Terms & Conditions

For a thorough explanation of the nature of opal and its various forms visit the Opal Association:

Orders and Delivery

Payment

All orders from The Opalcutter are processed in Australian dollars. Any credit card payment from overseas customers will be charged in Australian dollars. Your card issuing organisation will charge your local currency according to their exchange rate and fees on the day of processing. As a guide to what items are likely to cost in your currency please visit the site:http://www.ozforex.com.au/cgi-bin/convert.asp or any converter of your choice. Please note you should take these calculations as a guide only. Your financial institution will convert currency at rates applicable to them on the day of processing. This may NOT be the day of ordering!

Credit Card payment

We accept Visa and Master Card . All credit card orders are processed via a secure SSL server and all details are encrypted to protect against fraud. To maximise security after credit card transactions The Opalcutter recommends that you log off from your computer after completing your online transactions. If you are uncomfortable with submitting your credit card details over the net you can fax your order and details to us on +61 7 40579435.

Money Orders

You may pay by Money Order (in Australian dollars). Please e-mail us to notify us of the details. Orders will be dispatched once the money order has been cleared. We will advise you when your order is ready for posting.

GST

Our listed prices are in Australian dollars (AUD) and include the Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 10%. The GST is a broad based consumption tax introduced by the Australian Government in July of 2000.  It replaced a whole range of wholesale sales taxes and ensures that pretty much everything with the exception of food products is taxed at 10%.

Australian Shoppers

If items are being delivered to an Australian address the GST is due and payable on all items available at The Opalcutter.

Travelling overseas?

The Tourist Refund Scheme allows overseas tourists leaving , as well as Australian's travelling overseas, to claim a refund of the GST portion of certain purchases. Purchases must be made within 30 days of travel, must be over $300 in total and the item must be carried in your hand luggage when travelling. Please contact us for more details.

Overseas shoppers

If you're from an address outside Australia you do not pay the GST. If we are sending items to an overseas address you are able to purchase without the GST.

To work out our prices without the GST, simply divide the price of the item by 1.1. GST will be automatically deducted when processing international orders.  It's that easy to shop tax free from us.

Purchases made from The Opalcutter via this website for delivery to overseas countries will have the prices adjusted to be free of the GST at the checkout!

Customs Duty

Items sent to overseas countries may be liable for customs duties according to the country of entry. We are unable process these charges and the purchaser is liable for any additional customs duty that may be levied. The Opalcutter will provide the relevant information on the packaging as required by Australian laws.

Lay By / Lay Away

We will be happy to reserve an item for you for a maximum of 8 weeks. We require a 20 % deposit to secure an item. Please send us an e-mail with details on how you wish to make progress payments.

Delivery

Delivery and insurance costs on jewellery and finished opal are covered for purchases over $A500.00. Purchases of less than $A500.00 will incur a flat packing / postage / insurance fee of $A15.00 within Australia and $A25.00 Overseas. We will send items via the most secure and appropriate form available to us at the time. In most instances this will be ‘Registered Post’ within and ‘Express International Post’ overseas. Please note various insurance limits apply for differing overseas destinations. For many countries the maximum is $A5000.00 per parcel. In some countries this is significantly less!! We will inform you prior to dispatch if there is an issue with insurance. Provided the receiving country offers the facility items will be sent registered and require a signature on receipt. Let us know if that creates issues for you!

Parcels of rough opal are NOT usually sent via post and have to be sent via a courier. Transport costs and any insurance costs are additional and need to be calculated on an individual basis. Please contact us for an exact costing.

Returns / Warranty conditions

The Opalcutter offers a 30 day money back guarantee on all Jewellery and finished opal. The return period starts from the day we notify you that your order has been dispatched. You must inform us of your intention to return the item within that period. We will advise you of the method of return. The return cost will need to be met by you. We will only refund goods that are undamaged and complete including any special packaging that was sent by us originally. Refunds for items returned by you as unsuitable / not wanted will be made in Australian dollars and have the initial cost of postage and insurance deducted. We will advise you of any costs incurred by us in sending the item when we contact you with the return authorisation. All jewellery and finished stones are covered by a 12 month warranty against defects and workmanship. Items returned under these conditions will be refunded / replaced entirely at our expense. We will reimburse your postage / insurance costs in this instance. Should an item require repair outside this time we will endeavour to do so at cost price only. Please contact us prior to sending an item to be repaired so we can inform you of potential charges.

All items sold by us come with a complete description of the nature / type of opal its size / weigt and shape. As well as that jewellery items have a precious metal statement. Items containing precious metals are hallmarked.

Authenticity of Opal

The Opalcutter does NOT sell manufactured or synthetic opal. Unless otherwise stated our opals are solids. Opals described as ‘Doublets’ or ‘Triplets’ are thin slices of real opal supported by a backing, of potch (i.e. low grade non coloured opal material) or ironstone and may be protected / enhanced by a covering of clear quartz. Andamooka opal occasionally is sold as ‘Matrix’. In ‘Matrix’ opal a chemical treatment has been used to increase the black background of the material making the colours appear more intense. Any items containing ‘Matrix’ opal are clearly indicated on our website. Wherever possible we will identify the major region from which a particular opal is sourced and if possible give the field from which the opal came. NB: this is easier to do for opal mined near Coober Pedy as there are a number of quite distinct mining locations around CP. For more information about opal types see:http://www.opal.asn.au/

Questions

Please contact us with any specific questions you may have about our products. This website shows only a small fraction of our stock. If you cannot see what you want please contact us with your requirements. We hold large quantities of rough opal material and can supply you with a wide range of colours and grades.