Finding & Cutting Opals from the Spencer Opal Mine

[@helenburke9507]

Wow oh wow-- I love opal!!!!!!! Thank you so much.

[@KatyDidRocks]

I love it too. :)

[@patriciabock4299]

Kate you do amaze me! I would have been so nervous about grinding that down, but you have given me faith that all that work is so worth it! I do not think I will be fearful to try what you just achieved. That rectangle is one super beautiful opal!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thank you, Patricia. It really is a lot of work - but I suspect it took longer than needed, because my grinding wheel was dull. :)

[@raygay3375]

❤GREAT JOB!!🎉 That’s truly beautiful. You worked so hard for that…CONGRATS

[@elleisme8565]

Wow Kate you found gorgeous color. Amazing!! 🤩

[@KatyDidRocks]

It was awesome.

[@hiddengem59]

Master's Of Rockhounding 🔥🤠🙏

[@savagesquirrel9828]

Boy, your patience really paid off! Spectacular!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks, SS.

[@judymarkel8029]

How fun. We will have to stop there

[@aliencat11]

Cutting opal is very delicate work! You are doing extraordinaryly well!!!!!

[@kellyharper367]

Old disabled house bound dusty rusty rockhound here: How exciting! Thanks so very much for this adventure!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks for watching, Kelly!

[@hottubtimemachine1200]

Beautiful great finds and wonderful work, great video.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks so much.

[@batman31261]

Awesome, thank you 😊

[@lorettarussell593]

I really enjoyed watching this video, Katy!!

[@kslinaz5668]

Yeah, that was nnnnnnice. It was amazing to see how much color you were able to bring out.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Such a surprise!

[@darrinwilliams5715]

Kate I’ve been cutting and polishing rocks and gems for close to 20 years. Opal is some of the most difficult material to cut and polish. So believe me when I tell you that you did an amazing job on that opal. To catch that much color in a layer so thin,and in a notoriously unstable opal is amazing. Cool opal Kate!!😎😎

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thank you so much! I love to learn. :)

[@tashacherry1480]

I was really surprised to see she had done so well also. This is awesome! Go Kate!

[@nancygaxiola5412]

That is beautiful!!

[@vickygoodwin9771]

Good job. Patience really paid off! Love the color!

[@susie5710]

Super nice, love the flash in that rectangle one!

[@michaelgrimes1131]

Opals are about my all time favorites next to finding a diamond in the rough!

[@KatyDidRocks]

I must admit to having opal fever!

[@largent45]

Wow! that was awesome! Just cant resist the lure of opal. That turned out to be a fantastic piece! You did a fantastic job with it too. Both pieces! Gorgeous Kate! Thanks for sharing!

[@tamibrink8569]

Thank you Kate ! First time watching and certainly found your video most interesting. Your next vid can't come soon enough.

[@KatyDidRocks]

😊 While you wait, I have three years worth of videos you can watch on my channel. Enjoy!

[@patriciamckean4186]

Boy, you have to be very patient. Thank you, I never knew what raw opal looks like. Love the natural looking stone! Oh, I see the fire!!! 😍

[@annes4213]

Pretty!!

[@georgeshidalgo906]

Very Thanks Kate

[@johnricheson8465]

Beautiful Kate!

[@jennifershipp2599]

Beautiful opals and tedious work. Thank you

[@KatyDidRocks]

LOL, I hope it wasn't tedious to watch! :D

[@jennifershipp2599]

No, just takes time for perfection. LO L

[@annajablonski9624]

Thank you for sharing the whole process. I really enjoyed your video.

[@sarahloy830]

It looks fun and nerve wrecking at the same time😃. I love that final piece!

[@marthabennett4788]

so beautiful so glad you took the time to bring out the colors, great fun.

[@johnricheson8465]

Great pieces love opal!!

[@raygay3375]

😮Very nice work lady!❤

[@yelenalastovkina5681]

Opal is mysterious , amazing game finding the best way to present it. I love even what yiu get halfway.lol

[@KatyDidRocks]

:)

[@kirktingblad6667]

Congrats on that last one, it will make a nice piece of jewelry.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks, Kirk!

[@donnalantz7981]

Awesome video Kate. Beautiful finds.

[@JodeeDeemHall]

Beautiful opals

[@michaelvandyke]

Thank you for sharing your goodies and showing the work that goes into our treasures, when finished. SCORE!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks for watching!

[@thecrystalhunters]

Awesome 👏

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks!

[@susanbrookman2133]

Absolutely beautiful, I just love the natural look, I leave my Lake Superior Agates with the husk on the back side so they can see what it looks like in it's natural form.

[@justingerrardReviewsEverything]

Wow! Great video! I really enjoyed watching. My husband and I are going to the Spencer opal mine on Friday. I hope we have some luck.

[@fionabeale3245]

Hello Katy I really do like the way you leave part of the host rock on with the opal ,being on there together they beautify each other and makes it a unique stone ! great video love from gloucester 😊

[@rockhoundingwithjasperblue]

Great show, KatyDid! Way to bring the fire out!! It is said that Opal is a cruel mistress! And now you know why. 😳 it is also why Opal is just about the most valuable and definitely the most Beautiful. 💎 when you get it right, it can be just breathtaking!! You did GREAT! Keep on Doing! Thank You for sharing that. 💎

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thank you, JB! I have to say, I have OPAL FEVER! :D

[@MsSandraCGL]

You did so good on this one, I'm so happy for you

[@elainebates6967]

Hey Katy, regarding the opal face you were working on 2nd I was seeing glints of color. I liked how you decided to leave the other stone attached as I felt it helped show the opal flashes.

[@angeloemlapidary72]

Batu Opal mine yang terbaik dan indah kawan

[@donnabeaudin9114]

Wow Katy! That opal is gorgeous!! Loved watching the color develope!

[@summerland6397]

This is the first color I have seen out of this mine. Beautiful! Great video, thanks.

[@V27RV]

Amazing video Thank you

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks!

[@kennethchristie5167]

Nice job. You are one persistent lapidarist.

[@stevecasvan5225]

So I did a pretty fair sized lot of Spencer a few years ago. I also met with the owners a few years before that with some investors with the idea of actually purchasing the mine but it fell through. I found that while the color bars are very thin they can be pretty spectacular. Most of the best is made into triplets. A flat lap is mandatory. You pick the color bar you want and very carefully grind to it. Then you glue that onto your backing. I used black jade because it's tough as nails. Then come back from the other side and grind down to your color layer. I cut slabs of quartz for the top glued those on and shaped my stone. I have one stone that had a very thick color bar that came out absolutely brilliant in brightness. I keep it on hand as a grading stone for my level five. In a dark room with only a candle it will throw the color onto your fingers! It's brilliant red orange One direction and it's spectacular Green from the other! A bit more work but you end up with beautiful pieces that work very well in jewelry. I've made quite a few really nice pieces. Give it a try!

[@KatyDidRocks]

That’s awesome ! I’ve seen the triplets, but haven’t been bold enough to do it yet. 😂

[@ccccarriemchardy9216]

I adore opals, so unique. I bought a piece of black potch to practice on and it turned out to have a opal bubble under the cap which you couldn't see at first.

[@KatyDidRocks]

How awesome! I have some low-grade Lightning Ridge opal/potch that I'm working on right now.

[@ccccarriemchardy9216]

@@KatyDidRocks Its fun and nerve wracking at the same time. Im too scared to polish my stone completely in case I loose colour. Its tiny but has a bright red/pink/green/blue 3d affect and was such a welcomed surprise, I danced around. Anyone would have thought I had won a car.

[@cindyli8568]

this place is great! love your video!

[@pattimessenger6214]

I love opals so much! Yours is gorgeous!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thank you!

[@bhutjolokia6990]

Wow!! Beautiful color!! I just cut some Spencer opal a couple months back, mostly green fire, it was fun to work with.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Nice! It's a very slow process. :D

[@Patriot-rising]

New to this channel..Next time I will be preparred. I will have a cup of coffee before the enthusiasm begins.

[@KatyDidRocks]

LOL, not a bad idea! :D Welcome.

[@ccvgems8754]

Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing ❤ Stay Crystal 💫 Mari

[@silverback5033]

Hi Kate, looks like you found some nice pieces and working hard to get the nicest result. Hope you get some more nice pieces out of your haul. Say hi to Jim for me. Keep Safe & Keep Doin, 😂😂

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks, SB ! As an Aussie, I would imagine you know a little more about opal than I do... :D

[@silverback5033]

@@KatyDidRocks Katy, I wish I could say yes to your comment, but truth is I don’t know much about it other than what I have read and watched on various videos. I did have some as a kid but that is a story all of its own.

[@lauriemccullam6327]

I still have a couple of nice fist-sized specimens I got there several years ago. Very nice stuff!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Nice! I find it tricky to work with.

[@Grandmasrockin]

Very pretty

[@janvafa9959]

Pretty!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks!

[@jasondelgatty3583]

Very nice video. I really enjoyed it. tks

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks!

[@lilalightandlove421]

Awesome revealing of the flash in the opal! I certainly do t have the patience you do. I never expected the opal to have so much color. Nice job Katy!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thanks so much!

[@tashacherry1480]

AWESOME VIDEO!!!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Glad you think so!

[@bebecatanzaro9362]

I love your channel! Your collecting & cutting/polishing work is fascinating ❤

[@KatyDidRocks]

Thank you so much!

[@stuartlynn-q8q]

That was a lot of work , but it was a very pretty stone Have fun

[@leslyeschoenhuth3515]

* WOW ~ The color at the 16:50 mark is Extremely Colorful.. I don't think you should take any more away ! ! * It is just flashing red & Green so beautifully... As you said goodbye, one of your cats was trying to EAT a rock.. Good Grief.. So Funny..

[@KatyDidRocks]

She is very mischevious.

[@heathersmith-gearns6336]

I love this so much! You found so much color Katy! 😍

[@michaelprue9024]

It definitely took some patience getting down to the color but you did it. And you did it without rubbing the color off. Nicely done 👍 That other piece looked like it had a small Fox wrapped around the Opal. I’ve been wanting to build a cabbing machine myself and then find some rough to practice with. Unfortunately here in Nebraska there isn’t much Opal to be had without buying it from someone else. But I won’t let that deter me lol

[@KatyDidRocks]

Buying it is always an option! We don't have any precious opal in Montana - but lots of other beautiful rocks.

[@petepeterson4540]

16:13 green flash

[@kiddkarnelian3723]

impressive work, pretty cool its from the United States

[@KatyDidRocks]

It is!

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

GOTTA GET A SMALL BLADE SAW.....

[@tashacherry1480]

I wonder if you slabbed it if you wouldn't find a bunch of pockets. Edit, spoke to soon. I guess I'm just excited to see. I'm like slab it chicky slab it! 😂

[@KatyDidRocks]

:D

[@petepeterson4540]

a lot of flash red green yellow

[@tashacherry1480]

Looks like Jim found his niche in rock hounding

[@KatyDidRocks]

He's doing great!

[@kenelliott5753]

if you never looked for opal before do they help you or give you advice to what to look for at the spencer mine?

[@azopalinc]

They told me over the phone this spring that they weren’t going to open the pile. 🤦🏼‍♂️ I did find a huge collection someone had stashed away years ago, about 65lbs. I’ve cut solids and a bunch of triplets. Spencer opals throw the wildest patterns

[@KatyDidRocks]

They opened on Fourth of July weekend. They have changed the price structure to $75 per person - apparently to help cover insurance costs. Cool that you have so many stashed away!

[@marshacrane2703]

Love your videos-I am also a big Spencer opal fan and have dug there many times. Could you please advise what grit you are using when you use each of the wheels? I start with the 200. Love this last piece you did! Wow!

[@KatyDidRocks]

Hi, Marsha, sorry it took me so long to respond. I use the roughest diamond wheel on my CabKing to grind the extra opal off, then move over to the next wheels. I'm hardly an expert!

[@richardservatius5405]

at about 12:30 when you get the color flash, the whole piece looks like a person holding the opal that is flashing.

[@sierrahjmartinez6703]

Wow makes me proud of our American opals! So pretty. Are you selling these on your etsy? I'm very interested. I would love to have my first American opal.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Hi! I haven't listed any yet - but sometime soon!

[@rockcrazygal5166]

Never mind, I just looked it up.

[@aowis1]

👍👍👍👍👍😍

[@KatyDidRocks]

:)

[@Metalfusioncowboy]

Sometimes you can use sugar and sulfuric acid to change the background color to black and make the color play more intense, I don’t know if it would work on that material

[@denniswheeler2645]

Hi

[@trptrungblogs]

🎉❤🎉🎉🎉

[@KatyDidRocks]

:)

[@tashacherry1480]

I've watched opal cutters get to this point 13:30 & switch to a dremel.

[@KatyDidRocks]

Working on it. :)

[@rockcrazygal5166]

I live in Canada. Where is the spencer mine?

[@massachusettsrockhounding3373]

What happens with the pink opal ?

[@KatyDidRocks]

I'm going to cut it eventually, but I want to make sure I know what I'm doing first. :D

[@leslyeschoenhuth3515]

* Is the 17:30 mark rock the same as the 16:55 mark rock? Because ALL of the Red is Gone... I cry.. Green is beautiful tho..

[@KatyDidRocks]

Nope! Two different rocks, you can stop crying now. :D

[@yelenalastovkina5681]

Will you make pendants ?

[@KatyDidRocks]

Working on a plan right now!

[@jamescrosby7777]

Have you ever come across white buffalo stone 🤔

[@KatyDidRocks]

I have seen “buffalo stone” (baculite segment), but never white!

[@jamescrosby7777]

@@KatyDidRocks came across some on the grass land's in co love the thin butterscotch color on some white rocks cool when you can get them to blend

[@hoanglam62]

Hi everyone! I have some big stuff. I want to cut them but I don’t have slab machine. Can you help me please. Thank you very much

[@KatyDidRocks]

Hello! My best suggestion is to look for a local rock club, as they often have machines that members can use. Good luck!

[@davidkue4196]

I wonder how valuable is white Opal?

[@KatyDidRocks]

It really varies. Most of the stuff from the Spencer mine is sold as triplets.

[@lindaleehulsey3167]

TIME⭐🌟🌟⌛⏳PASSIONATE VIBRATIONS....UNIVERSAL LIGHTS.. EBB & FLOW.....TEST.....seeking like seeking to stand in the end of a 🌈 💋😘

[@rebeccaofsunnybrookefarm8469]

There are several kids of opal Opal with flash, opal with out, opal with dendritic inclusions, synthetic or lab created, black opal, lightening ridge opal, Ethiopian opal, crystal opal.. Ghost opal... I've been thinking it's really Schiller... And I'm not a pro just a enthusiastic person. Trying to pay attention I really need our ( lapidary guy who teaches opal ) Instructor to go over it with me.

[@KatyDidRocks]

SO MANY beautiful opals. :D I am trying to learn as well. I just bought some low-grade opal rough from Lightning Ridge so I can get my hands on the material, and I bought some Ethiopian opals (which I'm not too enthusiastic about, as I haven't had the color reappear yet after working on them.) Glad you have a teacher!

[@rebeccaofsunnybrookefarm8469]

@@KatyDidRocks Good to know that your working on different opals. My teacher is not in very often as he is an instructor at the lapidary school in Georgia. How much grinding did you do on the Ethiopian opal? Maybe try a different angle? Ps I've heard that Ethiopian vendors are less than savory. Hope you at least get your money's worth on something. Just working with the material is a lesson.

[@KatyDidRocks]

@@rebeccaofsunnybrookefarm8469 The issue with the Ethiopian opals is that they are hydrophane, meaning they absorb water. The color disappears when they are wet, supposedly returns when they are dry - but so far it hadn't returned to its original state. Also, that lapidary school in Georgia is so cool!

[@rebeccaofsunnybrookefarm8469]

@@KatyDidRocks I desire to go there a few sessions.. 580ish a week then housing is a bit steep for me.. My bucket list keeps growing. As for the drying process of the opal, be grateful that it's slow it prevents crazing.

[@rebeccaofsunnybrookefarm8469]

I have several new opal specimens that I purchased at our local show this weekend.. purivian opal in pink, blue and yellow... beautiful stuff.

[@kingxenomorph3056]

When I die I want my bones to turn into opal...!i

[@KatyDidRocks]

Ooooh, wouldn't that be cool?

[@mawi1172]

Opal is so not interesting to me. Even the fiery stuff. It's just too soft and not pretty enough.

[@KatyDidRocks]

:D I am in love with opal - partly BECAUSE it's so soft - and super variable. But really, I think I'm just in love with learning something new.

[@oneofakind6313]

COOL.

[@jamesanagnos6123]

wow what crap this is lol has to be the worst opal ive ever seen

[@KatyDidRocks]

:D Wow, thanks! Have you cut a lot of Spencer opal yourself?