Still finding videos I haven't seen. You have gotten so much more relaxed in the 3 years since this originally posted! This is a beautiful gem. Good job Justin!!
i have spend a great time with you Justin> thanks a lot. you are great.i am a cutter myself, and suffer and enjoy with you each second of your cutting. thanks again
Love your vids. Will never have anything to do with opal, but find them oddly satisfying. Can understand the perfectionism. I find the carvings I sell feel like I'm not finished no matter what ppl say.
Was lovely to watch you cutting opals Justin. I don't think you've had so many with cracks in, but still it's nice to have small stones. Thank you for sharing and take care
Your channel is absolutely fascinating, I love it! I bought a boulder opal from the Opal Museum in Melbourne last July and got it put into a ring, and since then I've been somewhat obsessed with opal lol thank you for such a great channel I can watch to feed my addiction!
on the last stone, wouldnt it be better to cut into smaller stones? it seems like you ground a lot of the color off to clean up the whole thing, and it must be difficult to get a good polish on such a large flat surface.. just curious.
Gutted that I missed this when you first put it out, Justin. But ven watching it recorded, as opposed to live, I can feel my heart beat increasing every now and then. Having only recently discovered and fallen in lust with opal, I find myself wishing I'd come over to Australia decades ago and just worked in the opal mines. Kind of a working holiday for a few months until the imigration peop[le catch up with me and send me back to England. Now tho, I have knackered my spine and would be more of a hindrance than a help to any miner. That said, I do hope to one day get over to Lightning Ridge for a holiday and at least get to go tour whats available as wekl as spending a good portion of it fossicking the mullock heaps. Thanks for another great video of both entertainm,ent and education at the same time! Andy. Edit: Watching the video again, I cant help wondering why you never cut that harlequin opal with a disc rather than gring it away to get the cushion cut? Was it because the colour bar was so thin that the "offcut" wouldn't be worth anything or what? Because also in my mind was a previous video of yours where you advise cutting the stone with a disc cutter to avoid excessive wear on the wheels. Obviously, I am a complete newbie to this stuff Justin, but I would like to understand your thinking at the time. Thanks.
Doesn't it break your heart when you grind away beautiful opal to make a specific shape? I really enjoy your videos and learn so much from each one. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Thanks so much for this live one! I’m always cheering with you to have wonderful surprises. AND, I’m fascinated to see that there are a few that don’t turn out to be winners. ;-( You mentioned that you learned from your father- but do you have an apprentice who may benefit from your skill?
I think you should have made the teardrop a moon instead. I have a jade moon that I never take off. I bought it on a beach in Belize 25 years ago and brought it home, took it to my jeweler and ask him to drill it and put a ring through it for a pendant. It's my favorite piece of jewelry and I paid a whopping $7! I get compliments on it all the time. In opal, it, would be exquisite!
@@blackopaldirect Oh thank goodness, I was beginning to think it was you being on the other side of the globe that was messing up my mind trying to sync with the audio.. Related to the corialiss effect or something...
It looks like you have arthritis in your hands. If so, do you find cutting opal painful now? It's amazing watching your quest for the best stone inside the rough ❤️🌈
If you mix red, blue and yellow (all the primary colors) together..you get MUD. The miniscule color particles all mix together like on a paint pallet, to produce that unappealing beige mud. If the particles were a LOT bigger. you might get glitter.
The best quality opal in the world comes from Australia but you can get opal from most continents in some form. Most is volcanic opal and not sedimentary like Australian opal. The next best opal to Australian is Brazilian.
The opal is great, but you are the star. Without you, the opal is just another rock. You make it a gem. Rock on. DD
Still finding videos I haven't seen. You have gotten so much more relaxed in the 3 years since this originally posted! This is a beautiful gem. Good job Justin!!
Aww thank you Cathi
🇬🇧 I don't know anything about opals except that they are beautiful and I enjoy watching you bring them to life.
These gems are so unique and beautiful. Love watching you work on those gems. Your truly one of a kind. Great job
Thank you so much!
Justin you are so impressive. You get through anything these beautiful gems throw at you. Keep up the amazing work you do.❤
Absolutely love the how positive you stay on rough pieces
Many thanks for sharing your years of experience with us! Cutting opal is another form of exploration.
I know absolutely nothing about opal, but damn I enjoy watching you cut it. Nice vid..
What a beautiful opal, enjoyed the rush of excitement in the video. Thank you so much.
i have spend a great time with you Justin> thanks a lot. you are great.i am a cutter myself, and suffer and enjoy with you each second of your cutting. thanks again
Love your vids. Will never have anything to do with opal, but find them oddly satisfying. Can understand the perfectionism. I find the carvings I sell feel like I'm not finished no matter what ppl say.
Was lovely to watch you cutting opals Justin. I don't think you've had so many with cracks in, but still it's nice to have small stones. Thank you for sharing and take care
That harlequin pattern was majestic. Thank you so much for sharing. Made my heart beat faster.
Your channel is absolutely fascinating, I love it! I bought a boulder opal from the Opal Museum in Melbourne last July and got it put into a ring, and since then I've been somewhat obsessed with opal lol thank you for such a great channel I can watch to feed my addiction!
Chasing the fire, love doing that. The opals you are working on are very difficult to work with, you do a great job, thanks for sharing
I didn’t get to watch live. Sorry I missed that, but I am watching now.
love it all the quirkyness is great but i am a addict to your perfectiousness and true professionalism
, thank you
Thanks Bill Are you living in the Ridge?
I absolutely love your videos! You're amazing!
Thanks you got me hooked on wanting to find opals but if I don't its still awesome to see what you do
on the last stone, wouldnt it be better to cut into smaller stones? it seems like you ground a lot of the color off to clean up the whole thing, and it must be difficult to get a good polish on such a large flat surface.. just curious.
Colin Macdiarmid I have polished it now and it looks beautiful
Watching from South Africa. Very envious lovely stuff
Gutted that I missed this when you first put it out, Justin. But ven watching it recorded, as opposed to live, I can feel my heart beat increasing every now and then. Having only recently discovered and fallen in lust with opal, I find myself wishing I'd come over to Australia decades ago and just worked in the opal mines. Kind of a working holiday for a few months until the imigration peop[le catch up with me and send me back to England. Now tho, I have knackered my spine and would be more of a hindrance than a help to any miner. That said, I do hope to one day get over to Lightning Ridge for a holiday and at least get to go tour whats available as wekl as spending a good portion of it fossicking the mullock heaps.
Thanks for another great video of both entertainm,ent and education at the same time! Andy.
Edit: Watching the video again, I cant help wondering why you never cut that harlequin opal with a disc rather than gring it away to get the cushion cut? Was it because the colour bar was so thin that the "offcut" wouldn't be worth anything or what? Because also in my mind was a previous video of yours where you advise cutting the stone with a disc cutter to avoid excessive wear on the wheels. Obviously, I am a complete newbie to this stuff Justin, but I would like to understand your thinking at the time. Thanks.
Tks so much justin .' Amazing video !
Justin just watched the script give away, its fun to watch y'alls joy.
I had major anxiety for the last stone! I was like nooo!! It's too thin! 😱
So beautiful! Hello from Oklahoma
Seeing you live is awesome spontaneous is like we’re there with cooo
L ty
Can Coober Pedy rough opal be treated with sugar and acid to darken them like Andalooka Matrix opals?
I don't know nothing about opals I just like to see beautiful colors
Doesn't it break your heart when you grind away beautiful opal to make a specific shape? I really enjoy your videos and learn so much from each one. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
welcome :-)
Thanks so much for this live one! I’m always cheering with you to have wonderful surprises. AND, I’m fascinated to see that there are a few that don’t turn out to be winners. ;-(
You mentioned that you learned from your father- but do you have an apprentice who may benefit from your skill?
I love watching the birth of a new opal. I located the opal given by my late husband. May I send you a photo of the opal?
Omg that is a gorgeous stone with the yellow
So beautiful! From Oklahoma
I think you should have made the teardrop a moon instead. I have a jade moon that I never take off. I bought it on a beach in Belize 25 years ago and brought it home, took it to my jeweler and ask him to drill it and put a ring through it for a pendant. It's my favorite piece of jewelry and I paid a whopping $7! I get compliments on it all the time. In opal, it, would be exquisite!
Thanks for showing what the misses look like.
Love watching you cut and polish the Opel. Can you tell me the name of the machine you are using
Gemmasta
Aww damn wish I was here when you were live
Opal is my birthstone. It's fascinating watching how they are "born."
You are so brave as you chase down that sand spot.
Noticed that you seem to have the finer diamond wheel mounted to the left? Is this just a personal preference or ??
Yes I have more room to fine shape around the finer wheel. But yes it’s just a preference
@@blackopaldirect Oh thank goodness, I was beginning to think it was you being on the other side of the globe that was messing up my mind trying to sync with the audio.. Related to the corialiss effect or something...
What grit are the wheels
That last video the most current, I'm not to put off by the inclusions, some how it adds a dimension, but as always your work is mesmerizing
Thanks again!
Do you happen to have some crushed opal? I'm trying to acquire some for my woodturning projects.
I don’t sorry
@@blackopaldirect oh well. I am still purchasing something from you.
It looks like you have arthritis in your hands. If so, do you find cutting opal painful now?
It's amazing watching your quest for the best stone inside the rough ❤️🌈
Captain JackSparrow,,,I got a jar of dirt..lol.😊
Please tell me what type or style or size of dremel's these are?
If you mix red, blue and yellow (all the primary colors) together..you get MUD. The miniscule color particles all mix together like on a paint pallet, to produce that unappealing beige mud. If the particles were a LOT bigger. you might get glitter.
Its all so beautiful even with the one with san is so pretty
I'm impressed.
Great work Justin, so many decisions while working, you must have the cleanest hands, presume you are left handed?
Yes I am a lefty :-)
Already subscribed deservedly that like like 10
I love all your videos im a big fan of you
Thank you I appreciate it.
Do most opals come from Australia? Where else are opals found?
The best quality opal in the world comes from Australia but you can get opal from most continents in some form. Most is volcanic opal and not sedimentary like Australian opal. The next best opal to Australian is Brazilian.
I can't believe I missed this!
that 3rd one white opal looks beutiful
Do you have an online store?
Ric Tab yes I do. 😊 blackopaldirect.com
Justin, are you the opal WHISPERER
Keep being a star.
How beautiful
Stunning
18:37 I love it.
The last one was scary!
Maybe underneath your house it will creep down through rock and make more opals
Where is the grasshopper mining field ?
🤷♂️
I really like the blue's
Now i know how arlequin is ,.lol
How exciting! 😁
Wow!
I've never seen the dark opal before only the white.
The dark is more rare :-)
Well, you could always collect the mud, dry it bake it, and sell it as cat litter for 3 dollars per 1 million carats, there is money in it ;)
Call it Black Cat Direct :)
I love opals
Very nice
What did you pay for that rock, twenty two hundred?
Cringing at 28:50. Thanks for sharing
Wow.
So opals are pretty much just shiny mud and sand. Hilarious.
Thumbs up
Opal=nice piece of mud 😂
Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life!
Spot on!
👍
If I send you a peice of opal that I found in a rock bin would you maybe be able to cut it for me
Love to say yes but I have to say no sorry I never cut anything unless the owner is with me to see what comes out
Cool
Its getting there's
When you are working with opal, do you find there are "sounds" it gives when cutting and polishing?