In 1997 two people with an intense love for the dazzling beauty of opals started the Village Smithy Opals, Inc. Much of our opal purchasing money was being spent on rough opals that had been filtered through several middlemen and the price was far too high. We had tried buying opals direct from Australia (through people dubiously calling themselves “miners”) via the mail, with the same results. We knew we could do better. In 2000, we made our first trip to outback Australia to buy our opal rough direct from the miners at substantial savings. On my 14th birthday, I (Steve) was surprised by the wonderful gift of a B & I Gem Cutting Machine to encourage me in my growing lapidary interest. Being raised in Minnesota, the first stones that I cut and polished on my new lapidary machine were Lake Superior agates that my father and I had found on the north shore of Lake Superior during spring outings. But after a visit to a local jewelry store, where world class Lightning Ridge black opals were on display, I was hopelessly bitten by the opal bug. I began cutting opals in 1964 when I was 16. The money to purchase my first rough opal parcel, and a new 6 Star Diamond gem cutting machine, came from a part time job, working in a Minneapolis restaurant while attending high school. During my 4 year stint in the Navy, I was fortunate to be stationed at NTC San Diego where they had a fully stocked lapidary hobby shop on base. Many an evening was spent polishing cabochons and swapping stories of opals and dreams of Australia, with other rock hound sailors. I learned to adapt my techniques and cut opals in a very basic fashion, while stationed on the U.S.S. Saratoga CVA-60 (off the coast of Vietnam). My jury-rigged lapidary process consisted of grinding by hand, on the flat side of an old 220-grit grinding wheel resting on a table (a bit dusty). I then hand sanded on various grades of wet/dry sandpaper and hand polished on a small piece of wool blanket with tin oxide as a polishing agent. I cut some of my best opal cabochons in this crude manner, even though it was slow and time consuming and the arm got a bit tired. The control and finish in hand cutting is marvelous...you seldom ruin an opal by cutting through a fire layer. Gem cutting turned into jewelry making: silversmithing and goldsmithing (hence the name the Village Smithy Opals) are enjoyable challenges. But the opals were my true love. Darlene, a native Montanan, shares my love of opals, and keeps me on track with the business side of the enterprise. Her bookkeeping talents are a great addition to the business. Darlene is a wonderful Special Education Teacher and her students have also been infected with the rock and gem fever. Together, Darlene and I have made many wonderful trips to the land down under in search of this dazzling and sometimes elusive gemstone. Keep an eye on our trip report travelogs as they will allow you to share in our search for opals...and we post a new one yearly.

Address: P.O. Box 21704 Billings Montana 59104-1704
Telephone: (406) 651-4947
Fax: (406) 545-3100
Website: http://www.villagesmithyopals.com/