Hi Roy, epic freeform there! My mother had a freeform opal necklace where the artist painted a substance on the surrounding potch & gold painted/plated that area, then mounted the piece for a necklace. Gorgeous! This might make pieces that are "beaten by sand" or with inclusions quite saleable. ...just a thought...
G’day Roy, great explanation, be happy with a decent turnover and leave the retail prices until you’re a retailer. I like to think of it as I’m settling on a parting fee 🤪👍
@@RoysRocks yes, I’m a bit too complacent with the web site and need to list a bunch of stones, I used to sell on eBay under philm162, but trying to branch out a little. Most sales lately have been by email contact. I’ve got a fair bit of concrete matrix atm, I’ll be making rough parcels available soon. 🤪👍
This is exactly my outlook ! Pricing is the hardest thing where opal is considered.. I sold a 11ct blue body tone lightning ridge crystal for a hell of a lot cheaper than it should've been but I know The new owner will cut something unreal from it ...
Thanks Roy. I also look at the piece and if it was recut into calibrated cab and establish a price per ct. Than add the extras like time, uniqueness and quality of opal in hand.
Its a complicated process for sure and you can add soo many factors. So long as the seller and buyer are both happy at the end of the day the circle of life continues. 👌😁
That is a beautiful opal!! Awesome job Roy!! That would look awesome in a display stand as well. I have a smaller carving that needs nova tips could not get the little dip good enough. Great tips on selling and pricing, I only have a couple higher end pieces that I will not be in a rush to sell.👍👍😁
Gidday mate hi everyone and happy Sunday to you Roy I hope everything is going great for you Good to hear a bit on the pricing side of things well done I think what a lovely opal and video 👍🏼 liked it A stone like this could be considered a piece of fine art thanks 🙏🏼😃
Hey Ben. It's a very in demand topic so I think I'll do a more detailed video where I just value a bunch of carvings. Makes me think there are some viewers that are carving and ready to start selling their work which puts a smile on my face.
Very informative brother...I'm not to the selling point yet and don't know if I ever will but good advice...very kind of the guy to let you keep the stone... I know how attached you can become to a gem you had to coax from the rough...kudos and as always THANKS for the video!
Thank you for the information and explanations. It helped👍That's awesome you can keep the piece, very nice for him to do that 💚. Looking forward to your next video, best of luck🤘
Thanks Steven, I know many have been asking about this topic so hopefully it was useful. Lou and I will definitely work together in the future for sure.
No worries man. That silversmithing video you did the other day was funny as man. Very much enjoyed it. Good to see the first baby steps of a learning process and I'm sure I'll do the same when I start.
I’m surprised to hear that the more standard shapes sell better. Maybe my taste is odd but personally I find the unusual shapes so much more interesting. Good info here. Thanks.
I have a friend that sold a similar freeform for about $700 which is about $50/ct but that took a long time. The dark crystal could get an easy $100 or up to $200 but would be a slow sale. The red/white boulder I wouldn't let go for under $200 (had an offer at $200 after the video carving it) but could probably fetch $300 if I waited long enough. Both the carved semi cabs I'm saving for jewellery projects, after which I would consider selling them.
When it comes to art. the HOURS do make a difference. Sometimes you make CEO rates & others you get slave wages. As my mentor said to me, "The buyer has to believe it is worth something & paying does that."
That is a good quote. I feel like a true artist doesn't think about the monetary side of the work. Just produce something you love and hopefully someone out there also highly values the piece of work.
Great video, with carat how do you weigh and determine if there is still some potch on that back how much is recommended as least as possible I imagine, I have a few small pieces as a hobby just wondering,
You don't need to remove potch from the back unless the stone is too thick. As long as the stone is a good thickness in relation to size (bigger needs to be thicker) and the potch is not on the face of the stone you are fine. Much better to have potch on the back giving strength than remove as much as possible and end up with a thin fragile gem.
Nah I don't think I will do any hole drilling. I only drill stones that are low quality or have a sand spot. I almost did a fire agate carving live stream today but wanted to do the final chapter on this stone.
@@RoysRocks gotcha. Freeform wire wrap it is then. Cuz the piece is cool enough to warrant such. I'd just end up drilling a easy hole and wearing as is. Primitive style rope or hemp, maybe a bead or two.
It seems to me the main detractors of price in free form is its ease of setting, if you were to make a custom setting, would you say the price becomes more equal to a standard shape? If not possibly greater than due to its unique look?
You are on the money there. Some of the most expensive pieces of opal jewelry out there have insane freeform stone set. It really is because not everyone can set it and even if they have the skill it is a huge commitment.
@@RoysRocks typical of my brain… always complicating things! Path I must take as lovely as cabs and standard settings are, It feels so wrong grinding so much away just for a shape!… and i have some fractal ideas in my head that my skill level has some catching up to do…. Then theres the opal sculptures my head is designing…. Inspired by the thought of “what if the world were made of opal” colors everywhere!
@@RoysRocks when it comes to opal videos on CZcams I'm definitely a connoisseur...if there's a channel that concerns opal in any shape or form that I'm not subscribed to I wish I knew what it was because I'd subscribe to it lol...safe to say I have the fever. Thanks again friend
Great video Roy. You made a good friend in Lou.
Thanks. Yeah he is a top guy!
Hi Roy, epic freeform there! My mother had a freeform opal necklace where the artist painted a substance on the surrounding potch & gold painted/plated that area, then mounted the piece for a necklace. Gorgeous! This might make pieces that are "beaten by sand" or with inclusions quite saleable. ...just a thought...
Interesting Ideal. I have thought about it and seen only one or two do something similar but definitely worth keeping in mind for the future.
G’day Roy, great explanation, be happy with a decent turnover and leave the retail prices until you’re a retailer. I like to think of it as I’m settling on a parting fee 🤪👍
Yo man. You sell many loose stones yourself? I've seen a few on your website but I assume you craft something from most.
@@RoysRocks yes, I’m a bit too complacent with the web site and need to list a bunch of stones, I used to sell on eBay under philm162, but trying to branch out a little. Most sales lately have been by email contact. I’ve got a fair bit of concrete matrix atm, I’ll be making rough parcels available soon. 🤪👍
This is exactly my outlook !
Pricing is the hardest thing where opal is considered..
I sold a 11ct blue body tone lightning ridge crystal for a hell of a lot cheaper than it should've been but I know
The new owner will cut something unreal from it ...
Easily the hardest part of this game.
Thanks Roy. I also look at the piece and if it was recut into calibrated cab and establish a price per ct. Than add the extras like time, uniqueness and quality of opal in hand.
Its a complicated process for sure and you can add soo many factors.
So long as the seller and buyer are both happy at the end of the day the circle of life continues. 👌😁
That's awesome, that you can keep it, thanks for the info. The stone looks fantastic.
It was a very fun stone to carve up.
That is a beautiful opal!! Awesome job Roy!! That would look awesome in a display stand as well. I have a smaller carving that needs nova tips could not get the little dip good enough. Great tips on selling and pricing, I only have a couple higher end pieces that I will not be in a rush to sell.👍👍😁
I'm like a dragon and will probably never sell. If I can get into jewelry making I'll start selling them as I dont wear any myself.
Gidday mate hi everyone and happy Sunday to you Roy I hope everything is going great for you
Good to hear a bit on the pricing side of things well done I think what a lovely opal and video 👍🏼 liked it
A stone like this could be considered a piece of fine art
thanks 🙏🏼😃
Hey Ben. It's a very in demand topic so I think I'll do a more detailed video where I just value a bunch of carvings.
Makes me think there are some viewers that are carving and ready to start selling their work which puts a smile on my face.
@@RoysRocks Hi Roy sounds good. Great to see more people getting interested in opals and the art of opal cutting. 👍🏼✨🔮🌵😎💜🌺
I've literally seen Justin take a rough, shape it, and get it set to polish in five minutes. He's an opal Jedi.
Haha yeah he can make some serious coin on an hourly basis with his years of built up skills and speed.
That's a beautiful collector's specimen and i belive there is a big market for for that .
Unfortunately not as big as simple calibrated cabs but there are deffinetly buyers out there for carvings (like me) 🤑
Great stuff. Thanks again for putting together such informative video's. Have a safe weekend
You to Kenneth. My weekend is unfortunately just about over but still some time for a bit of carving...
Thanks for the video!
What an incredible gift!
No worries Mackie.
Incredible is an understatement, I had to read and reread the message he sent before I could believe it LOL 🤣
Thank you for your helpful information.........🥰🥰🥰
No worries always just trying to help.
@@RoysRocks 👍👍👍
Very informative brother...I'm not to the selling point yet and don't know if I ever will but good advice...very kind of the guy to let you keep the stone... I know how attached you can become to a gem you had to coax from the rough...kudos and as always THANKS for the video!
Haha yeah I was already preparing myself mentally for sending it back. I'll probably never sell loose stones/carvings.
Thank you for the information and explanations. It helped👍That's awesome you can keep the piece, very nice for him to do that 💚. Looking forward to your next video, best of luck🤘
Thanks Steven, I know many have been asking about this topic so hopefully it was useful.
Lou and I will definitely work together in the future for sure.
@@RoysRocks It helped to make sense of why carvings are so varied. Definitely appreciate the help bud 👍 I look forward to seeing more from y'all🙂
Very nice opal
Managed to cut a few good ones in the collection in the last year or so.
I love that opal
So do I. Time to lock it up in the safe for the future.
First
Great Carving. I think it is priceless.
Thanks for the video's Roy.
Last
So Glad you get to keep it and enjoy it.
It is priceless to me as well. 👌✨
Needed this info. Thanks Roy
No worries man. That silversmithing video you did the other day was funny as man. Very much enjoyed it. Good to see the first baby steps of a learning process and I'm sure I'll do the same when I start.
👍 That was a nice thing for him to do. 😁
Incredibly nice. I'm sure he will have a few other tricky stones for me in the future and I'll pounce on the opportunity to work on them for him.
Good information
Hope it helps. Pricing opal is really tough.
Helpful indeed
If you are interested, check out some of these opals
I’m surprised to hear that the more standard shapes sell better. Maybe my taste is odd but personally I find the unusual shapes so much more interesting. Good info here. Thanks.
All comes down to standard shapes being easier to set so higher in demand. Custom freeforms take a lot of work to set.
Maybe you can have that peice set in a resin cast/shape that suits you.
Just a thought.
Yeah strange shaped freeforms would probably need to be set like that somehow.
I bought my first opal but it is not a beginner piece it caught me I want to set it but ik it could be so much more
Well at least you are in the opal game now. Any start is a start but I would definitely practice on something low quality to start with.
Well explained..
Cheers Famo59 🍻👍🤓⛏
Thanks man. I'm thinking about doing a follow up where we actually go through and value a bunch of carvings.
@@RoysRocks
Looking forward to seeing it.
Still got it bro? Awesome
Yeah I still have all the stones in this video.
Your very tallented aswell bro 😊
Nah just spent a bit of time on it over the last few years.
Can u do a vid on polishing opal w a dremel? ❤🎉😮
There are a large number on the channel already. I would suggest this one for a quick run down: czcams.com/video/mPgfzDOfDBc/video.html
So what price would you set on each of the 3 stones you showed?
I have a friend that sold a similar freeform for about $700 which is about $50/ct but that took a long time.
The dark crystal could get an easy $100 or up to $200 but would be a slow sale.
The red/white boulder I wouldn't let go for under $200 (had an offer at $200 after the video carving it) but could probably fetch $300 if I waited long enough.
Both the carved semi cabs I'm saving for jewellery projects, after which I would consider selling them.
When it comes to art. the HOURS do make a difference. Sometimes you make CEO rates & others you get slave wages. As my mentor said to me, "The buyer has to believe it is worth something & paying does that."
That is a good quote. I feel like a true artist doesn't think about the monetary side of the work. Just produce something you love and hopefully someone out there also highly values the piece of work.
Great video, with carat how do you weigh and determine if there is still some potch on that back how much is recommended as least as possible I imagine, I have a few small pieces as a hobby just wondering,
You don't need to remove potch from the back unless the stone is too thick.
As long as the stone is a good thickness in relation to size (bigger needs to be thicker) and the potch is not on the face of the stone you are fine.
Much better to have potch on the back giving strength than remove as much as possible and end up with a thin fragile gem.
Drill a hole through the black potch and make a basic necklace out of it?
Nah I don't think I will do any hole drilling.
I only drill stones that are low quality or have a sand spot.
I almost did a fire agate carving live stream today but wanted to do the final chapter on this stone.
@@RoysRocks gotcha. Freeform wire wrap it is then. Cuz the piece is cool enough to warrant such. I'd just end up drilling a easy hole and wearing as is. Primitive style rope or hemp, maybe a bead or two.
It seems to me the main detractors of price in free form is its ease of setting, if you were to make a custom setting, would you say the price becomes more equal to a standard shape? If not possibly greater than due to its unique look?
You are on the money there. Some of the most expensive pieces of opal jewelry out there have insane freeform stone set. It really is because not everyone can set it and even if they have the skill it is a huge commitment.
@@RoysRocks typical of my brain… always complicating things! Path I must take as lovely as cabs and standard settings are, It feels so wrong grinding so much away just for a shape!… and i have some fractal ideas in my head that my skill level has some catching up to do…. Then theres the opal sculptures my head is designing…. Inspired by the thought of “what if the world were made of opal” colors everywhere!
I’d have trouble letting mine go,the issue is then having money to buy more…….
Haha yeah I'm with you. I just know if I had the skills I would be able to make something out of each stone so can't let it go early!
👍
👌😉
hey
Hi Paxter. 👍
I see an elephant in that stone 😃
Haha I kinda see that too!
He he rarely 1st
Haha I like that people are starting to comment "1st" I only ever see that on videos of real youtubers.
@@RoysRocks when it comes to opal videos on CZcams I'm definitely a connoisseur...if there's a channel that concerns opal in any shape or form that I'm not subscribed to I wish I knew what it was because I'd subscribe to it lol...safe to say I have the fever. Thanks again friend