you have to do to become licensed just to have claim and electrical inspections etc,,so many extra costs compared to 5 years ago and fuel has doubled in price so expensive to operate big machinery.
All these extra cost mean that opal, a rare gemstone is going to get more expensive to find and can only increase in value. Consider purchasing an opal for your superannuation fund. I have several red fire gems in my collection and not only great increase per annum but also the pleasure to hold and enjoy this precious opal.

Wayne Sedawie

OPAL TREAURES

Opal gemstones have fascinated people for centuries; it’s a unique gemstone that needs lot research and understanding before you purchase recommend Len Crams Opal books as top source for all opal information. Books available by Len Cram include. A journey with colour ,history of Queensland opals 1869-1979 A journey with colour ,history of white cliffs opal 1889-1999 Beautiful opals Australia¡Çs national gem
Beautiful Queensland opals. Beautiful Lightning Ridge.100 years
Beautiful Australian Opals A guide to buying,
These books can be purchased  from Opal auctions


We also recommend other opal books available
Opals by Fred ward
Opal ladies by  Cilka Zagar
The Opal Book by Frank Leechman
Black opal Fossils of Lightning Ridge  By Tim Flannery
Australian Opals in Colour by Andrew Cody
Australian Precious Opal by Andrew Cody
Black Opal by K Prichard
Black Opal the Book by G Pardy
Opal Identification and Value by P Downing
A field Guide To Australian opal by B Oleary
A Close Call at yowah by K Herman
A Guide To precious Opal by Stone & Butt
And Theres Opal Out There. By E Waller
Australian Opal safari by J Colahan.
Determined by s Aracic
Coober Pedy Opal wonderland Of Australia by E Mednay
Discover Opal By s Araric
Fortunes In Australianh Opals By S araric
Glistenings from The Opal Fields by Grawin opal Miners
Ligthtning Ridge  by I Idriess
Opal asdventures by p Downing
Opal Men by P wake.
Opal Mining At Lightning ridge by J Mcabe
Opal the Gem Of The Never Never by T Wollaston
Opals And Agates by B Nehemiah
Opals And Gold by  R Macdonald
Opals And Sapphires by  I Idriess
Road To Andomooka by J Summers
Sweat Tears And Blood Red Opals by R mckenlie

Opal Jewelry

In Twelfth Night Shakespeare referred to opal as "the queen of gems". There is no way to accurately describe the finest opals: milky white background dotted with red, gold, purple, blue, and green; a dark night with rainbow lightning. Delicate and mysterious, opal has been treasures since ancient times for its unique beauty.

Romans called the magnificent gemstone "Cupid Paederos," meaning a child as beautiful as love. They believed that opals fell to earth from the heavens in a flash of lightening. However they arrived in on Earth originally, today opals must be mined from deposits found primarily in Southern Australia, although other sources exist in Brazil, Mexico, Czechoslovakia, and Nevada.

Crown Jewels Opal has symbolized hope, innocence and purity through the ages. During the Middle Ages, fair-haired young women put sapphires in their tresses to protect the lovely blond color of their hair. Physicians ground opals into a powder that was ingested to ward off nightmares. Since the 14th century, many cultures have considered this stone to be an Eye Stone, a stone that watches over royal families as well as a stone that strengthens the eyesight.

They believed it to be the "king of gems" because an opal holds within its fire all the colours of the rainbow…and all other gems, as well. And like many birthstones, opals were treasured by ancient monarchs for their appearance AND their powers.
Opals were routinely set into the crowns and necklaces of rulers who believed the protective powers of the gemstones would ward off evil. Writers of the period believed the opal could render its wearer invisible when the need arose. The Russians had the complete opposite belief in opals, viewing them as nothing but bad luck..

Opal lost much if its popularity in the 19th Century when Sir Walter Scott published a novel "Anne of Geierstein" (1829). In this book the heroine owned an opal that burned fiery red when she was angry and turned ashen gray upon her death. Sales of opals dropped after the book was published as acquired a superstition of being "bad luck". The tendency of opal to crack spontaneously did not help the reputation of the opal. Queen Victoria finally helped quell this superstition by giving opal jewelry wedding presents to her relatives.

Opal is the birthstone for October and the gemstone given to commemorate a 14th wedding anniversary. The word "opal" for this dynamic gemstone was derived from the Greek word "opallus" which means to see a change in color…because it is, after all, opal's ability to refract and reflect specific wavelengths of light that make it so special. In fact, there are more than a dozen varieties of fiery and iridescent opals.

Always the Right Gift, A gift of Opal is symbolic of faithfulness and confidence. And the wide range of choices in opal makes them a perfect gift for anyone.

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