About Us

Hi everyone, welcome to OpalPop.com.  My name is Matt, and this project is about to become my entire life.  For those of you who don't know me, I have worked for a well-known opal jewelry specialist in Orange County, California for almost 11 years.  I started as an unpaid apprentice at 16, went to school to become a gemologist, became the store manager, then successfully brought the company to the global online world in a significant way.  Now, it's time that I do the same for myself.

For those of you stumbling across me this early, I will be upfront: my website is an empty mess right now.  I have a lot of ideas regarding what I want to do with this, but I must be realistic in acknowledging that it will take time and focus for them to be done properly.  The first step is to finish serving my last month at my job (now completed).  After that, I will regroup, research, and things around here will begin to change.  Customer education has always been important to me, and this will play a critical role to the site.

I am not a jeweler, nor am I an opal cutter.  Instead, I fancy myself an investor, and opal jewelry is a fast-growing facet of my portfolio.  Unlike an index fund or precious metal bullion, the precise value of an opal cannot be Googled.  You can't read it in a newspaper or see it on a ticker that rolls across your TV screen.  On the contrary, opal is like art; beauty means something different to everyone, and every piece is an original.  This theory is one that I aim to explore with OpalPop.

Aside from being a self-proclaimed 'empty mess', this site is a one-man band.  It's me, myself, and I.  My last major project, the one that I am stepping away from to begin OpalPop, is under someone else's name; I do not yet have a reputation of my own, and I fully expect to have to win you over.  If/when given the opportunity, I know that I will. 

Here is where you might think that I'm being cheesy or salesy, but I am really not: your satisfaction and feedback are the only two things that will drive my success.  There's little more to a brand new business than that.  After over three years' experience selling jewelry online for my last job, I have learned that communication is critical to an online customer's experience.  You don't know me, you are taking a risk by buying an expensive item that you've never seen in real life, and it's always nerve-wracking to type your payment details into a mystery website.  If you have a question, it's important to be able to have that personal reassurance that you're working with another real person who loves opal jewelry, just like you.

Furthermore, accurate photography and product descriptions are two things that I put a great deal of time and effort into.  I want the opal to look as much like the picture when you open the box as you do!  Making sure that I can appropriately set your pre-purchase expectation is, essentially, my entire job.  Opals are not an easy animal to capture, but I have a lot of practice, and I take a number of steps to ensure that what you see is what you get.

If you're still reading this far, then I truly thank you for being interested in my latest project, and I invite you to follow along with me!  Whether we already know each other or you are new and interested in finding out more about a particular piece, don't be afraid to shoot me a message.  Though the site is still in its early infancy, my items are for sale, and the business is live.  I will occasionally be sending out updates if you would like to sign up for my mailing list, and I might add to or change this from time to time.