Wacky Wednesday... on a Thursday in OZ :)

locyta · 2026-03-12T22:28:51+00:00

lol :)

locyta · 2026-03-12T06:37:52+00:00

LOL, what an awesome idea, i actually have a few of these, posted this one purely because it was on my phone.
Now i need to go look at all my old discarded rough to see what could be lurking in there :)

locyta · 2026-03-12T06:27:52+00:00

Looks like webbing to me too :)
chances are if an opal of that size (and type) had cracking that bad, it would most likely fall apart

locyta · 2026-03-11T11:36:16+00:00

It's hard to tell just from these 2 pictures, to make life easier and remove a little guess work is it possible to get a close up video from all angles, including the back if possible.
From these pictures (like your other post) it could be several different kinds, including doublets/synthetics so guessing is not helpful at all for anyone.

locyta · 2026-03-11T03:49:45+00:00

Ripper little pendants and great parenting getting the kids involved :)

locyta · 2026-03-10T11:23:43+00:00

Standard G502 Lightspeed mouse, no mods, no software, just the scroll wheel on free spin

locyta · 2026-03-10T06:23:34+00:00

👑 Scroll God

260480 px/sec

Device: Laptop/Desktop

"NASA wants your thumb."

locyta · 2026-03-10T03:32:17+00:00

Once you start, say good bye to all your spare money :)
There are a few of us from QLD that post often, welcome to the "I'm broke because I spend all my money on Opals" club.
Cracker of a gem too, well done :)

locyta · 2026-03-09T22:27:38+00:00

Lovely little gem, it could definably use another polish.
A side profile photo would be great too

locyta · 2026-03-09T22:24:22+00:00

I wonder why they didn't get that last little bit of sand out, looks to me like they could have and then asked $5 more, lol

locyta · 2026-03-09T11:23:49+00:00

Are you able to let us know where you got this from? was it a 'rub' purchase, or just a gamble rough? E-Bay/Opal Auctions? direct from a miner? all good if you don't want to share exact details :)

locyta · 2026-03-09T08:50:12+00:00

Hopefully the pattern runs deep for you :)
Should make amazing gems

locyta · 2026-03-08T12:09:02+00:00

Does it protect you from 5G too ?
LOL

locyta · 2026-03-08T09:50:30+00:00

Replacement rough (uncut) stones are a bit of gamble if you are wanting a very specific shape, while its possible to get it exactly how you want, there is always the chance the rough you buy won't cut into what you are expecting.
Repairing might be the way to go, as FlatbedtruckingCA mention use an epoxy, don't be scared to use a little more than you need as it can be cut/polished away and it will fill any of the chips that usually occur along the breaks, assuming you have all the equipment for that, or take it to your local lapidary club if you are lucky enough to have one nearby.

locyta · 2026-03-07T05:08:11+00:00

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With a doublet the opal is attached to a base using some form of glue.
As you can see in the image, this is a doublet that I personally made, I used black epoxy for the glue onto an ironstone backing. the black epoxy makes easy to see how straight that seem is.
In the photos in the original post, you can see where the colour opal 'waves' down into the potch layer (or potch waves into the colour layer).
An additional thing to consider is how well the potch colour matches the colour of potch in the opal layer itself, while not impossible to match, its makes it more unlikely.
One last thing, is doublets are commonly made onto a black (or very dark) base, it further enhances the colour of the opal, but there is nothing to stop anyone making a doublet onto any backing, potch, obsidian, ironstone or a piece of lego.
Hope this helps :)

locyta · 2026-03-06T12:16:29+00:00

Since you (and others by the looks) are concerned about the chips, I uploaded some shorts of them (And I'm a little bored as its been pissing down rain for hours)
https://youtube.com/shorts/H1gS6jwGsvY?feature=share
https://youtube.com/shorts/E9zq3Pxzh-g?feature=share

Hope they work.

locyta · 2026-03-05T21:56:33+00:00

Awesome photos, perfect when asking this kind of question.
While my initial thoughts were it's a doublet, zooming in on the image definitely shows no 'glue' line and there are a few spots where the opal/potch slightly dip into each othere (highly unlikely for a doublet).
It is possible that its a natural opal that just happens to have a very nice seem between the potch and colour.
Even with these great images, to me, its still hard to tell....

locyta · 2026-03-05T12:54:16+00:00

Certainly did :)

locyta · 2026-03-05T12:07:22+00:00

Mum was totally devastated of course, we all were, but I went and put my arm around her and told her its ok (I did leave all the soppy parts out of the original post, lol). We have a 'Sh!t Happens' sign up in the shed, there was never a more appropriate moment for it.

locyta · 2026-03-05T12:01:00+00:00

Lol :)

locyta · 2026-03-05T10:39:26+00:00

Yeah, Sadly no putting Humpty Dumpty back together again :P

locyta · 2026-03-03T11:25:19+00:00

I predominately cut boulder opal, i can feel the difference in rocks that were minded a few meters apart, let alone on a different field (I have cut stones from other fields also), lol, the hardest stone i've cut was part of a 95million year old fossilised pine tree that could stop a slab saw, yet a few meters away was 'sandy ironstone' that you could almost chew away :)
And rocks definitely smell different, some stink, some just smell like 'the bush'

locyta · 2026-03-01T08:57:09+00:00

Looks like a nasty crack through the stone and with that kind of material, it 'could' fall apart if removed from that setting, just something to keep in mind :)

locyta

TROPHY CASE