Santa Cruz, California · Hand-cut · Ethically sourced
Light caught
in stone.
Twenty-plus years at a single bench. Australian black opal, Ethiopian Welo, Mexican fire, opalized fossil — sourced direct from the miners, cut by hand, listed honestly.
Latest cut
sale **** Small Medium **** 1 Full Strand of Beautiful tapered 3-4+ mm Opal beads 16" was 125
$81
The story
A single cutter,
a bench in Santa Cruz.
Twenty-plus years hand-cutting opals. Rough comes directly from the people who mine it — no broker chain. Every cabochon and freeform leaves the bench inspected, photographed, and described honestly: sand, cracks, matrix and all.
Ethiopian Welo through proper verification. Australian rough from Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy, Yowah, and the boulder fields. Mexican fire from Querétaro. Fossil opal where silica replaced something organic, sixty million years ago.
We cannot see our reflection in running water.
It is only in still water that we can see.
From the bench
Rough Welo, fresh off the parcel.
Live from the Etsy shop
In the case
Opal Beads in Tube with cork - Natural Ethiopian
$40
10 ct carat Purple Fire Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$75
15 ct carat Red Fire Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$155
9 ct carat No Fire Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$25
7 ct carat Purple Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$45
12 ct carat Purple Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$35
9 ct carat Purple Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$84
14 ct carat Purple Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$64
22 ct carat Purple Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$51
Strands of faceted Welo, draped on quartz.
Every facet, by hand.
What we cut
Eleven sections, one bench
Hand-cut cabs and stones ready to set
Polished domes — the bench's standard cut
Organic cuts that follow the rough
Finished pendants, wrapped in argentium / .925
Uncut rough for cutters & collectors
Opalized wood, bone, shell — geology you can hold
Sculpted opal — lotus, hearts, totems
Stones that glow under shortwave UV
Companion specimens — quartz, fluorite, etc.
Strands and individual beads
Rings, earrings, necklaces — ready to wear
Curated picks — what the cutter's most proud of right now
Photos populate from the live Etsy feed + curated archive. Sections without a current listing show a tinted card in that category's play-of-color accent — click through to the Etsy filter to see what's currently in stock.
The information domain
Want to know
what you're looking at?
Origins (Lightning Ridge, Welo, Mexican fire, Boulder), patterns (pinfire → harlequin), terminology, care, sourcing ethics. The cutter's knowledge, browsable in any order.
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