How to Cut Gemstones | Opal Faceting in 4K 

I can only imagine how long it’s taken to acquire the equipment and the knowledge to do the impressive level of work you’re doing. I’ve done free hand, cutting of various gemstones myself. But nothing quite as intricate. your work is impressive.

Even locating facet grade opal is tricky. But it takes a special touch to actually do the cutting. I like the detailed information you included in his video.

I can’t say I’m usually a fan of Ethiopian opal, but wow! Faceting it turned it into a whole new thing! This turned out absolutely spectacular.

First time I've seen an opal that's not a cabochon. Really, diamonds pale in comparison with opals. Amazing piece, sir! 😊

I award you the most talented gemstone cutter 2021

Steve, You are a Fantastic Artist. This is one of the most beautiful Opals, and You brought out the best in this fabulous stone. Thanks for sharing.

To just learn about this and how you handle the whole cut process is expensive knowledge, but you give it to public for free. Thank you Steve!

Oh wowwwww.... I didn't know opals can have such high clarity, always thought they'd be cloudy and faceting would be useless. I'm so wrong, this opal is gorgeous.

I've always seen cabochon opals never faceted, this faceted opal looks magically beautiful! Great job!

gorgeous!! opals are so much better than diamonds. my favorite gemstone ♥️

Shaping these stones is a gift and a skill that I hope is passed on and never dies.

When it comes to finely detailed work, done by hand; knowing when the job is done has to be one of the most important skills to have.

Thank you for getting me into faceted opal Steve. I'm a beginner under 15 stones cut. Over a year ago I drooled over this video. I've faceted my first opal now a Mexi 9mm round. Love it! I will try more soon.

Great video. We always teach people to wear eye protection when using saws and grinding machines. Eyes are so special and the damage sometimes cannot be repaired!

that is an unbelievably beautiful stone

I wasn’t a fan of opals until I met my first faceted Ethiopian Opal. What a difference it makes!

Good to see some else doing some faceting of opal. Only jelly particularly, but not exclusively, faceting can look great.

I never realized how much work goes into faceting a gemstone! faceted opal is so pretty and not something you see a lot of.

Old disabled house bound dusty rusty rockhound here: That stone is heavenly! Fantastic job!

What a magnificent stone! Spellbinding beauty!

Congratulations you've made an astonishing jewel with your patience and expertise!

I keep watching this video over and over again. I'm in love with this opal. I like faceted crystal opals. Maybe in a couple of year I would buy such a beauty.

Finished stone came out much better then i ever thought from the rough i saw, really nice job cutting it,beautiful opal

Thank you for sharing this video with us.

Mesmerisingly beautiful stone. Your workmanship and generosity in sharing your learning is outstanding, thankyou for sharing.

Thank you so much Mr Moriarty for your informative, knowledgeable and candid tutorials. Truly an ispiration Sir

Wow! Amazing to see the finished product compared to your rough opal! Beautiful

Such a great thing that the video is guided with how to opal was cut from start to finish, I've never seen a opal faceted before and this one it's amazing, i really enjoy how the facets multiply the play of colour of the stone, those are truly gems.

wow Steve i never thought it would show that much color in the end , very nice crystal with a very gemmy look because of colors and how clean the body is

Wow! very attractive after faceting! never seen anything like it. its gorgeous!

The patience, skill and artistry you work with. Are quite amazing!

WOW!! That is one beautiful gemstone, the play of color and shimmering reds you achieved are really amazing. Thanks for putting so much time into making the video, I really enjoyed watching your process.

I am not into cutting stone business but i really enjoyed watching the video. Very enjoyable!

Wooow thanks Sir for sharing your knowledge. We are in Tanzania and want to become jewelry artists! With your amazing videos we will archieve! Bless you and your family!

Some great cutting tips. Thanks for the in-depth video.

The rough looked pretty amazing itself, the gem you produced is magnificent.

Lost of words! Beautiful!!!

This guy did a great job speaking, very informational and professional!

Thanks Steve. Remarkable job. That stone turned out great. The faceting really shows off the color. Done that way I actually like an opal. The interesting part though is that new machine. It’s not priced for the hobbiest but it would be interesting to get a tour of it’s features. Thanks again for sharing.

Wow, What a wonderful job and hard work you show here! Very inspiring. Its just so beautifully done! What a joy to be able to see this. Thank you for your video.

Thank you so much for taking the time to show us!

Who says Australia has the best opal. This truly rivals them both, amazing job and finished product. Sure it's worth a fortune, I'm sure your going to remember cutting this amazing opal and happy it was yourself.

Thank you guys very much for producing this video. I've wondered for years how gem cutting was done, and I've seen a couple of channels with some hokey looking equipment, but this was very interesting, informative, and entertaining. The end result was absolutely stunning! very well done Steve!

That machine is SUPER PRECISE! LOVE IT!

One of my Welo opals was badly crazed and lost colors completely! I was very disappointed. I have many rough opals and wish I had your talent to facet or cut or polish opals! Amazing workmanship! Thank you!!!

I like the Australien opals the most..becouse I' ve seen their all kind of colours...one more amazing then the other. Thank you for sharing. 👍💝🙏

what a beautiful stone. I could stare at that thing all day.😳💯💯💯

Gorgeous! First faceted opal I've seen. Understand why now. Thanks for sharing!

That stone before cutting in two , was so pretty to be cut .

Steve, you are indeed the master and my hero. Thank you for the detailed video! I'll be passing this link along to my faceting buddies here in Las Vegas for sure.

Amazing skill. I am in total awe of the skill you demonstrate

The tools and machinery plus the the craftmanship do the miracle, a faceted opal, thank you for sharing

Супер, профессионал высшей категории. Огромный лайк и подписка👍

This was amazing. I really respect your ability to do such fine work; I mean fine in both senses of the word -- carefully done, elegant.

So good to watch for 2nd time thank you for posting, ,beautiful.

This was awesome. My mind was blown

Steve you did a magic beautiful cut nice polish thanks for sharing.

Dear god, it’s beautiful thank you so much for making this vid.

This is a gorgeous opal!!! Watching you work makes me really appreciate the stones I have and the work that went into them. I can’t imagine how frustrating it would be to put all that time and money into making this only to have it crack afterwards.

That is absolutely stunning

Never seen a faceted opal. This is cool. Edit: wow. I was hoping you got reds. -and you got reds 👍

Nice work you convert the stone to wonderful gem

Very nice cut! Its crazy to see my grandfathers machine still up and running after all these years. Funny enough I bought a house last year and it’s right up the road from where his shop was where he made them.

The rough stone looked amazing from the start, those opals cut are spectacular and so special, such a beautiful work! You captured the whole of the rainbow 🌈 in the gem!👋😊👍😊💎❤ Hugs from Susanne in Sweden.

Oh you are a master that make this beautiful opal come fully to alive. it has become an stunningly beautiful jewel. I would buy it if I would have the money! thank you for your calm in-depth explanation. I have learned so much from it! thank you from Austria!

Those gems look beautiful 🤑

So interesting, Must be a very rewarding profession. Fun ,fun,fun.

That stone is amazing.

Thank you.

I'm just stunned by the beauty of this gem 💎 it's truly a master piece I would give my life savings for that. it's so mesmerizing!!! very nice work indeed 👍

Watching your videos are like being in a classroom. You are so knowledgeable. Thank you for making them, I hope someday to become a facet-uer. The lap equipment is so pricey though! Great video Opal is the best

That is a beautiful stone .

You should have taken more time at the end to show the beauty of you work

I personally have no faciting unit,but have had moderate to good appearance doing some "freehand" facetted opal jelly with far fewer facets. Also got more colour than the rough suggested. The most valuable jelly opal I have seen was shown by a Opal buyer in Andamooka Aust. The opal was polished into a near perfect Ostrich Egg size and shape, in 1970s claimed value over AU$300,000. Kept in a very secure large security safe. I was trying to buy a small parcel of cuttable Opal but shocked, taken aback, as the smallest pack was near $2,500 for only 100gm of good not top grade Opal , packs went up to $50,000. I had nowhere that funds. I missed buying a large jar of good pieces offered in the street by a miner, for $20 beer money. I hesitated, he went on, and apparently sold it for $5 at the bar. Compared with what I did buy for a bit over $300, was no better and probably only half as much pieces. Have dug Opal and got near 1/2kg of excellent Opal and many kg lower grade to potsh at several Australian sites. Used to fly there on tour groups, taking a spare seat with a friend pilot, as well have driven by 4WD and working trips to sites. Normally allowed access to the diggings by friendly miners, who had good returns and were prepared to allow me to dig a bit while they took a rest day. Allowed to keep almost all I found, but they usually wanted a share if I got larger batch of top grade Opal. No worries as I was pleased to have access. I also noodled over old digging rubble and even motel carpark where opal buyers seem to sweep out small stuff from the floor of their rooms. Also found some nice bits, of good opal, next to the supermarket in Coober Pedy, where someone probably cleaned out the back of their Utility. Am tempted to buy a faceting unit now that I am retired, have not cut anything since 1980s. Have many gems to cut, sapphire, topaz , zircon, aquamarine, amithyst, citrine, smoky to clear quartz, agate, etc from many years of gem prospecting. Of course also lots of cabochon material,.

top quality video! thank you so much for this its truly amazing you posted It up for free I will be standing on the shoulders of giants like yourself for sure

Looks stunning! Thank you for making this video! This is my first time seeing a faceted opal ✨

I have never seen this type of opal before and it is absolutely beautiful. Steve you truly brought out the fire in this gem. Just stunning!!

Amazing job on both stones .. The color flashes are almost blinding! Wish now I had gone with a crystal Ethiopian instead of a Welo for my ring ..

Wow that turned out fabulous! Love all the colors, thanks for sharing with us how this is done 😀.

nice work mate looks amazing

Steve, you are without a doubt a true jewelry expert. Fascinating work. Congratulations. Thanks for your explanation. Hug.

The first cut opal I’ve ever seen or even heard about.

What a beutiful piece of opal, congratulation. Lovely.

That was fascinating. What a Beautiful Gem.

The red fire Steve! great video

Hey's enjoyed the video. I hope all are well in your family. I went Hyles-Anderson in the 80's.

Just found your site and was fixated watching my first gem cutting and fascinated by your incredible talent. And proud that you're a fellow Hoosier! I'll be back for more More!😄

You are awesome. Thanks for sharing these videos. I love watching you work.

The most incredile opal i've had see

Gracias por mostrarme detalles de su trabajo. Exelente virtud la paciencia.

this is one of those pieces of subtle beauty

Hello Steve, well first I must say, I love how you teach through the video and explain each step and process, your a delight to listen to as you have a sincerely soothing voice and a true gift of cutting! That opal was just gorgeous! Im on an opal hunt now as my mother just passed away and one of my siblings stole her large opal ring that my uncle designed and made in the 70s. My heart was broken to not see that peice in the remainder of what was left of her possessions... but i want to buy one as a reminder of my mom and the fact that life is fragile and not to be taken for granted, just like an opal.. Blessings to you Steve and you have a new sub in me and i look forward to seeing more videos! I hope you show it set! Pamela

very beautiful opal gem nice cut

that stone looks incredible

At first I was blasé about this vid, but as he finally started cut I grew more and more interested by the end I was actually looking at his link to purchase one of these things, they end up stunning.

I'm gobsmacked. That's amazing work! What a beauty of a gem!

my father was good friends with Joel Arem. he's wrote a few books on lapidary arts, and I think he was one of the 100 (diamonds). it really is an art form. I had some stones from him, and, although he's not with us anymore, he did some amazing work as well.

How is this even possible? Omg ❤

All I can say is that came out amazing, and I'm so jealous… I just started working on gemstones by hand obviously not getting any nice facets like that. You definitely deserve credit for an awesome skill.

Insane stone and just amazing work. I can't wait to buy a lap in the future!