This special tour, hosted by the AOC, will depart from Sydney on 25 September. It includes charter aircraft, ground tours, meals, and accommodation.
Event organiser Maxine O’Brien told Jeweller that it was an opportunity not to be missed.
“We organised a similar trip around ten years ago that was very well received, offering an educational tour to representatives from international gemstone laboratories,” O’Brien said.
“It’s an opportunity to see things that you wouldn’t see on any other tour of the opal fields, and I’m sure you’ll meet many interesting people along the way.”
Beginning in Sydney, the tour travels to Lightning Ridge in NSW, with participants spending three days exploring the source of some of the world’s finest black opal. There will be a visit the currently under-construction AOC building, offering a sneak peek at a hub for opal knowledge, training, science, art, and culture.
The next stop is the opal fields in Winton (Queensland), home of the boulder opal mining industry. After two days in the Sunshine State, the tour flies to Coober Pedy in South Australia, often called the ‘opal capital of the world’.
The tour's final stop is a return to NSW to visit the opal fields in White Cliffs.
O’Brien added: “You’ll meet people from all sorts of different walks of life, all with one common interest – Australian opal. The last tour was exceptionally good fun.”
“In the same regard, you’ll be seeing three unique parts of Australia that are very different in many ways but are united by their passion for the country’s national gemstone.”
To register an expression of interest, contact register@australianopalcentre.com.
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