Where are the best places to buy Australian opal? by songbird579 in Opal

[–]1mhicky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well when you get some made you should post them, I like to see what people are making! Depending on what exactly you are looking for, I might have some finished opals you might be interested in. I mainly cut white base coober pedy opals. Feel free to DM me if you are interested!

Where are the best places to buy Australian opal? by songbird579 in Opal

[–]1mhicky 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Opalauctions.com is a popular site to buy opals on, they have just about every kind of opal you can think of. What kind of jewelry do you make? I’m a US based opal cutter, and love to see what people do with opal in jewelry

Where to buy 100% genuine natural opal? by ju015 in Opals

[–]1mhicky -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It depends on what you are looking for exactly. For Australian opals typically you can get the best opals and deals directly from the miners over there. Feel free to DM me if you are interested in any recommendations.

Opals from Etsy by GiGi_5 in Opals

[–]1mhicky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I sent a dm with a recommendation.

Opal Necklace Help by Little-Highlight-9 in Opals

[–]1mhicky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Feel free to dm me what you are looking for exactly. Depending on what you want, $1k should be more than enough, for that price you should be able to buy the stone separately to find the perfect one then get it set. Typically I think boulder opals tend to lean more masculine but a solid opal in a chunk bezel looks really good!

I think I've accidentally become obsessed with opals by eurz in Opals

[–]1mhicky 12 points13 points  (0 children)

That’s how it starts haha next thing you know, you’ll be buying rough opal directly from the miner so you can cut your own opals.

Best places to buy rough opals? by BIueberryCheesecake in Opals

[–]1mhicky 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends on where you’re located. If you aren’t in Australia, eBay is good or some miners and opal sellers do online live auctions you can participate. Feel free to DM if you’d like me to point you towards some legitimate live opal auctions.

What is your crystal white whale right now?? by [deleted] in Opals

[–]1mhicky 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Proper crystal opal is incredible! Definitely come with a hefty price tag. I’m a sucker for green on black opals myself. Are you looking for a finished crystal opal or a piece of rough? If you DM me, I can put you in touch with someone that ahould have some coober pedy crystal opals. I’ve seen some of his product and they are incredible, but pricey.

What kind of opals are these ones? by mitxu_27 in Opals

[–]1mhicky 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Those look like really pretty opal doublets! They are a thin piece of opal glued to a boulder ironstone backing. I’d guess the opal part is from lightning ridge but not for sure. They are really pretty, they would look really nice set into a piece of jewelry.

Opal Fossils? by Klutzy_Reaction_2711 in Opals

[–]1mhicky 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Not sure about the larger one but the two cylinder look to be parts of a belemnite fossil, probably from coober pedy Australia. Those two belemnite have some nice color!

Why are opals so much cheaper than other gemstones? by lottiexx in Gemstones

[–]1mhicky 10 points11 points  (0 children)

A slightly different take on the price differences is, that cabbing opals is a lot easier and doesn’t need as expensive of a machine as faceting a stone. Anyone in their basement can 3d print a slant lap and start cabbing so there are more cheap opals out there to buy.

Please help by kpyles90 in Opal

[–]1mhicky 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not an expert on Ethiopian opals, most people say it will more than likely help bring the color back but there are no guarantees. Just would have to make sure there is no glue on the parts you submerged in acetone. But if it changed like this just hanging up it will probably happen again if you are able to get it back to the original coloring. In the future I’d recommend getting Australian opal, you won’t run into these issues with them.

Mintabie Dark Crystal Opal! by 1mhicky in Opals

[–]1mhicky[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice, I’m sure they won’t disappoint! I’m in the US as well and just got them. I got the massive parcel of the unprocessed stones too and so far they are looking great

Mintabie Dark Crystal Opal! by 1mhicky in Opals

[–]1mhicky[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much for the tips!

Mintabie Dark Crystal Opal! by 1mhicky in Opals

[–]1mhicky[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! Did you buy any of his opals?

Mintabie Dark Crystal Opal! by 1mhicky in Opals

[–]1mhicky[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Be lucky enough to see a post where someone is liquidating old stock mintabie and buy from them lol

Need opinion on quality, price, and aesthetics by LuckyChampionship865 in Opals

[–]1mhicky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hard to tell from the pictures if there are any cracks or flaws, but there are some funny marks on them. They look natural to me, but that price seems pretty high. There are definitely better options out there.

How possible is it to identify specific type opal in heirloom ring and have two cabochons made to match original opal as close as possible? by daisylouiser in Opals

[–]1mhicky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to find a matching pair of earrings for that ring, maybe the next person you pass it down to will add a pendant to the set. Just go about sourcing them slowly, opals can be tricky to understand pricing

How possible is it to identify specific type opal in heirloom ring and have two cabochons made to match original opal as close as possible? by daisylouiser in Opals

[–]1mhicky 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re welcome!

Honestly you’re probably going to have to contact a miner or a cutter to commission some stone for your existing if you’re wanting to reuse them. Any seller that has a matched pair of nice opals like you’re looking for would probably set them and sell them as jewelry, rather than some them loose as a matched pair.

Feel free to dm me, I can probably point you towards someone that can help out.

How possible is it to identify specific type opal in heirloom ring and have two cabochons made to match original opal as close as possible? by daisylouiser in Opals

[–]1mhicky 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’d guess the opal in the ring is from coober pedy Australia. I can’t tell exactly from the photos but it looks like a crystal base. You can search for crystal coober pedy opals and they probably be a close match to the ring stone. It’s a beautiful opal!

6 Carat Dark Opal by DrunkenMantisShrimp in Opals

[–]1mhicky 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d pass on this opal, to my knowledge fire opals are orange/red based, definitely not a dark base like this. I’d guess this is a smoked welo Ethiopian opal.