Where to Buy Opal Mosaic Beads: A Comprehensive Guide

Question
Hi,

I have been trying to find opal mosaic beads for years now. However the selection is very limited. I have been able to find only two sources via internet search for them. One being shed.com and the other being kucina opals on ebay. The beads sell for over 5$ per bead. I was hoping to find them a little cheaper or otherwise as a strand. I have looked high and low and can't seem to find any other sellers. Do you have any suggestions for my search?

Thanks

- Kay

Answer
Dear Kay,

you have to value the opal a little more preciously than how you are presently appraising them . If opal beads  were cheap as chips ..everyone  would have used them. Truth is , opal is a rarer stone then we acknowledge. Opal  is expensive to mine and they are less common than diamond ...consider this :Everyone you know has a diamond right ? how many people you know own an opal..? see . its not that they don't like them .. they are rare ...and not mass produced .But merely from a mining point of view , the quality of opal is such that they command a better price . Glass beads , silver beads , ceramic , wood and many other semi precious stones are easy to reproduce . But an opal ..well  they are individually different and not , particularly recently, not abundant. Then ,to make a bead requires cutting away a lot of good material  to make a sphere..so waste is a factor. Then drilling  might chip  the bead and so rejects are a factor , then add the fact you want mosaic, so someone has to meticulously piece these together under magnification to make each bead . So after all that , you can explain to your customer that these beads should you proceed buying them  are worth it . I myself love beads and I've wasted alot of material to make beads . I resided that there is not enough natural material to design and make a range . So I use cultured opal , I have  6mm beads  drilled uniform , in Dark "black opal" or white opal ,they are magic  and strong. let me know if your interested . I believe they are priced well ,as they do use alot of material to make and take a fair while to produce.Pls Visit http://www.keadyopals.com/fashionjewellery.htm , scroll down to see "New world earrings"  and further down  "Princessa" Pendant...Thats the black opal type. I hope that helps . Opal beads are really worth it and quite unique . No one in USA has used this bead as yet . best regards Rod Keady