@cosmicopals · Dec 2025
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.
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.
Strands of faceted Welo, draped on quartz.
In the case
8 ct carat Purple Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$100
small 6 ct carat Purple Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$130
16 ct carat Green Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$100
small 7 ct carat Rainbow Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$150
11 ct carat Green Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$100
24 ct carat Purple Opal Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$150
59 ct carat Blue Purple Opal Large Shell Med Size Rough Opal Freeform Rock A++++ Fire
$195Twelve 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 come from the live Etsy feed and the shop archive. Sections without a photo yet still link through — click any tile to see what's in stock on Etsy.
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.
From @cosmicopals
10 most-recent posts · click any tile to open it on Instagram
Anybody seen purple sand before?
Apr 25, 2026
Wherever you are, be there
Photo by Justin Bortnick — April 19, 2026
Apr 19, 2026
Let your light shine through
Opal mornings
Morning
Infinite love ♾️
Found a rainbow
From the bench
Dec 3, 2025
From the bench
Dec 2, 2025