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Post by vegasjames on Dec 25, 2021 3:23:16 GMT -5
These common opals are a fairly new find for me. Found one small piece in the past but never did anything with it. Then in October I was heading home from a trip and decided to stop at the same location to look for hyalite opal, which is found slightly North of this location. I cannot find any good way in to the hyalite opal location, especially in the dark so I decided to go a little further and look around the UV light as the hyalite opal here has traces of uranium and fluoresces green. No luck on finding anything fluorescent so I switched to a regular high power flashlight and found some nice chunks of these common opals. Went back recently to look for more but it as super cold (17F) so the ground was frozen solid and most the ground was covered with snow. Still did pretty good, just had to do some serious chipping at the ground with the pick to get the rocks out. Some of the pieces feel like they have already converted to jaspers, but these pieces I cut are still in the opal stage. Have not cabbed and of the first ones yet. Plan to do those soon.
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hummingbirdstones2
fully equipped rock polisher
Vince A., 1958-2023
Member since August 2018
Posts: 1,461
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Dec 25, 2021 10:06:50 GMT -5
Yeah, I had to see all of these too, after looking at the first thread.
Excellent finds and incredible cabs.
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,439
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Post by NDK on Dec 25, 2021 10:49:58 GMT -5
Very beautiful - both the rock and the cabs.
I agree with Vince as well, amazing material even though it's not the "flavor of the day" 👍
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 25, 2021 11:29:33 GMT -5
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
Posts: 1,975
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Post by victor1941 on Dec 25, 2021 16:27:28 GMT -5
143028-red/white is my favorite because of intense color and pattern spacing.
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 25, 2021 16:55:09 GMT -5
Very beautiful - both the rock and the cabs. I agree with Vince as well, amazing material even though it's not the "flavor of the day" 👍 Not a problem for me. I just cab for relaxation. I do not make jewelry and so if it not popular material it does not matter. I have so many cabs just sitting around in boxes. So I just started sending them off in trades for wire wrapping so that someone can get some enjoyment from the cabs. Sent off around 200 recently in trade.
Would be nice though to see more common opal being used in jewelry. It has such as wide variety of colors and patterns. Guess it just needs the proper marketing like they did with diamonds, which are so common. The cartels just control the flow to create an illusion of rarity. Personally I prefer colorful stones over common diamonds such as rubies, emerald, topaz, common opal, etc.
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 25, 2021 16:56:55 GMT -5
143028-red/white is my favorite because of intense color and pattern spacing. All the slabs were cut from the same stone. The colors and patterns changed a lot as I went through the stone. Just picked up some more of that one and the first one. Will probably start slabbing those in January.
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Post by jasoninsd on Dec 25, 2021 23:11:38 GMT -5
143028-red/white is my favorite because of intense color and pattern spacing. All the slabs were cut from the same stone. The colors and patterns changed a lot as I went through the stone. Just picked up some more of that one and the first one. Will probably start slabbing those in January. That's pretty amazing these all came from the same stone! They're all gorgeous, but this one is my favorite!
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Post by MsAli on Dec 26, 2021 10:44:24 GMT -5
Really enjoyed seeing these
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Post by Rockindad on Dec 26, 2021 20:07:27 GMT -5
Very cool material!
Good to see you posting again and making up for lost time.
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stewdogg
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2020
Posts: 388
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Post by stewdogg on Dec 29, 2021 10:05:21 GMT -5
Very cool material! What state in the US was this collected in? How big was the rock?
I like that you do it for relaxation and you're not worried about churning out product. I have a tendency to like my hobbies so much that they become like jobs or actual jobs at some point.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,680
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Post by Fossilman on Dec 29, 2021 11:21:45 GMT -5
Really nice...
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 29, 2021 14:57:23 GMT -5
Very cool material! What state in the US was this collected in? How big was the rock? I like that you do it for relaxation and you're not worried about churning out product. I have a tendency to like my hobbies so much that they become like jobs or actual jobs at some point. These are from Central Nevada. There were actually two stones. The one from the first pic was maybe 4-5 pounds and the second one I would guess 12-15 pounds.
Recently collected some more, have to still wash everything. Pulled them from solid frozen ground so a lot of frozen mud stuck to them.
I agree, a lot of things we do for fun and relaxation are not the same when they become a job. I have box loads of cabs completed and partially completed as I do them on the first three wheels in groups then take the group to the next three wheels to finish. I just work on them when I am bored. Finally sent off around 200 cabs in trades for wire wrapping services. Nice to see them finally being used and appreciated instead of just sitting in boxes.
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Post by melhill1659 on Dec 30, 2021 13:32:21 GMT -5
Love it James!!
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 31, 2021 4:57:36 GMT -5
Just back from my last trip. Picked up more on the way back. Some of it has converted to jasper already, but same colors and patterns.
If you get back out this way again let me know and I can take you some other places next time.
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Post by melhill1659 on Dec 31, 2021 7:05:20 GMT -5
Just back from my last trip. Picked up more on the way back. Some of it has converted to jasper already, but same colors and patterns.
If you get back out this way again let me know and I can take you some other places next time.
You know if I’m ever any where around I’ll give you a call!
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