Mac started his trip to the Yowah Opal Festival 2011 last night with the promise of Video updates along the way. So hopefully we can get a glimpse into what the trip is like. The trip to Yowah is about a thirten hour drive from Bellingen and the landscape is quite a bit different so another interesting thing to look out for. If you are interested in going, there is still time. The Yowah Festival for 2011 starts on the 15th of July and finsihes on the 17th of July. Here are the details: Yowah Opal Festival 2011 Start Date: Friday, 15th July 2011 Finish Date: Sunday, 17th July 2011 The Yow...

Many of you might be aware that Opal Horizon, a Brisbane-based Opal mining & wholesaling company have launched a campaign to bring in a “globally quantifiable” grading system for Australia’s national gem stone the Opal. The idea is to bring a standard grading system across the Opal industry so that Opal dealers can capitalise to the full potential on their worth. The new grading system being proposed by Opal Horizon is based on judging three aspects of each Opal: Category – the presence & degree of host rock Colour – Opal face, body tome, play of colour, brightness, pattern, dire...

Ciara Fulcher has a thought provoking article in July's Jeweller mag"Tradition {jewellery] will fall by the wayside if it is not promoted and appreciated by younger generations,all change is daunting,but this does not justify inaction.Well worth a read