Post by itsandbits on Mar 6, 2013 11:30:00 GMT -5
I bought some practice rough from an ebay seller knowing full well it had issues. This one came as a half nodule and the sorters must have xray vision because they seem to be able to see just how far the opal extends into the nodule and if it is going to be a low yeild it gets auctioned. Well this one fooled them as far as colour is concerned; and me too. The angle the end was knocked off the nodule showed a perfectly clear interior with no colour whatsoever; but a couple of fractures.
Working carefully on the diamond laps 600g, I managed to keep it in one peice as I shaped it and got rid of the matrix. I then gave it a quick wash in water and let it dry for a couple of days; the diamond laps don't introduce much water into the welo at all. I forgot to mention that as I cut the nodule off the covered side, amazing colours started to emerge. The stone had originall gotten exposed at exactly the wrong angle to show any colour but from the other side it is one of the showiest I have seen. The octopussy looking white "Ghost" is something welos sometimes have
After it dried for a couple of days I dropped it into my heated uv activated mirror adhesive under 25in.of vacumn for a week. After taking it out it sat in the sun; not much around these days, for 2 days and then I finished cutting and polishing it. The epoxy does not harden clear and is why I picked it to use, it leaves fine white lines in the fractures.
This photo does it absolutely no justice; opals are impossible for me to photo the flash of; they oversaturate the camera.
Thanks for looking
Lloyd
The size is about 20mmx15mmx6mm and the picture is taken about 3ft away from a 60w fl. bulb
Working carefully on the diamond laps 600g, I managed to keep it in one peice as I shaped it and got rid of the matrix. I then gave it a quick wash in water and let it dry for a couple of days; the diamond laps don't introduce much water into the welo at all. I forgot to mention that as I cut the nodule off the covered side, amazing colours started to emerge. The stone had originall gotten exposed at exactly the wrong angle to show any colour but from the other side it is one of the showiest I have seen. The octopussy looking white "Ghost" is something welos sometimes have
After it dried for a couple of days I dropped it into my heated uv activated mirror adhesive under 25in.of vacumn for a week. After taking it out it sat in the sun; not much around these days, for 2 days and then I finished cutting and polishing it. The epoxy does not harden clear and is why I picked it to use, it leaves fine white lines in the fractures.
This photo does it absolutely no justice; opals are impossible for me to photo the flash of; they oversaturate the camera.
Thanks for looking
Lloyd
The size is about 20mmx15mmx6mm and the picture is taken about 3ft away from a 60w fl. bulb