tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post5790860473795713912..comments2024-03-28T12:17:44.126-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): World's largest opal matrix (55,000 carats)Minnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-82693919973919389802022-03-25T02:07:35.735-05:002022-03-25T02:07:35.735-05:00That's not the biggest rainbow matrix from And...That's not the biggest rainbow matrix from Andamooka and the best way to treat the stone in in sugar then wrapt in alfoil then put on hot Coles no flames to turn the sugar to carbon and the background of the stone black.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14215025843598945691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-20699455289687829432012-09-04T18:43:24.631-05:002012-09-04T18:43:24.631-05:00I'm not so sure about the "record" p...I'm not so sure about the "record" part of this opal. I "can" say that in the 70's my partner and I treated pounds and pounds of Andamooka matrix in smaller sizes (up to maybe 10 oz chunks). The largest specimen piece, if I remember correctly, was around 15,000 cts. We displayed it in a 10 gal. aquarium full of water. We never treated it. I remember it being fairly rich in silica and would have been absolutely georgeous treated. $10,000 would have bought it from us in those days. I would like to personally see this specimen shown above to satisfy my curiosity of it being Andamooka. It doesn't look like Queensland Boulder---if not Andamooka then it looks maybe like Honduran. For sure, Andamooka doesn't look like this untill it's treated and polished. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-23858312056975168262012-02-08T07:50:11.397-06:002012-02-08T07:50:11.397-06:00matrixopal didn't leave an email, so readers a...matrixopal didn't leave an email, so readers are welcome to ask questions via this comment thread.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-3670237994633815632012-02-08T04:36:50.647-06:002012-02-08T04:36:50.647-06:00To pads and Minnesotastan. Just to put the record ...To pads and Minnesotastan. Just to put the record straight I am actually the owner of this opal matrix specimen.I was given Stuart Hughes name by a friend of mine in Australia. Stuart has been nothing but straight up with me. He found a group who are interested in buying it, which I would never have been able to do. He passed the buyers details to me without asking for any upfront payment etc.<br />If anyone wants any details about this specimen i would be glad to answer any questionsmatrixopalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05883221014112454382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-29999815935449041662012-01-26T13:14:59.700-06:002012-01-26T13:14:59.700-06:00Interesting. I wasn't sure it was the same gu...Interesting. I wasn't sure it was the same guy, but tracked down this article which references both computers and the opal (and many other things) -<br /><br />http://cdclifestyle.com/posts/tag/stuart-hughes/Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-879659244089477792012-01-26T10:46:51.431-06:002012-01-26T10:46:51.431-06:00The "gentleman" who found this has a rat...The "gentleman" who found this has a rather colourful history...<br /><br />http://www.computer-choppers.com/stuart_hughes_fraud.html<br /><br />Buyer beware!padshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14344763282129534618noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-23487685027613113262012-01-25T09:31:44.739-06:002012-01-25T09:31:44.739-06:00"Here Honey, I hope you like your new ring. O..."Here Honey, I hope you like your new ring. Oops! Didn't mean to crush your hand!"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-17949632845445834312012-01-25T07:59:07.886-06:002012-01-25T07:59:07.886-06:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-47624082383449530622012-01-24T22:34:27.203-06:002012-01-24T22:34:27.203-06:00If I remember (more than a decade) when I was in t...If I remember (more than a decade) when I was in the jewelry business, matrix opal was was often some cheap stuff that if treated correctly produced beautiful gems. It was white with flashes of color but the whiteness of the base did not show the colors well and came off pretty bland. The treatment was to simmer the matrix opal in a concentrated sugar solution for a set period of time and then put the simmered opal into a solution (i don't recall the concentration) of sulfuric acid. This carbonized the sugar which had infiltrated the matrix and turned the opal black. This showed off the colors much better.<br /><br />This may be the case here since while it is an impressive piece just average quality black opal can cost $300 a carat and top quality can run more than $5,000 a carat. Gemstones will almost always have a size premium, i.e. large sizes of inferior quality can cost more per carat than higher quality small sizes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-84069563542453784322012-01-24T19:31:39.061-06:002012-01-24T19:31:39.061-06:00That is just gorgeous.That is just gorgeous.ShortWomanhttp://www.shortwoman.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-81941921888252313802012-01-24T13:04:11.976-06:002012-01-24T13:04:11.976-06:00beautiful.beautiful.flux biota.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07881075272912004234noreply@blogger.com