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Post by 1dave on Jan 3, 2015 12:53:11 GMT -5
I dug here in 1961 and found some nice pieces. Freda's Log Opal found in Royal Peacock Opal Mine Mining Tips. FIRE OPAL THE MOST BIG RED OPAL IN ALL WORLD NEVER use a rock pick for a chisel like this! The steel will shatter into shrapnel and cause serious damage!
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spiritstone
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Member since August 2014
Posts: 2,061
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Post by spiritstone on Jan 3, 2015 15:38:09 GMT -5
Great vids dave. This wood I pick up is coming from Humbolt, Nevada. I hear getting your hands on the fire opal from mexico is pretty tough and expensive these days. Know of any good contacts? What do you think of this one, oddest matrix I have ever seen. Ended up buying it a few years back after seeing this vid.
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Mark K
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Member since April 2012
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Post by Mark K on Jan 3, 2015 23:49:10 GMT -5
I guess I will stop doing that then.
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Post by snowmom on Jan 4, 2015 6:28:28 GMT -5
WOW!
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Post by 1dave on Jan 4, 2015 11:34:18 GMT -5
Great vids dave. This wood I pick up is coming from Humbolt, Nevada. I hear getting your hands on the fire opal from mexico is pretty tough and expensive these days. Know of any good contacts? What do you think of this one, oddest matrix I have ever seen. Ended up buying it a few years back after seeing this vid. I love opal in all its varieties! That looks a lot like some I bought 50 years ago from Australia. the opal is in a tan matrix which has to be soaked in sugar water, then acid to turn it black. It cuts fantabulous stones!
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Post by 1dave on Jan 4, 2015 11:36:32 GMT -5
I guess I will stop doing that then. I did that at the Spencer Idaho Opal Mine in 1960. I got a steel splinter embedded in my left hand that put me out of commission for 4 days. When I finally got home the doc x-rayed, cut, put needles in to locate it, more x-rays, cut, more needles, more x-rays . . . Don't do it! It does point out the need for a "chisel handle clamp," doesn't it!
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Fossilman
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Member since January 2009
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 4, 2015 21:20:24 GMT -5
Beautiful opal Dave!
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spiritstone
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Member since August 2014
Posts: 2,061
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Post by spiritstone on Jan 4, 2015 22:41:31 GMT -5
Great vids dave. This wood I pick up is coming from Humbolt, Nevada. I hear getting your hands on the fire opal from mexico is pretty tough and expensive these days. Know of any good contacts? What do you think of this one, oddest matrix I have ever seen. Ended up buying it a few years back after seeing this vid. I love opal in all its varieties! That looks a lot like some I bought 50 years ago from Australia. the opal is in a tan matrix which has to be soaked in sugar water, then acid to turn it black. It cuts fantabulous stones! Something different about the matrix, the "fairy opal" they like to call it acid and sugar baked, isnt the same as this one particular opal. The fairy stuff does have some incredible sparkle. I have a couple put away, still havent got into shaping them. This one was never cooked. Long week, lost a family member after xmas we were taking care of to cancer, and had the service today. I'll post a pic of this odd matrix tomorrow after some rest.
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gemfeller
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Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,728
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Post by gemfeller on Jan 5, 2015 1:26:07 GMT -5
I love opal in all its varieties! That looks a lot like some I bought 50 years ago from Australia. the opal is in a tan matrix which has to be soaked in sugar water, then acid to turn it black. It cuts fantabulous stones! Something different about the matrix, the "fairy opal" they like to call it acid and sugar baked, isnt the same as this one particular opal. The fairy stuff does have some incredible sparkle. I have a couple put away, still havent got into shaping them. This one was never cooked. Long week, lost a family member after xmas we were taking care of to cancer, and had the service today. I'll post a pic of this odd matrix tomorrow after some rest. Spiritstone, do you know where your opal came from? I'm not quite clear on that. Edit: I totally missed your comment about your family loss. I'm so sorry -- my best wishes for you and your family.
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Post by 1dave on Jan 5, 2015 10:00:12 GMT -5
I love opal in all its varieties! That looks a lot like some I bought 50 years ago from Australia. the opal is in a tan matrix which has to be soaked in sugar water, then acid to turn it black. It cuts fantabulous stones! Something different about the matrix, the "fairy opal" they like to call it acid and sugar baked, isnt the same as this one particular opal. The fairy stuff does have some incredible sparkle. I have a couple put away, still havent got into shaping them. This one was never cooked. Long week, lost a family member after xmas we were taking care of to cancer, and had the service today. I'll post a pic of this odd matrix tomorrow after some rest. Sorry about your loss. Tough times, but the pain is over.
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spiritstone
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Member since August 2014
Posts: 2,061
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Post by spiritstone on Jan 5, 2015 18:13:07 GMT -5
Thanks Guys. Life moves on for the living, and I have enough baked deserts to last a year or so friends and family kept bringing. Wont have any teeth left if I eat all that stuff, plus I would need some bigger pants for the expanding waist line. Froze most of it for other occasions. The cab is from Australia. It could be sandstone? I just have not seen it in this formation mixed with opal. Maybe you might have a better take on it. This is a crop shot.
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Post by 1dave on Jan 6, 2015 10:22:09 GMT -5
Thanks Guys. Life moves on for the living, and I have enough baked deserts to last a year or so friends and family kept bringing. Wont have any teeth left if I eat all that stuff, plus I would need some bigger pants for the expanding waist line. Froze most of it for other occasions. The cab is from Australia. It could be sandstone? I just have not seen it in this formation mixed with opal. Maybe you might have a better take on it. This is a crop shot. If you are on Pinterest, You might take a look here:
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gemfeller
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Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,728
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Post by gemfeller on Jan 6, 2015 11:46:23 GMT -5
[quote author=" spiritstone" The cab is from Australia. It could be sandstone? I just have not seen it in this formation mixed with opal. Maybe you might have a better take on it. [/quote] I've never seen any of the Aussie sandstone matrix opal from Andamooka that looks like that. I've cut and treated quite a bit of it and the base and color-play are much different than yours. Of course like most people I haven't seen everything there is to see There are plenty of opal locations in OZ, especially the ones that produce so-called volcanic opal, that don't get much mention if any. The opal I've seen that most closely resembles the one in your images is a so-called Okanogan opal found near Vernon, B.C. Here's a (poor) image from my own collection. It appears to be a precious opal in-filling in a dark-colored breccia of some sort. I don't know what the base rock is. There's another opal deposit in Mexico that produces very striking precious opal embedded in black basalt vesicles. It's called Leopard Opal and there's an interesting PDF "Gems & Gemology" article about the site with illustrations. I was unsuccessful at copying the URL but it shows up first or second if you Google "Leopard Opal." That type of opal deposit (precious opal formed inside basalt gas bubbles) isn't particularly rare. The Boise, ID gem club has a claim on a similar deposit they call the Wangdoodle Mine on Squaw Creek in the Owyhees. I tried digging there years ago but ended up mainly with bloody knuckles. If you find out for sure what your stone is be sure to post an update.
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Post by gingerkid on Jan 6, 2015 14:54:16 GMT -5
Enjoying your thread on opals from VV, 1dave! That's a stunning piece in your first pic! Have a couple of pieces of the blue VV opal, but it doesn't have any poc in it. spiritstone, my condolences to you and your family. Have y'all heard any news about the Mexican opal being dyed and coated?
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spiritstone
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Member since August 2014
Posts: 2,061
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Post by spiritstone on Jan 6, 2015 21:20:58 GMT -5
Thanks Guys. Life moves on for the living, and I have enough baked deserts to last a year or so friends and family kept bringing. Wont have any teeth left if I eat all that stuff, plus I would need some bigger pants for the expanding waist line. Froze most of it for other occasions. The cab is from Australia. It could be sandstone? I just have not seen it in this formation mixed with opal. Maybe you might have a better take on it. This is a crop shot. If you are on Pinterest, You might take a look here: Thanks 1dave, but nothing in there came close to it.
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spiritstone
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Member since August 2014
Posts: 2,061
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Post by spiritstone on Jan 6, 2015 21:52:56 GMT -5
[quote author=" spiritstone" The cab is from Australia. It could be sandstone? I just have not seen it in this formation mixed with opal. Maybe you might have a better take on it. I've never seen any of the Aussie sandstone matrix opal from Andamooka that looks like that. I've cut and treated quite a bit of it and the base and color-play are much different than yours. Of course like most people I haven't seen everything there is to see There are plenty of opal locations in OZ, especially the ones that produce so-called volcanic opal, that don't get much mention if any. The opal I've seen that most closely resembles the one in your images is a so-called Okanogan opal found near Vernon, B.C. Here's a (poor) image from my own collection. It appears to be a precious opal in-filling in a dark-colored breccia of some sort. I don't know what the base rock is. There's another opal deposit in Mexico that produces very striking precious opal embedded in black basalt vesicles. It's called Leopard Opal and there's an interesting PDF "Gems & Gemology" article about the site with illustrations. I was unsuccessful at copying the URL but it shows up first or second if you Google "Leopard Opal." That type of opal deposit (precious opal formed inside basalt gas bubbles) isn't particularly rare. The Boise, ID gem club has a claim on a similar deposit they call the Wangdoodle Mine on Squaw Creek in the Owyhees. I tried digging there years ago but ended up mainly with bloody knuckles. If you find out for sure what your stone is be sure to post an update. [/quote] Thanks for taking a shot at it guys. It's a very strange matrix and the gem stone itself, is really light in weight when compared to Andamooka of the same size. It looks flaky like in the pic also. No iron stone inside, I dont think. I dont know what to tell you it is? The BC opal in the pic you posted, the matrix consists of basalt. Very familiar with it, as I used to mine it for a few years and was part claim holder until getting out of it a couple years ago. The opal was named Blackbay and had a write up done in Rock and Gem magazine at one time, due to black precious opal being found only in this claim, and like as in any other opal, very difficult to find it or mine it non fractured. Thing is, the fractured material holds fine I am finding over time. After cabbing some and leaving them attached to the basalt rather then trying to remove it from the base stone seems to work. See what happens over a longer time period. The larger nods can be removed and cut free of basalt, some craze some dont. It's uncanny on how much it resembles wello. The leopard opal, we were also pulling out which is in the same host "basalt" hard as heck to mine and is pretty flashy just like the Leopard material. I never knew of these other claims you mentioned until now that you posted. Familiar with Butte and VV stuff only.
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Post by gingerkid on Jan 20, 2015 15:23:29 GMT -5
Finally found a pic of the Mexican Leopard opal cab that I purchased a while back. terrible photo Mexican Leopard opal
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jamesp
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Member since October 2012
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Post by jamesp on Jan 21, 2015 18:22:44 GMT -5
Fascinating discussion. Opal really dances to it's own drummer, and the soaks and treatments are really unique. Really a technical subject.
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