Gems
Australia is a land full of treasures. From its mineral wealth to its gemstones. And if the truth is known, the surface has hardly been scratched yet, because if you ever have the exciting opportunity to go where i have gone in the last 50 years, you will find a wide open country full of variety and adventure.
Of course you have to be a bit ‘game’ as Aussies would put it, to go to areas where you could easily loose your life if you don’t know how to repair a car, or carry enough food and water with you to survive an emergency, although, having said that, Australians are really spoilt by the marvelous infrastructure that raises immediate alerts if someone is lost or in danger. The truth is too, that most of the gem fields are within easy reach of the cities and linked by good quality highways and plenty of fuel and food stops. but this is not supposed to be a travel story. i am supposed to be talking about gemstones, so i had better leave this discussion for the Travel section of this blog, and get back to the point.
Gemstones. Yes, this country has diamonds [particularly the very rare pink diamond], sapphires, and opals, just to mention the category that is considered precious. But then there are the semi precious stones, garnet, amethyst, chrysoprase, agate, chalcedony, rhodonite, to name a few that come to mind. And of course, Gold, which we know is not a gemstone, but is so closely related to their ornamentation that it must be mentioned in the same breath.
In later articles we will tell you stories about many of these stones. where they come from and what can be done with them. Particularly opal, which in itself has three major varieties spread across three great states of Australia. Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. Western Australia too has a little known variety of them. Each of these States have capitals close to the ocean, but if you venture into what is known as the ‘outback’ you will discover a different world, that the tourist often never sees.
Much of the Australian bush is this color
February 24, 2009 at 2:35 am
It’s unfortunate that most of the world has been exposed to Australia mostly through only movies, and, of late, Survivor. Your country is so beautiful and much of it is still so wild. I would more than love to be able to get there one day and see as much of it as possible. Since becoming interested in Opals I have researched many, many, websites dealing with various parts of Australia. It is sooooo interesting, and soooo beautiful.
Leon Evans
March 15, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Leon: Not sure if i replied to this. Anyway, thanks for your encouraging comments about Australia. Did you get to see the movie? I haven’t seen it yet. Apparently it didn’t do as well as they thought it would in the ratings but apparently it has some amazing scenes of the north west. Actually, the Kimberly region is in my home state of Western Australia and would you believe that since forsaking the west to live in the Gold Coast region of southern Queensland/northern NSW, i have never been back to see it. but i will one day. Hope all is well with you Leon, and if you need some suggestions about where to go, i will be developing the tourist aspect of this blog a bit more in future [when i get time..smile] so keep checking and leave some more comments. Best wishes to you and yours. Peter Brusaschi
March 15, 2009 at 10:03 am
whats up down under hows the family. myself im doing great. back on my harley rideing every chance i get. ive been showing your web site to all my opal loveing friends. thay asked me to thank you for your free opal cutting tips your opals are so beautiful. i look at your stuff everyday. the stuff i showed you from nevada isent stable so i cant learn to cut with it. but when i get ahead i will order some of your rocks. im so taken by your opals. would love to visit their someday.till next time you take care. and thanks once again peter randolph w harmon
March 15, 2009 at 10:11 pm
Randolph: Thanks for your your contribution to the blog. wow! you sure are a supporter of our site! Its great that you are getting some much pleasure out of the few pieces i sent you. Yes, its a shame that the Nevada opal is not secure enough to use for jewelry because it is really amazing looking stuff. I saw some a few years ago at the Tucson gem show. That was a real experience! The Americans i met there were so kind and hospitable. One guy who i had never met before, offered to take us out to old Tucson town and chauffeur us around for the day. amazing! That visit was really remarkable. i just loved the way they have created that old town, taking you back into history and sparkling things up with the Mexican mariachi bands. i still look at this pics. Best wishes Randolph, and be sure to make some more comments about opals on this site. Perhaps you could tell us how you found your Nevada opals. Peter Brusaschi
March 28, 2009 at 3:31 pm
As always Peter, you have the best work. I love your website and all the information here. I continually receive complements on the pendant that you made for me and I truly love it, like you said once before and opal has to speak to you, and I certainly agree. The beauty of it is that they are so varied they speak to everyone.
Keep up the fabulous work. You are a gem yourself.
Terry
P.S. Great photo on the Gemstones page, it makes me want to come explore!
June 19, 2009 at 6:08 am
To Terry, Randolph, and Leon. I have been so slack, not answering till now. just got back from Lightning Ridge a week or so ago. unfortunately i hit a Kangaroo and cant use the passenger door now. Sad when this happens. they are such placid creatures but have no sense at night time. they just jump out from behind a bush and you can avoid them at times. Working with an old mate of mine doing some mining at present. He rubbed down a small parcel for me while i was there. around $1000. but would you believe i lost the lot. left it in my leather jacket and cant remember where it is. so someone had a ‘find’ without even having to dig, and got a $500 coat to boot! haa. well that’s life! best wishes to you all, and if you like you can join up with the international business community at http://www.ecademy.com its a great place to meet people and do some business. you can find me there under my name peter brusaschi.
June 28, 2009 at 9:09 am
where are all the opal pics, i know this is a blog site but opal is a pictorial stone we would like to see some special pics