White Cliffs painting by Barbara
Johno specking at Andamooka
Opal fossil
Brian Tansell and Johno
Mintabie magic colours
Stolen opalised shells
Andamooka matrix opal gem
Old wreck on the opal plain
Ross Coghill's father Ben
Noodling at Grawin
Windlass and bucket
Gem matrix slab
Johno in old diggings
Minnie Berrington
Fossil opal
Welcome to Johno's Opals
My name is Johno and I have been obsessed with Australian Opal since the early 1960's, when I found my first opal. The beautiful play of colour and the fact that every opal is unique has never ceased to thrill me.
There is a great pleasure in cutting and polishing opal. To see a gem emerge as you cut away the sand and haze on the surface of the stone, never stops amazing me.
I have also always had a dream of one day finding a gem opal myself, and to this end frequently call in at one or other of the opal fields. I haven’t found my stone yet but have met a lot of wonderful people who are also looking.
This website is my attempt to share my passion for opal with any one who reads it. It shows the opal fields as we have found them in our travels, but there are also stories of some of the pioneers who overcame great hardship to try and find this elusive gemstone.
I have also tried to share my experiences in cutting opal using fairly basic equipment which most of us could afford.
There are many photographs of opals I have cut and my hope is that you will share with me the pleasure in viewing this wonderful gem.
I am not an expert, and my opals would pale in comparison to the wonderful gems that have been pulled from the earth in past days, but they still have a unique beauty.
I hope you enjoy some of my posts.
Latest Blog Posts
Recent find of rare large Yowah nut
12 March 2024 by Johno
Yowah nutsWhat is a Yowah NutA yowah nut is a form of Boulder opal. It is found in the shape of a nut and these nuts can vary in size up to the size of an avacado. They are usually hollow inside a shell of a form of ironstone and these hollows...
Polishing shells
11 March 2024 by Johno
Polishing shellsIf you have ever picked up sea shells you will have noticed that many of them have a pearl like appearance beneath their outer coating. When this coating is removed the appearance of the shell is greatly enhanced.I have been tempted on many occasions to grind this outer coating...
White Cliffs Opal Field 2022
4 May 2023 by Johno
Visit to White Cliffs Opal Field in 2022In September 2022 we decided to visit friends in South Australia but our plans had to be changed for health reasons.The weather wasn't so good so we decided to head north as quickly as possible. Where to go? After a short deliberation we...
Free Lung Checks for Opal and Gemstone Miners
2 May 2023 by Johno
Free Lung Checks for Opal and Gemstone MinersHeart of Australia will be bringing its state of the art mobile medical imaging clinic - HEART 5- to Quilpie, Yowah and Cunnamulla to provide free lung checks for current small scale opal and gemstone miners in the region.As part of the initiative...
Tales From The Opal Fields
22 April 2023 by Johno
Tales from the opal fieldsThe opal fields are full of many different characters. They have been attracted to opal mining for many different reasons not just the lure of opal. One of the attractions is the ability to live a life free of most of the restrictions modern life imposes...
Return to Andamooka
22 April 2023 by Johno
A short time ago I was contacted by an opal miner from Andamooka who related to me a story of his time at the opal field. The miner was Geoffrey Cotton and when asked if it was ok to post his story he provided me with the following. I am...
Potch is not always as it seems
7 April 2023 by Johno
Grey Potch.I had recently purchased a parcel of opal that contained quite a lot of potch as well as some nice colour. I put the potch to one side and forgot about it. Last week I went through it again and saw what I thought was a faint red band...
Searching For Opal With UV Torch
6 April 2023 by Johno
Searching for opal with a UV TorchI have always wanted to search for opal at night with a UV torch.Years ago I purchased a UV fluoroescent light and connected it to a battery source and tried it out at Lightning Ridge. No luck.The set up was quite cumbersome and didn't...
Experimenting with Doublets and Triplets
22 September 2020 by Johno
Experimenting with Opal Doublets and TripletsWith plenty of time on my hand during the Corona Virus lock-down I decided to experiment with the making of opal doublets and triplets.Traditionally doublets are made with a potch backing and triplets with a potch backing and a clear glass, plastic or quartz top....
Flying Cars in Coober Pedy
24 June 2020 by Johno
Coober Pedy is not all about opalWhen ever you hear the name Coober Pedy you immediately think Opal.Well you may need to think again. Air Speeder has announced it will operate a full scale fling car race in Coober pedi by the end of 2020. These flying cars are based on...