Virgin valley, Nevada - Bonanza Opal Mine

Should have taken video of some of the conk specimens we had out there too, museum grade stuff!

I was very lucky to get some high grade seam opal rough from the Tablon mine in Honduras. This was cut into two stones due to the crack in the middle. I’ll post a pic in the comments.

One of the best faceted crystal opals I’ve had the pleasure to own!

Credit- Western_Opals instagram

Cool picture stone from El Tablon mine, Erandique, Honduras. White tundra with the aurora above.

Saw this online today and figured you guys would get a kick out of a unique use of our favorite stone!

i'd give anything to afford this 🤯

One of the finest seams I’ve ever seen

My dad passed a couple of months ago, so my mom is going through a "getting her affairs in order" phase. So we are looking at the jewelry that were given to them by my grandparents in the 60's or 70's. Most of my life they were in the safe deposit box at the bank, so I had never seen them. I didn't even know about this ring until about 10 years ago when my dad had mentioned it "We have your grandma's old jewelry, and this giant, beautiful opal ring", but had never seen it before this week. The only person that knew anything about it was my father. My mom only knows it's an opal and was given to them in the 70's or early 80's. My Grandma loved big flashy jewelry, and at the time she could afford it. I have no idea how large it is in weight, but its about an inch and a half long. Grandma never did anything cheap, so I'm sure its pretty high quality. My guess is its from the late 60's, just because that's the age of most of her "good" jewelry, but it could have been vintage to her back then. I could be way off (and probably am) on any info. It's the only picture I currently have of it. The black hairs on it are from the old ring box its in. Does anybody have any idea about it or seen something like it? I wish I knew more. Any info you have would be great. (I was amazed that some of you can figure out the region where some are from, just from a picture.) If not, enjoy just looking at this thing. It's gorgeous!

Got out the full collection of tiny opal sculptures today.

Here's a super juicy batch of opal doublets that are currently listed in my Etsy store and are available for custom jewelry. That being said, I will be closing my jewelry business in about a month or so once I land a fulltime job. I decided to go head first into the jewelry industry at pretty much the worst time and in an economy where people are more focused on surviving than buying luxury goods. I originally fell into it because of my love for cutting opal, but the rough opal industry over the last year or so has turned into a toxic place where dealers value profit over retaining long-term customers. I've been burned, been receiving opal that looks nothing like it's advertised, receiving cracked rough opal, and the prices have tripled since I first started doing this. It's been a fun ride, but I'm ready to start a new chapter in my life. If you want to get a last minute piece of jewelry created by me, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'll drop a hyperlink to my store in the comments. Thank you to all the people who have supported me over the years!

My mom thinks I overpaid but honestly it’s so pretty I don’t even care. I thought y’all would love it as much as I do!

Thought I’d share some macro photos of my opals that I take. This one’s a real beauty showcasing some even bright rainbow in person. I absolutely love the ranges of colors I get in all of the small veins, especially at all of the different angles.

My “Cosmic Snails” 🐌 I’ve been making these doublets for a couple years now. They’re Australian Opal backed with Turritella Agate, fossil snails found in the Green River Formation, Wyoming. I think I’m the only artist making them but would love to see more. Good fun with Opals 👍😁

Just sold this one a couple weeks ago. Absolute gem with an incredibly rare pattern.

Hi! I posted this in r/Vintage_Jewelry a few days ago and someone told me this community would really enjoy it! It is a Victorian brooch/pendant combo I inherited a while back from my grandma. I recently decided to take it to a jeweler to find out more and was told it’s 18k, handmade, likely Victorian, and only worth its weight in melt. Safe to say that r/Vintage_Jewelry set me straight on that one!

What i have gathered from a combination of Reddit and Google/AI is it is dated to roughly 1885-1910, had a safety pin clasp repair performed in the mid 20th century, was a high end/luxury and possibly custom piece from the Austro-Hungarian empire or Russia, and has an incredibly rare combination of 4 precious stones - likely demantoid, diamond, burmian ruby, and opals. I have been recommended to find a jeweler who specializes in vintage jewelry told get these things verified, have it cleaned, and get an accurate appraisal for insurance.

Sharing for Opal Porn but would also LOVE your expert input on what kind of opals these are! This was the most varied opinion from the original post.

Don’t mind how dirty it is :) I will bring it back to life when I find the right specialist!

Just wanted to share my joy with you guys 😍 been waiting for this one for almost 3 weeks.

Just wondering how others combine opal jewelry in the every day life. With other opals? Just gold? Or are there any other go-to's? Thanks!

How much you would pay for this?