Al’s Opal Imports & Lapidary

For what it is (Opals & Lapidary), I think Al’s is a really great place. I appreciated the owner’s knowledge and honesty, and the very fair pricing. This is not a place that has unlimited selection or incredibly expensive gem stones. There are plenty of stores like that. But stores like this are more rare: very good prices, very good service, very down to earth. I left with some great deals on great gems.

Wow, what an AWESOME place. I have never met a more friendly couple of people and what a warm and welcome environment. The first moment we walked in, we were ushered into the back to speak with Al himself. The Owner takes the time out of his busy schedule to get to know every single customer… this is how business should be done. And whoever is saying the woman is not friendly. she is a gem in herself. She was soooo sweet and found out what we were interested in and showed us exactly what we wanted to see. Even in my broken spanish, she took the time to understand me, and didn’t pick on me for being such a terrible spanish speaker, which I appreciated =) At one point a man and his wife came in with a guitar with beautiful shell inlays and played us a few songs… it was like hanging out at the hispanic side of my family’s home… Onto his products — his prices were crazily under market value, he explained why he prices things as he does, mind you all is 91, so he is doing this for the love of it. I saw probably the most beautiful opal I’ve seen anywhere online or otherwise — a beautiful dark, black opal with firey red colours sparkling and a honeycomb pattern. Absolutely breathtaking. And also we found some Lab Alexandrite, which was REALLY cool at a ridiculously low cost. Now today was my first day going to Al’s store, but to be honest it made my month. We walked out today with 71 dollars in goods (more like several hundred dollars) and also took with us really happy memories and new friends.

I am so impressed with Al and his store!!! After wanting to visit for a while, I finally made it into Al’s Opals and Lapidary Shop for the first time today! When I first walked in I noticed lots of rock samples, cut stones (both natural and lab made, cut, cabochoned, faceted, and rough) and cases full of beautifully hand-​made jewelry, as well as lots and lots of opals! There was a woman at the counter who was very friendly (although she didn’t speak much English — which didn’t matter because she could understand everything we wanted to see, waited on us very attentively, and if she didn’t know something she would just check with Al) and ushered me into the back of the store where Al was working on some stones and jewelry. Keep in mind she is a bit shy but she absolutely could not have been sweeter — and I don’t speak a word of Spanish! The woman immediately brought chairs and invited us to sit down with Al, get to know him, and chat! Al is such an absolute gentleman and a joy to spend time with! We talked about opals, cabochon cutting, gems and minerals in general, World War II, and family and he was an absolute wealth of information! Anything you would want to know you can ask him because he’s been in this business for literally decades and is an absolute expert on anything lapidary as well as a World War II Navy Veteran. When we were back there it was just like spending time with family and friends in a neighborhood you’ve grown up in all your life, and it seems like the other people who stopped in (including a man who makes absolutely beautiful custom guitars!) view him and his shop in the same way. I don’t even know how long we sat there and talked but it was quite a while (although the time went by quickly) but I walked away feeling like I made new friends and gained lots of knowledge about opals and gemstones. Considering this was my first time in the store and when I walked in I was a total stranger, I could not have been more impressed by the care and love Al puts into his business. He takes extra time to meet every customer, finds out what they’re interested in, and makes sure that we leave with what we’re looking for!
In terms of items at the store, I was super duper happy with what I purchased! I’ve spend a huge amount of time online, ebay especially, bidding on, purchasing, and studying opals and Al’s prices were much better than anything you can get online. He makes it possible for literally anyone to buy a beautiful opal no matter what their budget it. There are cut and polished stones that are only a couple dollars, all the way up to gigantic, absolutely incredible black opals that I’ve never seen the equal to, except in museums. Everything is for sale at incredibly reasonable prices and I walked away with a jar FULL of 32 grams (that’s right GRAMS) of top notch rough opals that are just stunning for $ 65. These jars (all variously priced, on the left wall of the store when you walk in) are the best deals in the store. They’re kind of like opal grab bags, except each and every piece is as good as anything you could buy online at any opal dealer, and you can see what you’re getting and find a bottle within your price range. I’m just barely getting into stone cutting and designing and now I have pieces that will polish up to look like some of the best stuff out there. I also bought some rough topaz, apatite, peridot, and garnet, all gem quality, for faceting for a few dollars, as well as some stunning polished fire agate and I’m already counting down until I can go back and buy some more!
All in all, this is one of the best places I’ve been all year. Please keep in mind I have no reason to sing the praises of this place except for the fact that I had such a good experience. I had never been here before today and I didn’t know anyone involved with the store until I met Al today. I was just so impressed with how sweet he is and how much great stuff I found in his store. If you have any interest in gems and minerals, especially opals, the lapidary arts, jewelry making, rock tumbling, faceting, or are just a plain old rock hound, give this place a try and meet Al! You won’t regret it! Thanks to Al, the wonderful woman up front, and the people I met today. I’ll see you all again soon!

I’ve been to Al’s several times to have missing stones replaced on a leather purse I bought in Brazil. Al is a wonderful man and most helpful. He replaced the stones and even added more for a very reasonable price. As far as other employees in the shop, this is a small family-​run operation. I don’t look for a fancy store to rate a shop, but rather the quality of the work done, and all the family staff are extremely friendly.

yes that first review is inaccurate — went there yesterday, the woman in question has little to no english, so we got by on a combination of hand gestures and «el loco gringo habla un poco de español y no comprende nada», «sí, es muy bonito», «un momento más, por favor» — she’s perfectly pleasant, just don’t expect to be able to ask too many questions unless you speak spanish. al was nowhere to be seen and apparently he’s having health issues. some of the material seems overpriced — there were tiny slabs of jade in the hundreds of dollars, which seems ridiculous compared to what I’ve seen on ebay. however I managed to walk away with a selection of small samples and chips for reference for $ 7 — can’t beat that for a deal

The previous review is not very accurate. The reason the woman didnt say a word is that she only really speaks spanish. Al obviously was not there, which could have been due to some health issues during the time period. I am a regular there, Al is a very nice man, who is very helpful. I learn a lot from him, and try to buy from him regularly instead of ordering online. The woman that you are referring to is the woman that helps him out, and in return he allows her to sell clothing there, which is normal for the area I think.
If you had been there when Al was there, you would have had a different outlook, I am certain of it!
It definitely isnt a shiny storefront place, but It really does have some wonderful stone specimens, and items for the lapidary obsession!