Pretty rocks!

[R.R.]

I went to the shed today and found one of my old projects. Maybe one of these days I'll finish it. It's a boulder opal from Australia, and I'm shaping it and polishing it with a dremel tool, because I don't have a cabbing machine. I'd like for it to become a ring, even though I'm not of the opinion that opals should go on rings because you can bang them against something and they'll fracture. OK, maybe it will be a pendant.

Show me your pretty rocks! I love them all

 

[R.R.]

Here's a half Oregon thunderegg, with moss agate inside. Ain't it pretty? I might put this one in my garden.

 

[IcyBC]

These rocks are just so pretty! My little son used to collect all kind of rock, but I have no idea where he kept them now. I knew I took pictures of them too, but my old brain doesn't work this morning. Rocks with marking are fascinating to see!

 

[Trellum]

Pretty rocks indeed! To be honest when I read the title (before seeing the pictures) I thought ''pretty rocks'' was more an overestimation, heheh! But now I see what you mean... your rocks are just gorgeous Best of luck with your project! I hope you can get a lovely ring or pendant out of that beautiful opal

 

[Pat]

Good to see I am not the only one that likes rocks. I have some nice ones that need to be polished. The rocks in the pictures are beautiful, thanks for sharing.

 

[ACSAPA]

Those are gorgeous. The first one will be a stunning pendant when you finish working on it. Thanks for sharing your photos.

 

[R.R.]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad to see other rock lovers here. I'll keep posting more pictures, I'm sure

 

[Tradewinds]

R.R, I am so envious, that is a beautiful stone! I know there has to be a story behind how you acquired the stone, please share it with us,

 

[R.R.]

R.R, I am so envious, that is a beautiful stone! I know there has to be a story behind how you acquired the stone, please share it with us,

Which one are you talking about, the Australian opal, or the Oregon Thunderegg?

 

[Tradewinds]

A story about either would be nice, but I am more curious about the Australian opal.

 

[R.R.]

There's this guy in Florida, Gene McDevitt, who owns a mine in Australia (actually, I believe he's co-owner of a second one now). He spends about six months a year down there mining, and the rest of the time making jewelry, selling rough online, and going to gem shows like the one in Tucson. I think it's a great life if you can make a living doing what you love, and Gene has made it

I bought some rough from Gene in 2013. One of the pieces I got weighed 74 grams and it looked like this:

I saw lots of potential, so I started grinding with the dremel tool to find more opal.

Here's what it looked like after some work:

The other side:

After a few more sessions with the dremel tool, I found the piece. It's the one with the blues. Now I needed to use my rock saw and cut it.

I ended up with this piece and saved the rest for future projects.

But then I decided it was gonna be two pieces, so I cut it again and worked on the blue piece, but the other showed lots of potential, too:

After I separated the two pieces:

I kept working on the piece a little at a time, until we moved, it went into storage, and a couple years later I found it

 

[Tradewinds]

The back story matches the stone, thanks for sharing it R.R.

 

[R.R.]

No problem, Tradewinds

 

[R.R.]

This is my biggest labradorite, from Madagascar. I have it outside and, even though the colors would pop out more if it was sunny, here's a picture of it after the rain (sorry, no sun).

 

[zigs]

Cor, how did I miss this one, love a good bit of geology

We got an outcrop of Alabaster on the north coast.





Quite easy to carve and takes a nice polish.