History
I was about ten years of age when I first set eyes on an opal. It was in a ring on my grandmother’s finger. It was love at first sight.
The next time I encountered opals was when I was about 30 years of age. I was staying with a friend who was an opal cutter. This time I looked at them through different eyes.
I remarked to my friend that a stone with such variety of unbelievable colors would be easy to sell.
My friend smiled and offered to let me take some of his opals on consignment and have a go at selling them. I think he asked $600 for a parcel of opal triplets (laminates), which was a lot of money in 1972. I decided to have a go at selling them, so I agreed on his price, took the opals, separated them carefully and priced them individually. I didn’t know a thing about selling opal…but I just felt that such beautiful stones would have to be easy to sell. Maybe it was my initial enthusiasm…but I sold the lot in just a few days..by just calling in to business as I traveled into the countryside. Not long after this I decided to learn how to cut them myself…and that was the beginning of my opal business.
February 11, 2009 at 2:19 pm
My fascination with opals began, as the author’s did, at the tender age of six, when my father bought my mother a round garnet ring, surrounded by small, brilliant opals. When she wasn’t around to see (and to scold), I would rummage in her jewelry box to take it out, stare at the tiny stones that had so many brilliant patterns of color, and dream about the time I would be big enough (and rich enough!) to own such an amazing stone.
My dream has come true many times over, but the fascination with the stories each stone tells has never died. To find a designer who understands the nature and the uniqueness of each stone is a rare thing, indeed.