Book Description

THE OPAL MINING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL AS TOLD BY ONE OF THE ORIGINAL MINERS "It took 30,000,000 years for this outstanding opal to show it’s beauty to the world. I think the wait was worth it," says Czech WW2 refugee and Australian immigrant George Cettl, who forsook the safe suburbia of his adopted homeland to make his claim in the wild, outback frontier opal mining town of Coober Pedy. A beacon to a generation to European "boat people", the town and its surroundings soon became the world's premier source for the precious stone opal - responsible for most of the opal jewelry circulating internationally today. But what is this mysterious opal? What legends circulate around it? How was it mined and the jewelry made? Now, from one who did it, who lived it as actual daily life experience comes this authentic memoir dedicated to the unusual rainbow stone.