How To Polish and Value Opals Like Nobody Else Does?

Рет қаралды 1,285

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 46

@theopalmills 8 ай бұрын

G’day mate, great video, you’re gaining a good understanding of how to go about pricing your opal. Bare in mind there’s a wholesale price and a retail price, I stick to wholesale prices but working towards retail as I progress/establish myself. Black opal holds the reputation for valuation, Lighting ridge holds the reputation for black opal abundance by comparison to other fields. Regardless of the field, the opal is valued the same, otherwise it could be said, therefore, that black opal from other fields are rarer than that from Lightning ridge, and would be worth more. There’s so many factors for valuation including the gold price on the day funny enough. The more you get to know about opal, the better you can a price, for instance, I may undervalue a stone due to my lack of knowledge, and someone else will sell it for a higher price. Building your own reputation will help with buyer confidence, leading to better sales. A big step is gaining the trust of buyers, especially online, having a physical store allows people to see the opal in real life, removing any doubt that online shopping brings. Keep learning and teaching, you’re doing well, cheers. 🤪👍

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

thank you. I am chuffed you made a detailed comment about this subjective topic. Really appreciate your wisdom and support . I keep learning as I go. All the best

@Mass-jab-death-2025 8 ай бұрын

Those opals take my breath away. You did an amazing job, so professional. Why you don’t have 200,000 subscribers yet I cannot understand. Thank you for all you teach me.

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

you are to kind thank you so much for the ongoing support . One day we may just hit 200K :) all good things take time and patience ?

@mrsRMT 8 ай бұрын

Very interesting! Thank you for a thorough explanation of valuations.

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

thank you for watching and you are welcome :)

@PulitzerOpal 8 ай бұрын

I really enjoyed this video. Your valuation segment was excellent! Keep up the great work! dp

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

Thank you it means a lot coming from you. I love your channel and the way you present everything. It is inspirational.

@PulitzerOpal 8 ай бұрын

@@AusOpal I think you mean “perspirational!”

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

that too :) @@PulitzerOpal

@ThatOpalGuy 8 ай бұрын

thanks for this video. valuation is very subjective, and I agree on getting the profit margins of everyone involved higher.

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

thank you Don and congrats on your 1000 views vid :)

@ThatOpalGuy 8 ай бұрын

@AusOpal thank you! (Assuming ypu watched it)

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

I have just now :) I am travelling atm back soon . I skipped a few videos but catching up soon @@ThatOpalGuy

@ThatOpalGuy 8 ай бұрын

@@AusOpal I'm honored. Thanks again.

@Koroitopal 8 ай бұрын

Just a couple constructive tips if I may to help with the finished saleability, when doing a square shape, or cushion as you say, try using a set of measuring calipers to get the geometry perfect in the early stages of cutting, before the 600 grit, its only a minor adjustment in the cutting process but a huge step towards catching the eye of the buyer, espescially when it comes to being set, you will save money on labour from the jeweller and it will look perfect, also when doing circles and ovals, try having templates handy to place the stone in as you go because even if your not getting the exact template shape and are going for the carat wieght, it will train your eye to get a pleasent geometrical eveness throughout the shaping process which will make your stone stand out from the rest. Another tip i would suggest is to use supaglue instead of wax, two beads of supaglue is sufficient, as long as your dopsticks are cut off square to sit the stone on it should not come off unless you leave the sticks in water for long periods of time ,and to release the stone just submerge the stone in acetone for several hours and the glue will dissolve, when doing hundreds of stones at a time like we do its way quicker, easier, and takes up less room for dopping. Well done with the videos keep them coming mate.

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

I love this. Thank you so much for giving your time here. I will use these tips going forward and I am sure everyone here will take a lot from these detailed comment. I do use templates for the ovals. Wax is time consuming for sure but so far my favourite for doing couple of stones here and there. I Haven't used super glue before I do hav some other glue to try from the Black Lighters. I also want to try the glass ones from Riley Gunn. You notice that the prefect symmetry with the square shapes requires more practice and skill than what i showed thank you for that. Really appreciate this and it is why I am doing this channel :) To create community that we all learn from each other and keep getting better and better. Awesome hats off for this comments

@Koroitopal 8 ай бұрын

@@AusOpal theres a type of loctite 454 that i used for years and to get it off put it in the freezer,for some reason became impossible to find, and if you live in freezing climate, you could have troubles. Out of all the glues ive tried and tested, and i think i have tried them all, the cheapest superglue i can find seems to be the best, strongest, easiest to dissolve with acetone, just after you glue a stone on the stick, dont forget to come back after 10mins and run another bead of superglue right around where the stick is attached to the stone, let that set, depending on your climate could be 30mins to 2hrs, also have all different size dopsicks with diameters ranging from a skewer up to 12mm, dont leave the dopsticks submerged in water either, thats the only time they tend to come off the stick, the glue seperates from the wood. Good luck

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

thank you will give that a go. A short cut learning from your trials. I like that. The long set time has put me off using the super glues and the likes. My personality likes to go and just finish stones on the fly. Little bit when I start something I want to finish. Hence the wax works well. However now that I do a lot more stones and have the channel bit of planning ahead is great so the glue may just work :)@@Koroitopal

@W.MOpals 8 ай бұрын

Great in depth explanation! This will definitely help a lot of people! Like the opal mills said in another comment, whole sale prices differ so much to retail. I wish I could charge prices like some of these aha! Keep up the work :D

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

Thank you @W.MOpals yes its not an exact one fits all formula. I am glad you found value here and spend time watching. Love your content as well so keep it up as well :)

@jeremiahmcafee3816 8 ай бұрын

I would definitely call the first cushion cut nice. Looks to me that the cut isn't very symmetrical. The color play lends itself to a round. In my opinion.

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

you may be right I struggle with the decision on that. As far as the weight loss if i go round. thank you for your opinion :)

@scottpeters5624 8 ай бұрын

Great video, love all those stones, for me cushion cut steals the show, Valuation guide was very interesting, totally agree value needs to be high, when you consider everything and everyone involved has to put roofs over thier heads, I haven't tried selling any of my cuts,, few reasons, Not good enough, mainly free forms, I mount them and give to family, but also the few that are higher quality, I have no idea of value, so a useful guide, Ha ha ha, I have fat fingers also, and stones fly out of them all the time

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

thank you Scott fat fingers ha well maybe its fine motor skills too for me getting older lol awesome support from you as usual . Keep practice up and you can only get better i am improving every time i cut. Sometimes I get very cheap potch with little colour just to get the practice in . Its a journey of continuous improvement 1% at the time

@JSGilbert 8 ай бұрын

Wow! Somebody hit it on the head. That’s pretty amazing. Also, got the package. Thx for the extra inlay pieces. ;-)

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

that came fast JS thank you glad you like it :)

@ROCKINWHEELERS 8 ай бұрын

We Like THEM ALL!!! Beauties!!!

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

thank you for watching and the kind words :)

@Dopey_opal 4 ай бұрын

Beautiful stones. , but If i may ask, respectfully, where do you get your accent from? I could listen to you narrate all day lol if you made audio books id buy one for sure,

@AusOpal 4 ай бұрын

thank you for watching and kind words, wow maybe there is a side hustle for me to narrate , it is hard to listen to yourself soo never thought anyone would like it . actually struggled to go public but it is nice to know that it is not too annoying :). the accent is unusual maybe because of moving a lot through europe and ended up here in australia maybe bit of german, polish, french, italian tones with Aussie english soo pretty confusing lol

@marcussmart3275 8 ай бұрын

Conichewa, have you seen Reilly gunns optical uv epoxy and glass dop sticks. Roy of Roy's rocks did a review of it. Sounds like it would be something I would like to try. I struggle with the dopping process.

@AusOpal 8 ай бұрын

Hey Marcus. Wax is a struggle but a little struggle for me. I like how it is flexible as far as can adjust the opal on it how i want it. I have see the glue and the glass ones. I have not tried the glass ones yet at some point I will so I cant comment. Looks easy to put on which is great. I am concerned about the glass breaking as I can be quite clumsy. Once I try I report on it. Thanks for watching once again

@Algoldprospecting 7 ай бұрын

I need some of those😂 where do you get those rough from?? I need some black opal 😂😂🙏👍

@AusOpal 7 ай бұрын

mixture here Robbies Nobbies supply some of those look him up on Facebook :)

@Lmatdhr 6 ай бұрын

If I go on opal auctions I see many many opals that based on your valuation methods would be considered extremely underpriced. Many solid black opals at 50-200 per carat for example, and even some multicolor and red black opals that are B1 or B2 brightness at like 4-500 per carat. Do you think they’re whole sale and you are quoting tip top retail once set? I’m really trying to learn this value stuff but there’s just so much variance across the industry.

@AusOpal 6 ай бұрын

great question and thank you for watching. see if i can answer it for you. There is huge variance in that space and it will remain I feel. I dont quote opals based in when they are set. I only value based on what is in my hand. I cannot compare what i am holding in my hand to what i see in the picture or video. I don't value others opals either. It is hard to learn to value opals. My experience of buying and selling them for years helps. Gives me some understanding what are people paying for them and if they happy or not when they receive it. Also what i pay for them and what risk i take or leave for the buyer. There will always be people that will price the same opal higher or lower to me. It is just the nature of the stone and industry . As long as the opals remain unique there will be subjectivity to valuation of them. I can't comment on opal auctions or other opals for sale. It is like anything as a buyer, I need to shop around for the best deal. My formula is not industry standard and I don't believe there is one that is the holy grail of valuation that everyone can use. For me even the brightness scale is subjective as there is colour saturation on the stone as well as we all have different eye sights too. Per carat value i had blacks that i would value for 50 per carat and others at 2000 carat they look almost the same on the pictures but one might be slightly uneven or not as dark even though both may be N1. Could be one little hairline or sand spot that is almost invisible on picture. etc. Until it is in my hand I cannot tell what it is for sure hence I sell with 100% money back guarantee so when you get it and dont like it you can just send it back :). I hope that gives you something even though probably doesn't help you with the valuation standard for opal. Really appreciate the question

@Lmatdhr 6 ай бұрын

Thanks a ton for the thoughtful answer. There may be some money out there in buying underpriced finished opals and holding/improving/reselling them. Rough is more often way overpriced and amazing finished stones get overlooked.

@AusOpal 6 ай бұрын

You are welcome. You can see I am passionate about opal can talk too much sometimes about it. I agree totally in particular The Ridge material atm is priced sky high and i don't think it is going any lower anytime soon. So old stock specially finished can be priced lower to the new items that came out of the ground this season. Good strategy there and I have to say it is something i look for as well. @@Lmatdhr