About me
My name is Dario; I'm a Melbourne based opal cutter and jeweller. I carefully source all my rough opal from Australian miners and cut it myself. I then sell it (mostly to jewellers) so it can adorn your extremities in beauty. I'm also a boxer having competed at various competition levels over the years, a yoga practitioner and qualified teacher, a social worker, an aspiring author and long-time lover and writer of poetry, hence the interweaving of poetry into the opal presentation.
The name 'Precious Time' is symbolic of many things, mainly playing on how old opal is (usually between 100 and 200 million years old). And how the beauty of opal is symbolic of the preciousness of time. This then alludes to the idea of sentiment, which to me is a way of expressing our appreciation of time and meaning. So hopefully, having an opal on your finger from 'Precious Time Opals' evokes a feeling of beauty and reminds you how precious, and potentially beautiful, our short time on earth is. Which I would hope encourages you to spend it in ways that matter to your heart.
I started this little business after having a chronic case of the infamous opal obsession for years. In 2023 I got back from a 12-month long trip around the world and realised I dreaded the idea of going back to work for someone else. I had a bit of money left over when I got back to Australia and decided to just give it a go and spend my very last dollar on starting an opal business.
I have been writing poetry and a contemplative book for some years now.
I share that work on my other Instagram page @theessencevolumes. The goal is to get the business to a point where I can pay myself a wage and then focus more on writing instead of wasting energy running the rat race. I don't pay myself a wage at this stage as I have to reinvest all the money I make back into the business to ensure its longevity. So currently I'm still working and running the business on the side, but slowly, hopefully, I'll be able to go full time as an opal cutter/jeweller and then write to my heart’s content.
PTO ethos
The Precious Time Ethos is really based around the belief that the passage of time is a beautiful thing. If we are able to be present to and appreciate time, it is full of rich opportunity to become intimate with ourselves, life, the world, reality and our loved ones.
I believe the perception and appreciation of beauty is one of the best ways to make use of that time. And the experience of sentiment is a beautiful way of contacting meaning and expressing gratitude to those around us, or ourselves, for sharing the richness of life.
The perception of beauty can be one of the best ways to be truly attentive to the time we are given. Whilst sentiment can be a way to express or commune with that appreciation and be with the ones you love in memory and presence. I think the connection that sentiment and beauty bring to the world and our sense of belonging, is very precious.
So, you can rest assured that at Precious Time Opals, we have taken great time and care to craft each piece with the attentiveness required to properly appreciate beauty. Each piece of opal is cut to best display its hidden colour and capture the millions of years that it has taken for such beauty to form.
I sincerely hope that my opals and jewellery help you to contact beauty in the world, the preciousness of life and this unique opportunity to truly appreciate the passage of time.
I love hearing feedback
I absolutely love hearing from my customers, you will notice that I nearly always ask for photos of the jewellery and I mean it, I love seeing the finished product!
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns as I’m always happy to chat.
The best way to get in contact is through the Instagram page, however I also appreciate doing things the traditional way. I feel that word of mouth is the most reliable and believable form of promotion. So, if you want to support this little opal endeavour, then tell people about my business should it come up in conversation. This is a very small and humble little business, so every form of promotion is significant and greatly appreciated!
Thank you and best wishes.
Dario.