Simply Complex

A gorgeous dome and a gently asymmetrical piece of rather outrageously beautiful Boulder Opal from Australia....

cabbed by yours truly

Working with opal makes me feel most tied to the earth because so much of the matrix is just that: a fine, silty dirt that shears off in water with this grace and muddy wonder....

underneath there is a layer of opal, whose depth is unknown: grind or polish too far down and you lose your best fire.

It is a lot like gambling and it makes the heart race to cab boulder opals.

Under the water I am sure I was sweating when the green fire emerged from this stone....

"If she makes it, I promise a simple, elegant setting," I mused as I spent time on the 1,200 wheel.

And so, here we are: a small, sweet silver package for a stupendous stone.

Size 8, in the Metal Shop this evening.