My life started in upstate New York.  I was an inquisitive kid, enjoyed building tree-houses, exploring the woods, catching and dissecting frogs etc.  School was pretty easy.  Math and science were for the most part rather interesting.  I’ve always tended to be one who wonders and contemplates.

Before getting into the opal business I was apparently a perpetual student, almost trapped in the academic world.  I have a Master’s degree in mathematics and bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Philosophy.  I enjoyed being a teacher at both the High-School and college levels and was working on a PhD in neuroscience at The University of Pennsylvania when I decided to exit the academic world and enter the gem world.

Along the way I have been on a winding path.  I had discussions and debates with world famous philosophers, set a curling world record, have purchased opal mines in the outback of Australia, co-authored a book on using a scientific calculator, shared a few scenes with Nicole Kidman, was directed by an Academy Award winning director, have been enriched by the study of Wittgenstein and calculus, dissected a cadaver and while I was in a tunnel 40 feet beneath the surface of the outback, I have been face to face with the most deadly snake on earth . . . on more than one occasion.

. . . and each year I travel to the other side of this planet, to a remote desert, get covered in sweat and dirt with my muscles aching and have the honor to mine, cut, enjoy and share some of mother nature’s most spectacular and beautiful creations - Koroit boulder opals.