Below is a conversation we had via email with a client about the origins, nature, manufacturing and classing specifics that are relevant to most of our pieces. Their excellent, comprehensive questions deserved thorough answers. Please see below for some FAQ & A about some of our products and processes....

Q:    So, I do have a few more questions sorry. I was doing some more research because I am trying to understand the price differences between the pieces and to make sure I understand what I am getting. To be honest, I was a little disappointed to read that a "doublet" is actually just a thin slice of opal adhered to a black backing to give the appearance of a solid vibrant black opal. So just to clarify, are the opals you use, white or black? And are the pieces that are referred to as "inlaid doublet" more valuable / higher quality than the ones that are just called "doublets"? I’m I thinking they are because then one can't really tell they are doublets, but I want to confirm :). And lastly, what drives the difference in the price per carat of opal that you list in the ad? I've seen them range from $350-$500-$900 (per carat up at the top you usually put this)?

A:  We use Coober Pedy opal that we mostly mine ourselves, the opal for the most part starts out as either ‘light based, white based or crystal opal and occasionally dark or ‘semi black’ opal rough.

Often we use crystal ‘shell skins’ as this is one of the most common forms of opal that I have found for years mining in Coober Pedy because they are something I can hunt for that has been missed (less obvious to previous miners) and they often have the most stunning colour of all, an example is E17, 

this was made from a dark crystal opalised shell skin (ancient opal replaced Cretaceous sea shell fossil) we mined on the Old 15 Mile, it is a bit too thin to make a solid opal from so we clean it right up to make a doublet. The result is as you say, giving the appearance of a stunning natural black opal, the thing is with doublets they are typically accepted in the opal industry as being valued at about 10% of what a natural solid black opal would be valued at, so say E17 was a natural black at 5 carats or would be around $1000 - $2000 per carat or more (sorry I’m not an expert in black opal valuation) but safe to say it would be 5k upwards.

Also, when we value ‘per carat’ we are only referring to the estimated weight of the light, or crystal etc opal layer, not the whole piece with the backing, Whereas a black or boulder opal ‘carat price’ applies to the whole stone. So as you say, it is a pity they’re not solid blacks or boulders, but it affords us and our clients the opportunity to deal with identically stunning opal at a fraction of the price, suffice to say we love doublets! But of course we want to be very clear about exactly what we are selling.

An ‘inlaid doublet’ is similar to a doublet in that it has a boulder backing but is not a solid Queensland boulder opal, but it is superior in that it is inlaid, and fully encased in gold making it relatively impervious to moisture and grease etc.

A pre cut doublet is set differently, with a rubbed over bezel or claws.

Below is a classically set solid opal with a rubbed over bezel.

Q:  My husband’s vote is to take you up on your offer of leaving E17 alone and not worrying about it not being encased in gold. Would you say you sell many that way… not inlaid in gold? And people are happy with them? Or more that are inlaid in gold and thus avoiding the seal issue and the sort of odd look of a stone on the back of the pendant?

A:   With the doublets, our quality processes are very strict and they are very durable without the gold bezel, it’s really just a matter of personal taste, but we have had hundreds of happy customers with just drill set doublets, the only issue arises when someone assumed it was gold wrapped and then found it wasn’t. As you said, educating the consumer is valuable! 

 Thanks for visiting our blog!

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The Grace Opal brothers (worldclassopal.net & Kimberleyopal.com) AKA, Lochy and Shannon, set out one beautiful Coober Pedy evening to try their luck at blacklighting. Australian opal and Coober Pedy opal in particular is famous for it's flourescence under ultra violet light.

Above is a picture of Shannon with an 18 watt 240 v blacklight that we used for decades, thank God for the recent advent of powerful UV torches that weigh only grams and shine much, much farther than these shoulder destroying, time consuming behemoths.

Above is a long exposure showing Jupiter setting in the west and some of the old, extremely rich (in their day) opal workings on the Old 10 Mile and Larkins Folly (foreground) opal fields of Coober Pedy Australia. 

Black lighting on the surface around old diggings in Coober Pedy has been a game of diminishing returns over the last 30 odd years, and in the last dozen or so has usually been downright depressing. Rarely anything but a lot of hard work, very dangerous due to the ever present death traps that are mining shafts literally everywhere, not to mention the gaze of a thousand noodlers (fossickers) having stripped the dumps of all but tiny traces. 

Hope, however, springs eternal, and one particular night on the fields a few years back, we had that rare burst of energy and enthusiasm to brave the opal fields at night to blacklight, particularly as we wanted to try out the new high powered UV torches that had revolutionised so much of our mining and opal exploration.

Another long exposure looking south, note the southern cross and pointers, always taking the stage in the southern sky over Coober Pedy's crystal nights. 

 The above video was taken moments after uncovering a fully opalised belemnite in its host rock. the excitement is palpable as I inspect the ancient opal fossil to see the extent of its filling.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this belemnite pipe (carefully removed from its host rock, (natural breaks).

Mind blowing, super gem extremely stable high quality light crystal opal in large cuttable pieces, this will make some truly world class opal jewelry.. 

 The full extent of the opalised ancient squid (belemnite) pieces.

A stunning set made with the opal we sent to the UK via Fedex.

This piece didnt get to the website, Mum snapped it up at first glance! 

Another shot of those lovely earrings. 

Below is a video of the 'kingstone'. This is extremely rare and superb quality opal, cant wait to find a truck full! :-)

An old World Class Opal article from back in the day detailing an adventure to Mintabie, note the blasting, subsequent seam and resultant fine jewelry set ready for sale. 

We have been at this a while! 

Drilling and blasting underneath the opal level and subsequent jackpicking down of the opal level. Circa 1999.

The 'kingstone' I cut this stone into a nice larger oval and two smaller ones, then had them set into solid 18k gold as a pendant and earring set. 

The photos are pretty bad as I only had an analogue SLR camera but was happy to have documented the process!

Sadly both Australian federal and state Liberal governments have shut the township of Mintabie meaning this opal field, and the opportunities it afforded to adventurous, entrepreneurial pioneers and indeed the local indigenous people, is now virtually abandoned. 

My earliest memories apart from visceral infant vaugeties are of the old lady next door looking down at me and saying hello. I either remember from the event itself or from my family recounting it somewhere over the decades, answering, “got any biscuits?” Apparently she did have biscuits, along with milky ways, ice cream, various lollies, meat pies and steak.. Being the youngest of  seven kids who didn't get a lot of sugary treats, I began to escape the frequent adolescent melees to become her ‘pet’ by default.

Now being the 'pet' of the old lady next door had its advantages, like lollies, and somewhere to escape to when your big brother is after you to 'smash your face in' and somewhere for a young man to grow soft and fat.. Well the latter is an obvious disadvantage, and every kids needs a heroes adventure, I never imagined how mine would manifest.

Saddleworth Primary school was a typical nineteen eighties Australian country school, although whenever I said something stupid, Grandpa would joke “you can tell you went to school at Saddleworth”. It wasn't funny.

On reflection it seems to me that small town and school life was essentially utopia for the average kid, and after a 1985 family trip up to Alice Springs with a stop over at Coober Pedy, our class watched the film based on the Colin Thiele book ‘Fire In the Stone’ back in Saddleworth.

I was mesmerised.. The character of the 12 year old boy, from a broken home with an alcoholic father, coupled with the mystery and lure of opal field legends of fortunes won and lost, was just too much.. I was taken, hook line and sinker, a profound fascination with the outback opal fields and with opal that as it turns out, would last a lifetime.

In 1986, another trip up to the red centre. Seemingly infinite, heavily corrugated roads with huge puddles of bone dry bulldust that would swallow half the car, throw us around like rag dolls, then fill the back seat with superfine red dust that mixed with Dads cigarette smoke to choke us all the more.. It was like hell, and heaven all at the same time.

 The three of us brothers still living with Mum and Dad would be quietly provoking each other in the back seat. Spit, thump, kick, smile.. repeat…

If the shenanigans got out of hand, there was the obligatory “Cut it out!, or I will pull this car over and bang your bloody heads together!” 

Then at least once, after a stern warning and a lull in the back seat scrimmages..

 “Daaaad… Lachlan smiled at me!” the baby brother would complain.. “ Smile back at him” Dad would furtively retort in his dry, smug manner. 

Above mentioned siblings, Shannon (7)in the foreground, Lochy (13) sitting in the back near Dad (Kev) in an extremely rich claim that we missed the opal in because we had no idea how to read the signs, details to follow in upcoming posts! 

To be continued....