Collection: Ethiopian Opal (rough)

Please read each parcel description carefully to understand the level of difficulty of the material in producing a cut stone. Refunds on rough opal are contingent on all pieces of the parcel remaining untouched, and we will not be responsible for failed cuts. When cutting opal there is no guarantee that any piece of rough will produce a stone due to the many external factors that can effect the opal during the formation and mining process, many of these factors unable to be known until physically cutting into the stone. For this reason, opal cutting is often considered a "gamble" by opal cutters and precious opal should only be approached professionally with a thorough understanding of the material and the nuances that will crop up during the cutting process. For those beginning on their opal cutting journey, we highly recommend the parcels marked for it; these parcels are mostly potch with small hints of color, not likely to produce quality gemstones, but will help teach the properties of opal and how it reacts to lapidary wheels, and the parcels will be priced appropriately to reflect their non-gem quality. The beginners parcels will have a small chance of producing a gemstone given the unpredictable qualities of opal, but should not be expected; these parcels do not have visible color bars, or show any of the other typical qualities that a precious opal is inside.

To be clear, once you have taken a piece of rough from a parcel and altered it in any way the parcel will no longer be eligible for refunds. We will only accept completely unaltered parcels back. As soon as you have altered a piece you have assumed all responsibility for the parcel.