OpalFire Info Blog open for discussion

Hello there,

Many thanks to the wizards at Ganoksin for developing this forum for Orchid members.

I am an opal cutter and wholesale dealer of opals and other fine gemstones. My specialty is gem quality opals from Australia and Brazil. I’ll be posting occasional pictures and comments on the opal which passes through my hands, primarily as a photo guide to opal terminology. I invite questions and discussion here of opal and opal myth, lore, rumors. Pictures or a link to opal jewelry you’ve created and a note about setting techniques, prongs, bezels, etc. are welcome too.

I started cutting opal in the mid 1970’s and had a retail jewelry store in Austin TX. then. I remain fascinated by opal in its endless variety. I have a website, www.opalfire.info, and I invite you to check it out. It’s in beginning stages, and I have much more info and opal pics to post there as time permits.

I have a ME page on eBay, my seller ID there is arthursonn (long story). Search eBay for arthursonn and you will find a set of three guides I wrote for eBay members, concerning evaluation and grading of opal rough parcels. I also have links to hundreds of close-up pics of opal internal structure, pattern and color, taken with a microscope camera, magnifying at 60x and 200x, all on my ME page on eBay. Here is an example, a close-up of black opal meeting white opal in the same stone, only the body tone has changed. The play of fire structure continues from black body into white body, unchanged.