u/53FROGS_OPALAUCTIONS

I've been working on building my own pair of huaraches. I'm aiming for as close as I can get to how the runners in Northern Mexico build them. I've got about 500km on this pair and they are really super comfortable but when the straps get wet the leather comes apart at the splice joints. I've tried a few different types of contact adhesive but none are up to the job. Anybody else figure out a way to get a six foot piece of really durable leather that can survive getting wet/sweaty?

Vendor post — I’ve made a small First Look list for people who want to see fresh opal finds, interesting rough parcels, cutting experiments and special projects before I share them more widely.

It’s just first name and email. I’ll keep it occasional and worthwhile.

Join here:

https://mailchi.mp/8f08ca5a38c5/53frogs-first-look

Hi everyone, I’m helping a jeweller source a special opal for a competition design.

We’re looking for:

• A large N1–N2 opal with a very dark, inky blue-black appearance
• Finished size of approximately 28 × 16 mm
• A low-dome shape
• Ideally rough that can be cut to size, although we would consider recutting a larger finished stone if the colour and pattern are perfect

If you have something suitable—or know someone who might—please send me a message with photos, dimensions, location and asking price.

A finder’s fee is available if your lead results in the right stone. Thanks!

The Lightning Ridge opal festival is coming up, so I've listed more than 1,300 no-reserve lots this week to clear some space and, honestly, to fund the buying trip. No reserve means whatever it hammers at is the price — no minimums, no games.

For anyone newer to this: everything's graded by type and difficulty, so you can sort to what suits you — beginner rough, cutting material, cut stones, specimens.

Sorted by what's closing first here:

https://53frogs.opalauctions.com/shop?toggle%5Bno_reserve%5D=true&sortBy=oa.auctions_time_rank&utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=lightning_ridge_festival_push_july2026&utm_content=post

Happy to answer opal questions either way.

G’day all — putting up one of my cool little Coober Pedy pieces.

This one is a fossil/shell.

It’s no reserve and finishes in a couple of days. Sharing here because it’s an interesting oddball.

Auction link:
https://www.opalauctions.com/products/nr-1-coober-pedy-gamble-rough-opal-kraken-1730512?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=no_reserve_coober_pedy_shell&utm_content=r_opal

Also worth saying plainly: this is my own 53Frogs auction, so treat this as a seller post.

When is buying opal direct from a miner actually the best deal?

Not always.

I learned that lesson in Lightning Ridge during a thirty-second negotiation that changed how I think about "miner direct" opal.

When I first got serious about opal, I believed what a lot of new cutters believe: buy direct from the miner, that is where the best deals are.

There is truth in that. If you are walking into Lightning Ridge, Coober Pedy, Winton, or Yowah with ten to thirty thousand dollars to spend, buying direct can absolutely be the best way to buy opal. Most miners want to move a serious parcel, get paid, and get back to mining. They do not want to break it into fifty beginner lots, answer questions, and ship tiny orders worldwide.

Fair enough. That is their job.

But new cutters hear "miner direct" and think it means they are automatically getting the best deal on a small parcel. That is not how it works.

One day in Lightning Ridge, a miner walked up to me with a parcel. I could see the colour, the risk, the sand, the likely yield. To me it looked like maybe $2,000 to $3,000 worth of opal.

He looked me dead in the eye and said, "I'll do it for $22,000."

I said, "I'll give you $3,000 cash right now."

He shook my hand and said, "Deal."

That was the moment the shoe dropped.

Buying direct from the miner does not automatically mean you are getting the best deal. It just means you are standing closer to the person who dug it up. Those are not the same thing.

A shovel in the profile picture does not grade the stone for you. A dusty shirt does not mean the rough is suitable for your skill level.

The better question is not "did this come from a miner?" The better question is "do I know enough to judge the risk, quality, and price of this parcel?"

If the answer is no, be careful.

Cheap rough that you overpay for teaches you new swear words. Good beginner rough teaches you how opal behaves without punishing you too badly.

"Buy direct from the miner" is not terrible advice. It is wholesale advice. But when beginners treat wholesale advice like beginner advice, things can get expensive very quickly.

Cerium oxide polishing looks simple from the outside—pink slurry, felt and a little pressure—but much of what makes it work is happening at the microscopic contact point.

I made this short animation to show the mechanical and chemical sides of cerium polishing, and why I aim for controlled, warm friction rather than getting the stone hot.

This isn’t meant to suggest there’s only one correct technique. It’s an attempt to make visible what experienced cutters often learn to manage by feel.

This one has been sitting on my bench all week. Gorgeous Lightning Ridge orange seam, ending in a few hours. Have a look  Here

So you've been studying hard. You know your opals now. Here is the final exam. What kind of opal is this? I'll send one of my UV torches to the first person who gets it exactly right. I've been cutting opals for 30 years, this came out of my shop, and still I nearly missed it. Good luck! (one guess per person, make it count)

Every opal person has one.

One stone that grabbed you harder than it should have. You sold it, traded it, cut it for someone else, or let it go because that was the sensible thing to do at the time.

Then it sits in the back of your head forever.

This was mine.

I sold this one years ago, back before I had a proper photo setup, and I still think about it. That red upper section with the fiery colour underneath just had something special about it. I have handled a lot of opal over the years, but this one still annoys me in the best possible way.

So let’s see them.

What is your “one that got away” opal?

The one you wish you had kept.

Made this short video for our new shop page but it touches on something genuinely funny about the opal buying community.

A lot of regular buyers go pretty quiet about where they source their opal. Not because they are unhappy. Because competition at auction is real and they would rather keep their edge.

That is the joke behind the video.

I have been sourcing and selling Australian opal for about fifteen years. I built 53Frogs specifically for cutters, hobbyists and people learning the material who needed properly graded rough at a price that made sense. Clear photos, real videos, rough sorted by type and grade so you are not digging around blindly.

Link if anyone wants a look: https://53frogs.opalauctions.com

Happy for honest feedback too. I am genuinely trying to make these more useful and less "middle aged bloke trapped in a shed making ads."

She's 10 years old and still takes her job very seriously.

Two words is all it takes. She's been doing this since she was a pup.

When we lived in Sydney the Mormons would come to the gate. I'd just quietly whisper "bad guys" and watch from across the yard. Never got old.

For the uninitiated: Australian Cattle Dogs were bred by crossing dingoes with droving dogs in the 1800s. What you are seeing is called predatory shaking. It is hardwired. In the wild it breaks the spine of small prey. Opal has decided her rope toy is a brown snake and she is handling it.

I marked the behaviour with the words "bad guys" when she was a pup and now it fires on command. Anywhere. Anytime. Classic conditioning. Pavlov would be proud.

ACD people will know exactly what this is. For everyone else welcome to cattle dog ownership.

Absolutely love how this ring turned out. Truly a statement piece with a powerful vibe. The green is so bright in all lighting.

Opal: 3.5ct Coober Pedy Black Crystal Opal

Dimensions: 14.3mm x 10.4mm

Metal: .925 Silver

Accenting stones: Two 2.3mm Russian Emeralds

Ring Size: 9

Price: $1850 USD

Payable by invoice or through my Etsy store.

Alright, let’s have some fun.

I’m running a true no reserve auction on this thin carved Coober Pedy opal. Starting at $1 USD, highest bid takes it. All bids in USD.

Specs:
8.40 carats
27 x 25 x 2 mm
Body tone N7
Brightness B3
Solid natural carved opal from Coober Pedy

This is a thin carving at around 2 mm thick, so please check the measurements before bidding. Thin opal has plenty of good jewellery uses when it is set appropriately. It can be used as a lightweight carving, in low profile settings, or easily turned into a doublet. The important thing is that it is stable solid opal, not cracked material.

Auction rules:
Bidding starts at $1 USD
Minimum bid increment is $5 USD
Highest valid bid at close wins
Auction ends 72 hours from posting
Tuesday, 19 May 2026 at about 8:30 PM Queensland time
Sniper rule: any bid in the last 5 minutes resets the timer to 5 minutes
All bids must be placed in this thread. Bids elsewhere or by DM won’t be counted.

Shipping:
Worldwide available
I’ll cover shipping on this one

Payment:
Payment within 48 hours via PayPal

I’ll reply to bids in thread so it’s easy to follow.

If you’ve never bought opal before, this is a good way to dip your toes in without overthinking it.

I run the 53Frogs shop on Opal Auctions for those who know me.

Let’s see where it lands.

i get asked this all the time
“how thin can i go and still call it a solid?”

after cutting tens of thousands of opals, you develop a feel for what’s ideal vs what’s just acceptable
but putting that into clear words has always been tricky for me

so i finally sat down and put numbers to it

i’ve sold over 130k stones over the years, so i pulled a sample of data on 8,679 solid cut opals and mapped thickness vs size

a few things stood out:

most commercial solid opals end up around 3–5mm thick, regardless of size

the 20–25% rule is real, but it’s a minimum survival line, not where most stones land

the biggest mistakes happen in the 5–15mm range (shortest side), where people push stones too thin

quick takeaways if you’re cutting:

under 10mm → don’t go below ~2mm for rings

under 15mm → don’t go below ~2.5mm for rings

earrings/pendants can go thinner

when in doubt → aim for ~3mm

you can go thinner… but you need a reason, and you have to be very careful cutting the profile to keep the stone stable and settable

this graphic shows where most stones sit, where the outliers are, and where things start getting risky

curious where others land on this, especially setters

Alright, let’s have some fun.

I’m running a true no reserve auction on this Lightning Ridge opal. Starting at $1 USD, highest bid takes it. All bids in USD.

Specs:
1.75 carats
15 x 8 x 3 mm
Body tone N5/N6
Brightness B3

Solid natural opal from Lightning Ridge. Nice rolling colour with reds, greens and flashes of gold across the face.

Auction rules:
Bidding starts at $1
Minimum increments $5

Highest valid bid at close wins
Auction ends 48 hours from posting (approx 2pm AEST 30 April)
Sniper rule: any bid in the last 5 minutes resets the timer to 5 minutes

Highest valid bid at close wins

All bids must be placed in this thread. Bids elsewhere or via DM won’t be counted.

Shipping:
Worldwide available
I’ll cover shipping on this one

Payment:
Payment within 48 hours via PayPal

I’ll reply to bids in thread so it’s easy to follow.

If you’ve never bought opal before, this is a good way to dip your toes in without overthinking it.

I run the 53Frogs shop on Opal Auctions for those who know me.

Let’s see where it lands.