Opal Adventures [Hardcover]

Paul B. Downing (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993

How and where opal is mined, its history and its lore. Grab your suitcase...we're going to Australia. Pack your love of opals and your sense of adventure. Get ready to bump over dirt roads. Climb down long ladders. Find opal...not find opal. The complete story of opal.

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the 12 most highly acclaimed new books in our 1992 catalog. Entertaining and educational. -- Jeweler's Book Club, 1992

Take exciting visits to the mining fields of Australia. You'll be tempted to call a travel agent. -- June Culp Zeitner, Lapidary Journal

The most complete up-to-date book on opal I have ready for many, many years. -- Grahame Brown, Australian Gemologist

About the Author

During his many years as an opal dealer, Paul Downing made numerous trips to Australia, visiting all the opal fields at one time or another. His clear, concise narrative style allows the reader to bump along the dirt roads of the outback as he mines for opals. Dr. Downing is the author or 3 other opal books and has contributed to many lapidary magazines over the years.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 234 pages
• Publisher: Majestic Pr; Rev Exp edition (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962531138
• ISBN-13: 978-0962531132
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,836,957 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars nice little book, December 8, 1999

By 

Lona Pierce (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opal Adventures (Hardcover)

good stories about the author traveling around searching for, buying, cutting, and enjoying opals. very nice color pictures. I not only liked the adventure stories, but learned about the history of mining, value of opals, and different kinds of opals. It's a great book if you have a casual interest. By the time you read this, you will probably want to own an opal if you don't already.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Chatty but very enjoyable, June 18, 2003

By 

Cybamuse (Fuzzy Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Opal Adventures (Hardcover)

After reading lots of book written by journalists, I was almost floored by the impersonal way this book was written. At first, I was a little reserved, thinking it read more like a letter than a book, but in the end, Downings love for opals - and the enormous amount of information and entertaining stories in this book just suck you in and win you over!

There is no doubt Downing knows his stuff when it comes to opals. In this book, Downing starts by giving a bit of history about opals (prompted wisely by his wife, Bobbi), before delving into his adventures in the Australian outback. In fact, that would probably be the only complaint about this book - it focuses (apart from the history) exclusively on Australia and there is a smidgin of opal mining done in other parts of the world (Mexico, Nevada, Central Europe...).

However, that aside, Downing coveres the journey from beginning to end with opal - from getting down with miners, cutting, valuing and selling opals. And all of this 'insider' information is wrapped up in entertaining stories written by someone who has clearly fallen head over heels for opals and made a life-long commitment to this beautiful gem. What makes the book even more interesting is its a snap shot of Australia, before sealed roads connected the major tourist destinations of Australia

Well worth the read if you are even remotely interested in opals or thinking of visiting Australia for opals. You will learn more reading this book than anyone out there is probably going to be able to tell you.

4.0 out of 5 stars Opal Adventures, March 22, 2007

By 

Michael A. Anderson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Opal Adventures (Hardcover)

Great book to learn about Opal. The author will hook you with his infectious passion for this amazing stone. Extensive details about his adventures searching for Opal and the many friends he met along the way. Much of the setting for the book and so many of the stories are set in Austrailia as the book brings you up to date on much of the history of Opal right up until the late 1980's. I recommend it as a great introduction to anyone looking to learn more about Opal and why so many are fascinated by this precious stone.