Robin,
The rough opal weighed about one ounce. I'm not sure what it weighed afterwards because epoxy was applied to the back after the first photo, not by me. I figure I reduced the size of the opal by about 1/10; it was so big to begin with that it probably still weighed over 110 carats afterwards. I should have weighed it with the backing before I started so I could have known how much I removed, but I forgot.
I think the point of the contest isn't about the beauty of the stone to begin with, but what we all do with what we have. It's hard to compete with gorgeous material, but I think this contest is about more than that. If it were, it would be about who had the most money to buy the best material.
This isn't one of my best carvings, because I turned coward, but I wanted to see more participation in the competition. It lacks the definition that I would have liked to gotten, most of the carving and all of the polishing was done by hand.
Love the rutilated quartz; it's one of my favorites, too. It's tricky to work with too, so many pits and cracks in so much of the material that it's hard to get a piece that looks really good like this one does.
Let's see more entries!
Debbie K