I have just browsed over your site and found it very interesting. My mother, born and raised in Sydney, met my father in 1944, when she was working in a hotel. He was a American soldier on R & R in Sydney. They married and after the war she left for USA. I have lots of relatives left in Australia She brought with her a small amount of opals, still encased in the stone and I have held onto them all these years, hoping that I might be able to remove at least some of the stone to expose more of the opal. Then create a necklace or whatever. Its more about the sentimental value. Is there anyone in the states preferable Phoenix AZ where I live, that might know how to cut these.
I thought maybe there was a chemical that would remove the stone, but not damage the opals. But they are too delicate for something like that. I asked a couple of jewelers but they either don’t know how or don’t want to deal with the task. I would appreciate any suggestions.
In the mean time I will need to check out your site more closely.

Thanks for your time
Ericka