I have been intrigued by opal since my college years. Through the years I've acquired a modest collection of stones. When I retired in 1999, my wife and I moved from California to beautiful Whidbey Island, Washington. I resolved to learn how to cut opal to further my interest and be able to make the fascination with opals more affordable for myself and others.

In about 2001 I learned about boulder opal and made the acquaintance of a miner whose mine is located in the Koroit opal fields of Queensland, Australia. This miner taught me a lot about Koroit opal and I have concentrated on cutting boulder opal ever since. It is truly a “bang for the buck” material that is capable of producing large, beautiful and interesting stones, each of which is unique.

In 2002 I took a silver smithing class at my local gem club. Opalguy was born when I registered his name as a business name with the Washington State Dept of Registrations and Licenses.

Since then I have been making boulder opal jewelry consisting of pendants, brooches, bracelets, rings and bolos (for men). I cut the stones and set them, applying intense heat of the torch (1250 degrees) to weld the setting and intense elbow grease of hand finishing to make the silver bright. I use .999 fine silver in most cases because it polishes to a higher luster than sterling and it tarnishes less. I have sold my pieces at local craft shows, galleries and other art venues. I am able to produce attractive pieces at a fraction of the cost of solid opal on a gram for gram basis. While I do not consider myself a silversmith or a fine jeweler, I am completely engrossed in the stones. My knowledge and experience in working with them builds with every stone and every unique piece made completely by hand.

My designs are focused on the presentation of the stones with as little distraction as possible. But since I do not use gold, I choose not to stint on the silver. I craft bale systems for my pieces that can accommodate larger chains, cords or bead work necklaces. I do provide a stainless steel chain with each piece with the knowledge that most people who wear pendants have chains or other preferred hanging methods. I endeavor to create affordable jewelry that represents good value. I offer pieces that have value, but that you don't have to take out a mortgage to acquire. This is what I mean when I declare in my motto “opal for the masses.”