More opals!
So, I temporarily arranged my lapidary tools, so that they are usable. I obtained some rough opal (Mexican jelly opal, Australian boulder opal, and some Coober Pedy opal (usually the white precious opal you see in commercial jewelry stores is Coober Pedy). And then I found time in my week to actually play with the stones! Last night I cabbed these Australian boulder opals:
And it was fun and exciting, and maybe just a little addicting. I left my machines set up, because I was tired and figured I would clean and tidy everything in the morning.And then this morning I got up early and thought, 'Maybe while it's all still set up I could cut a few more...' So I made these:
And then after photographing them and before cleaning everything up, I thought, 'You know, it would be a shame to put everything away without playing with the Coober Pedy...' So I cut some of that too:
And then I had lunch, and started putting together a list of things to work on this afternoon/evening. But a funny thing happened when I went back into my studio. I thought, 'You know, It'd be a shame to leave out the Mexican opal.' the other part of my brain replied, 'Yeah, but you'd have to use the saw on them first, and you didn't set it up yet, and then you'd have to clean it up...It would be a bigger mess.' So I replied to myself, 'You are right. If I am going to go to the trouble messing with the saw, I might as well cut some of the boulder opal too...' And then this happened:
And it was 7:30pm. So THIS is what I did today. I cut 31 stones!
And if I include last night....:
So. I still have to clean up the big mess, and I need to get busy setting some stones!
And it was fun and exciting, and maybe just a little addicting. I left my machines set up, because I was tired and figured I would clean and tidy everything in the morning.And then this morning I got up early and thought, 'Maybe while it's all still set up I could cut a few more...' So I made these:
And then after photographing them and before cleaning everything up, I thought, 'You know, it would be a shame to put everything away without playing with the Coober Pedy...' So I cut some of that too:
And then I had lunch, and started putting together a list of things to work on this afternoon/evening. But a funny thing happened when I went back into my studio. I thought, 'You know, It'd be a shame to leave out the Mexican opal.' the other part of my brain replied, 'Yeah, but you'd have to use the saw on them first, and you didn't set it up yet, and then you'd have to clean it up...It would be a bigger mess.' So I replied to myself, 'You are right. If I am going to go to the trouble messing with the saw, I might as well cut some of the boulder opal too...' And then this happened:
And it was 7:30pm. So THIS is what I did today. I cut 31 stones!
And if I include last night....:
So. I still have to clean up the big mess, and I need to get busy setting some stones!
