About Us: The store was set up as an outpost to the opal mines in Lightning Ridge. A place for miners, cutters, and dealers to meet, exchange news, to buy and sell opal. See thousands of Opal jewelry pieces, Stunning and genuine Australian opal stones. International perpetual guarantee. 40 years experience in opal.

The Old Opal Miners Hut Australia: Opal has often been described as ‘the world’s most colorful gemstone’ This website brings to you, displays of opal stones jewelry second to none in the world. There is nothing more exciting than walking into a store with lots of bright colorful trinkets in many varieties. This experience can be had online right here at opalmine.  

The Old Opal Miners Hut Australia: The  shop was based on similar underground black, white (crystal) and boulder opal displays at Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy, and Queensland outback opal fields of Australia. The store was totally unique, featuring an opal cave with chunks of rough boulder and other types of opal protruding from the wall. This was contrasted with luxurious showcases filled with all varieties of fascinating opals both unset and assembled into pendants, rings, bracelets, earrings along with a variety of jewelry for guys. Opal cuff links, Tie tacks, Tie bars, Bolas and belt buckles.

The Old Opal Miners Hut Australia: The  shop was based on similar underground black, white (crystal) and boulder opal displays at Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy, and Queensland outback opal fields of Australia. The store was totally unique, featuring an opal cave with chunks of rough boulder and other types of opal protruding from the wall. This was contrasted with luxurious showcases filled with all varieties of fascinating opals both unset and assembled into pendants, rings, bracelets, earrings along with a variety of jewelry for guys. Opal cuff links, Tie tacks, Tie bars, Bolas and belt buckles.

Opal Jewelry Store Online: The store is online since 1996 for the world to see. The wonders of modern technology is giving the public a ‘bird’s eye view’ of opal. Here at opalmine.com,  you can analyse each stone. Opal colors and patterns are many and varied. At opalmine.com you will be able to take a good look at them in all their varieties from mine run rough opal, rough rubbed opal, cut and polished gems, along with opal settings such as pendant, rings, earrings, bracelets, earrings, cuff links, tie tacks and many more.  Feel free to ask questions or add your comments to the blog at the bottom of each page.

Opalmine Products:

Opal History: Opal is a mineraloid of sand. It is the national gemstone of Australia. The internal structure of precious opal makes it diffract light and depending on the conditions in which it is formed, it can take on many colors. We humans are gifted with the knack for design and creativity. We look for ways to enhance the beauty of everything around us. Opal history in Australia is often related to the finding of other gemstones and minerals.

Refining of Opal: Modern opal history involves the processing of the stone. Opal needs no such refinement. What you see is what you get. You don’t have to facet it, enhance it, put it through a machine to refine it.  The color is there, staring at you from the sandstone wall of an underground man cave. It is not like calling out to you, “I’m here, come and get me out of here. Put me where I belong. In a gold pendant, enhancing the neck of a beautiful woman!” Wish it were that easy. But only 5% of the Opal found is precious.

Opal Facts: If you never take the opal ring off, be warned that after a few years of doing the gardening, your stone is likely to lose its sheen. And since most of you don’t have the luxury of being able to go into the workshop and bring it back to its original luster, you would be wise to treat your investment with a bit more respect. Sure, you can wear it most of the time. But its better to take it off if there is a chance you will knock it against something hard or abrasive. Keep in mind that, opal is a rarer stone than most gemstones so jewelers often don’t get the chance to work with it, and hence don’t have the knowledge of the stone to treat it properly in the manufacturing process.

Opal Facts: If you never take the opal ring off, be warned that after a few years of doing the gardening, your stone is likely to lose its sheen. And since most of you don’t have the luxury of being able to go into the workshop and bring it back to its original luster, you would be wise to treat your investment with a bit more respect. Sure, you can wear it most of the time. But its better to take it off if there is a chance you will knock it against something hard or abrasive. Keep in mind that, opal is a rarer stone than most gemstones so jewelers often don’t get the chance to work with it, and hence don’t have the knowledge of the stone to treat it properly in the manufacturing process.

Rough Black Opal: Rough Black Opal Is Often Sold In The Form Of Rubs. The areas that contain valueless potch or ironstone are removed, leaving only the valuable part of the stone. This saves time and money for the Opal cutter.

Rough Opal Boulders: Boulder opal stones are cleaned out of these large chunks and mainly sold as ‘rubs’ rather than mine run rough. This saves a lot of heavy freight expense and time searching for color

Black Unset Opal: Black opals that are not set in jewelry for folks who either have a ring or pendant that needs a stone, or if you just want to get your own jeweler to make something for you. Most black opals are not calibrated to make sure none of the precious color is lost. They can come in oval shape but also square, rectangle and free-form

Opal Unset Triplet: Opal triplets come in a variety of standard sizes designed to be set into cast sterling silver or gold findings or settings. They come in different grades of brilliance and are priced according to the play of color. Because opal triplets are calibrated to standard sizes, its possible to order findings or settings with your triplets so that you can set them yourself into mainly pendants either silver or gold plated.

Buy Opal Jewelry: Opal jewelry: jewellery as the British spell it, like rings, pendants, necklaces make ideal fashion accessories for any occasion. Opals are found around the inland areas of Australia. Opals are a part of the cultural history of these regions. Many of the old opal mines are not producing anymore.  Fields such as White Cliffs and Andamooka still have some coming out of the ground but not extensive.

Classy Opal Rings: Historically and in the fashion world, rings are by far the most popular form of jewelry and there is no exception to this in the opal industry.  Design tastes vary from one person to the other and from one country to another. Some folks like intricate designs that feature the metal with the stone, and some prefer a very plain presentation that makes the opal stone itself stand out.

Opal Pendants: The Next Contender And it must be said that it’s a lot easier to buy a pendant for someone than a ring because of the obvious finger size problem. Of course here at the Opalmine site there is an excellent facility for arriving at the correct finger size but even so, pendants don’t have to be sized and there is more demand for them on this site because of this.

How to choose your Opal? It’s good to know the facts about opals, because, unlike most gemstones, opal can be presented in a number of different ways that make them either less or more expensive. As well as this, in recent times very clever imitations have been made that you need to know about. To help you understand these details so that your investment of time and money is an informed one, and you can know how to obtain and preserve it. Opal facts are important to know, just like the truth about anything we acquire, whether its a house, a car, a boat, or indeed a wife or husband. Get to know ’em first!

Contact Us: Opalmine.com (petren products pty ltd)   Phone and Fax: 0414950914 Email: peter@opalmine.com Address: Box 512 Coolangatta. Qld, 4225 Hours of Operation: 9 am to 5 pm

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