some bling for my girlfriends birthday

her birthday was Oct 30. So I wanted to make her something nice but different from the usual stuff I make her. My jeweler buddy had a big bucket of Ethiopian opal he bought. I wanted to make her a ring and a pendant since Opal is her birthstone.
I picked out a few hundred $$ worth from the mid grade $35 a gram stuff and took them home. I went to work on my cabbing machine. I worked 2 of them down pretty good to the rough shape I wanted. Went back out the next day and they were cracked. I was mad, this stuff aint cheap.
I worked 2 more pieces and the same thing. I took them back and he exchanged them but told me they will and do and can crack from rehydrating or dehydrating.
I worked the big one and saw that the cortex/sand pit didnt run too deep in it. After a few hours of slow going I decided to have him facet it to give it the best presentation it could get. UREAL, he said I found a sleeper piece and I did, I took her to go pick out a setting and will get it next week.
Heres the before and afters, I/we turned a $100 rock into a $5000 rock. She loves it

That's beautiful, fantastic work.

Beautiful,beautiful stone and workmanship.Something to be treasured for several lifetimes.Thanks for showing us.

All I can say is WOW! Beautiful job.

Great work.

Thats a beautiful stone.

Absolutely wonderful work.

Guys, don't let your wives see this thread...They gon all want one! Very pretty!

Nice work!
Love messing with opal - majic in a rock.
Ever try free style carving them? Relatively easy compared to other stones in it's MOHs class. Nice chunks, but never worked any Ehys before. Got two old Aussys from C-Pdy mine that I still haven't explored for flash yet. Some day.

beautiful ring. I love opals.

Amazing piece of fire opal... Great work.

I have always heard that opal is one of the most difficult stones to work, now you've confirmed it.

Beautiful job and great finish - what an awesome gift!

Wow! Opals are my birthstone too...I have one ring that I cracked the stone in. I can't have any nice stuff, I bust it all up! (I am female) I need some non-tear-upable jewelry!
That is beautiful work!

Yeah, opals are fragile. If you like to wear them in ring sets, an alternative that is a little tougher is to used doublets or triplets.
Doublets are usually opal with a quartz cap (allows light from underside). Triplets are usually quartz/opal/jet (or some other opaque material. They are usually cheaper because they only require a thin sliver of opal. The quartz cap usually magnifies the opal somewhat, but appears to be just part of the opal to the untrained eye.
I have done triplets with various colored stone backings that enhance the play in the opal itself. ie-reds, blues and even yellows, but black is the standard.
Just an alternative that is a little more resistant to normal ring abuse.