Australian miner Bobby and the rare opal he found on his last day of work.
Australia is known for rare gemstones and the Royal opal is far from the largest ever unearthed in the outback. They have ranged in sizes up to 1,000 carats or more.
But this stone is unlike any other because of its color and its clarity. “It made me cry when I saw it and I think it will make people gasp at the very least when they see it,” Jetter told local ABC television station KOAT.
The Australian miner, who is only identified by the name, “Bobby,” discovered the stone the day he retired and is now ready to share it with the world.
He’s a hard-scrabbled prospector who has been scraping up a living in the harsh outback for decades, and realizes blessings come when least expected.
“You get it when the good Lord’s ready to give you a bit of it,” he said while in Santa Fe to meet with Jetter. “That gives you a buzz I can tell you.”
He’s working with Jetter to create a one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry.
Jetter said a stone of this size and quality hasn’t been found anywhere in the world since the 1930s. It’s so precious, she’s keeping it in a local bank vault.
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