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In this video, I take on one of the riskiest cuts I’ve done in a long time. I decided to slice a beautiful nobby opal straight down the middle to try and get two gems out of one rough piece. With a thick color bar running through it and potch on both sides, the temptation was just too much. But as any opal cutter will tell you… getting greedy comes with a price.
This 13.25 carat nobby came from a stunning parcel of rough I recently acquired, and it’s part of a series where I’m cutting every nice piece in the parcel on camera.
As you may know, opal can be mysterious and unfortunately this cut did not go to plan.
I’ll walk you through my thought process, the moment I felt confident enough to slice (maybe a bit too confident), and the gut-sinking reveal when I realised I’d missed the color bar. There’s a silver lining though as I still managed to pull a magnificent 3.32 carat gem out of the piece, valued at around $28,000, plus a smaller gem. I also talk about the mistakes every opal cutter makes along the way, why those mistakes are the best teachers, and what this rare opal field has taught me after cutting it again for the first time in 20+ years.
If you love opal, gem cutting, or just enjoy watching high-stakes lapidary work, hit subscribe and stick around for more pieces from this parcel.
Black Opal Direct — bringing you straight from the wheel to your screen.
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Thanks for watching 🙂
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<—–jeweler I love black opals they have the best play of color and color the other other types don't really show off.
Can you glue it together?
Don’t get down on yourself you had an amazing high dome and a cracking little gem! Good day cutting! You could not have known that the potch domes up !!!! Get session Justin ❤❤❤❤❤
@13:26 ok, if you are going to give it away I'll take it off your hands! 😅
12:49 that's stunning but the loss this time must be on the 80% range which is a crazy gamble imo
6:58 that sure is a very costly micron right there…. I'm sorry but you're still one of the best mate! Cheer up you still got a bag to go!
🌈❤
That’s a beautiful opal!
🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊🤪🤪🤪🤪
How much was the price of the entire parcel?
She's a beaut!
Aah mistake or no mistake Justin you got 2 stunning gems out of it
OMG Justin your kids look so much like you it's crazy I actually think your daughter looks more like you than your son I love you so I love all the things that you teach us if I had the tools I would probably try it because I come from a long line of Jewelers from Keene New Hampshire
You didn’t fail, you simply made a misjudgment. Perfection rarely exists in anything. Beautiful stone. ❤
Schön und schöner!Danke fürs Mitschauen!❤❤❤
Why do rough opal sellers not grind this easy stuff away and spend a little time revealing potential beauties to increase their selling cost.
Am I missing something here? You are an artist Sir, I am not saying they make their own gems, I mean they simply dremmel or finely grind away obvious debris.
4:00 mark – Every time it touches the wheel it gets better and better
Unless it's the camera, it's the aqua and orange colours I'm finding striking. Beautiful!
The stone your holding looks like a tooth fossil?
I so enjoy your videos, very relaxing to watch. It would be awesome if there were captions available.
The opal from this field sure is beautiful. So many rich jewel toned colors. The brightness of both of these stones is quite amazing. Sorry about the mistake but boy you sure made 2 of the most beautiful cups of lemonade with 2 lemons.😂 They are truly gorgeous.😊 🫶🏖
I don't think I've ever seen pink in a black opal. That one has all the colors it seems
btw the 3d in that gem look absurd, that may not have been the same if cutted more in the middle, am i right?
The beauty of both is stunning! What a treasure these are!!!
2 beauties!
I wonder if this type of cut requires a different strategy for marking the line? You almost cant be precise enough with the sharpie line.
Love the videos as always! Keep crackin!
That was one of the prettiest stones I have ever er seen
What a stunning finished stone. Every mistake is a lesson learnt, thanks for sharing 😊
I've been watching this channel for years and it's the kind of old school Youtube content that I love: DIY experts sharing their passion, skill and knowledge. And I've always loved opal since I was a kid. Love this channel so much. And with the new mining content it's just so damn neat. And you've gotten me into cutting my own opal now, too.
ps No music is much better. Let the sound of the wheel and Justin's dialog be the whole video. We don't need cheesy music.
Love the big opal – truly a gem 🦄 with those rainbow colors 🌈 you may have gotten a bigger gem by carat if you had cut it differently but you could have had a lesser opal. I totally appreciate that you show us the risks, regrets, and rewards 💐 this is the reality of gemstone 💎 cutting
They're still beautiful 😍 such a hard gem to gauge with so much going on, not for the faint hearted it seems👍
and the logi goes to Justin
❤❤❤😊
Why not clean it in full before cutting.
That was a balsy decision.
You will learn from that mistake.
i would buy laser and use it to see where the cut would go 😉
A life without risk is not a life, but just an existence.
if you had a 3d scanner and a 3d printer, you could cut EXACTLY down the center by making a custom cad fixture. for the kind of money involved here, that's what i'd do
No mistake I saw you tried to get more and it just wasn't there
Beautiful gem, regarless of mistakes…….I lovve to watch you work and to hear you talk………..thanks!!!
Thats not 28 k gem, tooo small
No messing around 😂
Yeah I think it's rubbish now probably just going to have to throw it away you can go ahead and send it to me for recycling😊 love your gems i got a small black opal from u and i show it to everyone
"Act in haste; repent at leisure." And as the Brits say, "What you looses on the swings, you makes up on the roundabout." It's ok, really. It's better that we should be Human than we should be Perfect.
The smaller gem might make a lovely delicate ring paired to go with the spectacular 28k gem in a pendant!
Sorry it didn't pan out Justin, but wow! That larger stone is like loooking into deep. Outer space. It definitely activates the imagination neurins The little stone is not bad either snd honestly it's priced to move. It'll give somebody a chance to own a hifh quality stone that may not ne able to afford a larger stone. It was absuteky BORN for an engagement ring. Also congratulations on getting your mine site set up.