Mac has a special love for the Queensland opal, despite having a history with Coober Pedy in his younger years. The opal from this part of the world is commonly found with an ironstone background, which can create very beautiful patterns and pictures. Of the many opal fields in Queensland, Mac has been drawn to Yowah and Koroit, and likes particularly to work with these stones. The ironstone background can make cutting challenging, but there’s nothing Mac likes more. The miners themselves can pull out literally hundreds of ‘Yowah nuts’ a day and one lucky soul has the unenviable task of hit...

I remember the first day I fell in love with Opal. To this day the fact that every Opal is unique still fills me with amazement. Can you remember the first day you fell for the illustrious Opal? Throughout the ages most cultures believed that the opal was a lucky stone imbued with mystical or supernatural powers. You can see by the following beliefs that opals were seen in a positive light by many different cultures. To start with Europeans saw the opal as a symbol of hope, truth and purity and if you travel back to the times of the Ancient Greeks & Romans by wearing an opal it was comm...

Quick Tip on Cleaning your Jewellery. So you have just purchased a piece of jewellery that has the potential of becoming a family heirloom and you have brought it home with pride. It sits in a velvet box in a special place and is worn on special occasions. Unfortunately time will eventually take its toll and soon enough the piece will start showing small signs of dirt, which detracts from its sparkle and beauty.   The best option for cleaning your jewellery would be to take it back to Mac, but that isn’t always possible due to time and distance. So, if you decide to clean it yourself, err...