My BIGGEST challenge ever! A massive chunk of Andamooka opal
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- What do you get when you cross a huge piece of Andamooka opal and a lot of very hard quartz? My biggest challenge ever! (literally!)
G'day, welcome to Black Opal Direct!
This week I'm tackling something I've never tried before - a giant piece of opal larger than anything I've cut before. I use a few different opal cutting techniques and have to really get my creative thinking cap on to try and work this one out.
This chunk of opal is a historic piece found in Andamooka 60 years ago and has been in a safe ever since! It's finally seeing the light of day and it's my job to uncover the color within.
Read the full blog post here: blackopaldirec...
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Oh man, I’m so glad you didn’t cut him, he’s gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! Wouldn’t blame you for cutting it but I seriously can’t wait to see what you do with this as a specimen. Plus it gives you time to see what you want to do with it. I play with chalcedony, you play with priceless pieces man. Just can’t wait. 👌
Yeah alarm bells were ringing in my head to not cut it
@@blackopaldirect its a carving piece your masterpiece ! Take your time, you have yil you retire!
First thing i thought when i saw it... Keep that sucker together!
@@blackopaldirect did you do any more on it? I just left Lighting Ridge and have an interest 😁
Hi Justin. Al, I know you didn’t want to cut it. But think maybe you should. Slice it into two or three pieces. And find out how big the gems are. There no doubt you’ll see more this size. It’s not their going to stop digging. Go on... do it. I wana see a gem the size of a golf ball video 🙌🏼
Forget pendant, that would make a luxury ball & chain.
hahah
That’s just called marriage
ya
@@michaelc.4321 Marriage of a girl that has expensive taste....
the sad thing is i can imagine a james bond villain torturing people with something like that
There in your hands Justin, is a dream come true for everyone from miners to collectors!
That opal is eye popping beautiful!
My personal thought on it is that it would be best as a museum display. Consider it's size and historical significance. I think a display with an illuminated base that can be turned on to show how the opal glows, like you did with your torch, would be a nice addition to the display so people can see the colour clearly in normal light and also what miners and cutters see when they examine the opals
Yes I am thinking the same. the size is unique in itself
Z
@@blackopaldirect Did you end up donating it? And did you polish it? We would love to see what you did.
Oh I completely Respect that Justin will keep it as it is to Study. That makes sense to me and I guess BLACK OPAL DIRECT is as good a Museum as you could find anywhere. I expect He carries a great deal of history and could speak for the Industry .
Where's the second part of this? I need to know what you did with that boulder opal.
He did nothing with it
DaviesArts: why??
@@claudiosaltara7003 because it's absolutely fascinating and awesome as an uncut specimen, and the size of it alone makes it such a novelty that isn't worth cutting. Chunks of opal this large are insanely rare, so cutting it would just turn it into regular opal. Hope this helped :)
hawthornss cutting the rock is worth a lot the way u see the opal right now it only worth 1/10 of its value once it cut its WORTH ALOT
@@youngthrasher2890 lol no
You're very polite and soft spoken. Thanks for the content.
Thank you too!
What a monster of a stone.....and also a beauty of a stone. Can't wait for part 2 !!
Good to see you have depth when working with something so special.... so ancient & beautiful 👍
Was literally holding my head in fear that you were going to go through with it for most of this video. Good job keeping him alive
I agree with you. Leave it whole. It's beautiful.
XD this specimen belongs in a museum. Good on you for coming into possession of it Justin!
WOW! Such a great piece, size and color. I agree, more study is needed. Can't wait for the informative follow up. Be safe.
"but if you could see in the dark like i can" 2:59
So supper powers is why he's this good then.
Beautiful piece of history sitting in the palms of your hands. It is something to be respected. I’m so at awe. I enjoy your channel :)
Thank you this is why I am taking my time and just exposing the color. appreciate you watching
I'm so glad you decided to leave it as one piece -- this is Australian history, gemological history, history for the kids coming up who will see this and be inspired to appreciate and protect the natural wonder all around for the experiencing!
A sledge hammer? Lol! I would so love to have a huge opal just to sit in the sun on a shelf and be amazed at all the beautiful colors dancing around. What a pipe dream....
It's been 2 years, you gotta give us an update on this 😂
Haha you are right
@@blackopaldirect do it.
Yes please!
Yes plsss 😍
OMG YES PLS
Dremels are limited and I agree, the bits wear out really quickly. Have you tried a flex shaft grinder ? I’d go for a Foredom. It has a much higher Hp engine and really goes through hard wood and Soapstone . It should work for the quartz too. It’s a gorgeous Opal and I’d love to see it exposed entirely. Great idea you have not cutting it up. ❤️
The once in a several life times stone. Keeping it as is a rare opportunity to give back to the field that has given so much enjoyment through the years. Though I would be tempted to cut out more of the quartz. Polished the quartz and opal should play well off each other making it one heck of a beauty.
Thank you so much for being born! You are such an amazing person! I love your videos and I especially love your sick dance skills!!!
Thank You sir👍 for sharing the good and right choice👌
Looking forward to the Great Opal Adventure🤩
MrInsaint welcome my friend thanks for watching
Just saw this video. I agree, it's perfect as is. It's like an expensive, exciting gift that if you did open it, the excitement and wonder is gone.
Thank you for showing us how you candle the opal, really neat to see the light travel through the color bar
amazing piece of universe there . when you start polishing i thought you wanna cut it and i was so sorry :)) i can wait to see the result
thank you yeah I was considering it
I dont know why ... but after watching your videos for this long.. Its more hypnotic and mesmerizing to see those beautiful colors.. 😍
Do you still feel the same too after working this long on opals? Man... Thats one serious job you have to witness the beauty of Mother Nature 💜
Even to this day sometimes I watch ol videos of yours just to get blown away again and again by such absolutely marvellous colors .. 😊
Real gemstones indeed.. 👍
Haha thank you. Does it look like I still enjoy it 😍 I do love it
Okay Justin when you are back from your vacation, your next task is to FINISH THIS! On camera of course. ;-) You could do one HELL of a livestream episode and get a huge viewer debate on whether to cut it up or expose and preserve. I REALLY want to see what is in there, that's the most intreguing large opal mass i've ever seen yet!
Justin you’re so funny!! I love your sense of humor
Wow! I can’t wait to see the next vid on this one. That is definitely worthy of further, in-depth study. I’m wondering if there isn’t some way to scan it- like an MRI-type process.
So excited to see this huge bit getting cut . 🥰
It's awesome that you approach this with so much respect for the stone.
Thank you Chris
OMG, it,s biggest one, I love your work of art. Beautiful opals.
I really wish you could make this videos up to 40 minutes long, your voice is relaxing.
Wow, thank you
I agree. Makes the science and art he is talking about much more interesting.
Justin, Wow!!
You were made to cut that Opal !!
This guy is remarkable, Its so cool watching him cutting it
Thanks for not chopping it up it's such a beautiful piece.
WOW That is a big piece of Opal! Beautiful color.
It almost seems like you actually need a "stone" wheel like you use for steel on something that rough, just to get it down to where you want it. I know I had gotten a masonry stone for my Makita angle grinder at one point for working on concrete.. might be useful in just such a situation. Also try using a blue or green laser pointer to see where the opal is, the fact that the light beam is much tighter should theoretically allow it to penetrate much deeper allowing you to see just how far that opal goes.
You should name it "Opalzilla"
love it
My first thought, you beat me to it.
Very nice suggestion
The size of that is phenomenal! I believe you’ll do well with that.
man i would have sat there for months demeling that thing to perfection. who cares how long it takes with such a unique speciman?! it was in a safe for 60 years! you could dremel it for one, cmon! man i would have done that for free happily just to see the that beautiful thing develop :P
can we get an update on this? been waiting for 3 years now!!!
This is such a gorgeous piece. I keep coming back to see if there's an update, but I can't blame you for waiting. Part of me wants to see that color pulled out and on display - it's extraordinary and looks like you could have some record individual gems. Another part of me agrees it's so unusual it should be left intact. I can't wait to see the next step.
Yes I really want to chop it to pieces and get stunning gems out of it but I am going to hold off until I have taken it to Tucson then I will play choppy choppy
@@blackopaldirect the Tucson rock show in Arizona, USA? That's not far from me! I've only been once, but it was an amazing experience.
LeiLani Doornbosch yes that one
Love the bit of techno in the cutting montage
Just what kind of a dob stick would you use on a piece like that, lodge pole pine, that thing us huge. What a find!!!
Im going to use a street light pole.
Mop handle
oh my good GOD an opal mixed with quartz must have the mohs scale hardness of more then 4.0 maybe more then 5! thats phenomenal!!!
Quartz is 7... the grind wheels are already crying for mercy
That music is dope! What song was that when you were rough grinding? Thank you for these videos!
I've always loved your videos justin but this was was a "jem" lol. Such a beautiful specimen, it really shows the triumphs and difficultys in being a jem cutter.
Thanks Mat I appreciate the comment
Awesome Work there Phil...
Loved the techno in the time lapses.
Oh that? That's just my opal doorstop! I suspect Justin has opal coasters for his table tops & opal insets on all his wood tool handles. 😁😁😁
The wheel was begging for mercy as soon as it seen that big rock lol.
Wow ! You are a legend of Opal gem!
Thank you but far from it. Its the gem that does all the work
So happy you're keeping it one piece. New sub here can't wait to see what you do with it 👍🏼🇳🇿
Thank you for subscribing 🙏
It truly is a tremendous piece Justin.
But within that stone may be the masterpiece of your life. The way the flashlight shines deeply into it, there must be quite large beauties I think only You could turn to their best jeweled sides.
I have'nt seen another video about this piece. Would be nice to see how it turned out. 👍
Wow 2 kg of opal and a quartz matrix be a lot of work to get a lot of color play I'd like to see the next couple of videos on your work with that stone keep going we will keep watching .
This is so exciting for the diggers the cutter and the buyers everyone has a very exciting stage, i could get so hooked at this sort of thing,
Hello! I adore all these gorgeous opals and that’s the one gem I still don’t have in my collection, but thanks so much for these videos! You are so talented and you make just gorgeous beautiful finished gems😍😊🤗hugs from Cali... hope you are doing very well. I need to check out your web site ASAP! Ok ty again and be well!!! Blessings
So cool. Love watching you take on amazing challenges.
I like your mentalitily haha and your vids are very calming i hope i can efford a opal someday i love them since im young
Okay that's amazing okay!! And I'm really loving the music on this!!
Thank you
That Aqua Marine color is real? WOW!!!
It’s like a Disney color :)
That light grey colored rock is also 😍 hard to see in nature.
Amazing 😻
I have no idea why I didnt know anything about opals. I have no idea how I got to your channel. But here i am on my 4th video. Guess im subscribing. Cant wait to binge all the vids
thats awesome to hear and thank you :-)
I agree with your decision. What a beautiful find
Scrolling through your videos for something to watch this afternoon. What did you decide to do with this piece?
Very impressive Opal! I look most of your videos, - but I cann´t find the second part of this pice.... How looks the final polish of this opal? All my best greetings from Austria!
That is amazing! You can buy some smaller wheels to grinde more of the quartz.
Awesome work as usual. And nice music🙂
Wow! I watch this again and agin...I just can’t believe this stone jewel! Way to go sir! U are absolutely amazing. Prayers to u and ur family...is it cold there right now? We are about to enter autumn...and it’s been a very hot summer! I live here at the beach of S.C...with 95 degree days with RH of 111!
Omg! I'm excited and nervous for you all at the same time!
I can't wait to see you finish it up... I think you need a much faster and stronger dremel, would smooth up the work on large stones. I have a feeling this stone would be really something. Pleasee cut it soon... take your time on cutting it and do it carefully but start making a video for it soon. Record it over by making video parts and put the clips together in one vid. Wish you good luck✌
So impressive,how much is that specimen worth ???
Holy Crap!!! hahaha the sound on the wheel !
That's amazing wow such a big piece
If it was a large diamond would it be
Done the same way or?
Beautiful. Would love to see an update on it. Would be great to see how the vein(and I will call it that) looks exposed.
Definitely try to keep it as one piece tho
Hey JUSTIN , If this was a piece of opal bearing boulder you should take some slices off the top and keep going down until you touch those verticles that can be seen halfway downthe sides , this should make it a bit more clear where the opal is running , it will make that large lump more easy to handle at least .
Wow this sounds exciting! I’m watch till the End
WOW !!! I WANT ONE !!!
Why would someone give you a thumbs down. You are really good at what you do.
Only my competition because they are just jelous. Haha. it just tells me I'm doing it right. So all is good
Wondering if you could do something like a CT scan on something that size, to map where the opal is.
Does opal dissolve in vinegar? If not, soak a nobby in vinegar to wash the sand away and then see the best possible stone. Not that easy?
Hi Justin, that's a very beautiful stone, I kinda have run into a few instances where I have had to put beautiful stones away for a bit, and work on it later, the stones are no way as beautiful as what you work on. But I just leave them in water, and play with the stone at a later date. I wish I could find a stone as beautiful as that in the U.S.A.
I love you videos, because I always learn something from them, so keep up the great work, and I hope you have a great day mate. Cheers!
#1 Catfishunter Miller thank you for the kind words
@@blackopaldirect you can call me Catfish for short, and you are so welcome. I really like your channel a awful lot, thank you for all you do.
Did you get this from Paul Christensen?
No I didn't sorry
If this opal were easy, some body can do it, but muy hrandfather said, Only a few people can, sit down study you are the people who knows what to do it. Make it. YOU ARE FANTASTIC
I'm pretty sure that there's better ways for you to see where the opal is, it has a different density, an x-ray machine would help you, or a much stronger flashlight. It's pretty simple, getting super strong industrial LEDs like from a football stadium or car, and pumping some light at very high volts/amps, probably something that flickers on/off.
Thankyou for sharing your techniques . Hope one day to work on my collection . Do you pan waste for gold or other eliments .. todays 3 d printers uses powdered quarts . Could the powder you create grinding be used for simular products
WOW.. cant wait to see what you do with this.
i always come back to this video every once in while, that massive peice looks like it came from an alien world
Omg! I’m excited and nervous for you all at the same time!
i just LOVE the teal color
It must be nerve-racking cutting something like that, one false move and it could drop the price be hundreds of dollars! Good job, well done
Just watched this one for the first time, how did the 2lb. Stone turn out
history before money...you good sir are a champ!!!! I was also wondering about those pin point torches you use and does the hues of orange to yellow coming through the rock indicate the density of the opal or how much there is in the host rock?
You will save on your dremmle bits if you have water flowing on it while using it. If they are carbide bits letting the bits get to hot changes the hardness leading to a dull bit quicker.
What a stunning example of nature's beauty and magnificence! 💖🌷💍💎
Is a piece of Opal Quartz like that a rare find? What would it command in monetary value to purchase in the rough? Thanks Justin!
it was mined 60 years ago and there is none left. it was sold back then for 5000 pounds
Indonesia watching justin from black opal direct.
Love your video
Wow, Justin! What a huge piece of stone. Are all these from Australia 🇦🇺? Unbelievably gorgeous! I’ll make a ring out of it...ok?
You scared me with the jack hammer! If it has natural cracks, can't you tap on it like opening a geode and cut down your cutting time using it's natural weaknesses?
Wow!!! Such beautiful opal in there. I see why you're torn about cutting it.
Thanks Cathi I love your coments :-)