Brisbane Opal Museum — Attraction in Brisbane City

The reason im giving 1 star is the arrogance and two faced attitude the owner showed toward me.

I walked in here asking a not so common enquiry; can you help me make some earrings out of rough cut opal from my grandfather?

The owner told me they are worthless. I can accept that as i honestly thought it may be true before i ever walked in, but at least its now confirmed. However what was not called for was the way he did this.

The owner and his staff were all nice and friendly “come in please sit down” until he looked at my jar of opals and worked out (according to him) that what is in it was low value. At that moment his attitude completely changed and he was like “your not worth my time”. Not even looking me in the eye to say “get out”.

He said it would cost me $200 per hour for someone to even look at them further. Let alone to try and find one good one to make an earring out of as a sentimental thing for my family. When i hinted that id still be interested, even at the high price, even with my low value stuff. There was no offer of action, no passing me off to one of his staff to arrange.

His staff were standing around doing nothing while he was “working”. He basically ignored me until i left. Didnt even make eye contact after he looked at the gems and decided I wasn’t worth it as a customer.

Had he not been so rude and dismissive toward me i may have asked his staff to help me anyway. The staff i did speak to other than him were actually very nice. One even asked if i was ok on the way out, and all i could say was “worthless” as i left. Worthless referring to how I was made to feel, not the stones in my jar.

Very disappointed in the lack of actual empathy and care in this place.

I know my enquiry was not their normal as they are a little tourist thing and jewellery shop but honestly i would have paid for them to help me, they have the tools equipment and know how.(they even said so) even at $200 for a full hour (if it took that long) - you only pay the time you use apparently.

IF they had shown they remotely cared about the sentimentality i see in my jar of worthless rough opals. I may have paid for the time to have a go even with my low quality stuff.

The treatment of “go away” is worth 1 star. And worth me walking away from this place. Do not recommend.

Edit: the review is for the treatment not the advice (at least now i know). If you were busy you could have said so and id have booked an appointment for a better time. And paid you for that time. But I got it. I’m not worth your time...

Your response proved that further and was not needed. And for the record, it was never about the money or a museum quality piece. I just wanted to have a small glimmer, spec or bit of dust i could wear from my family, instead of a paper weight that lives in a dark cupboard. O well.

Also thanks for the suggestion of “passing it down to my kids, as thats all it’s worth”. I...

As locals we've driven past the Museum countless times over many years, across their two locations, and never given it another thought.

We have our niece during the school holidays and for the last 12 months we keep saying, 'we've got to go there'. Well this morning the 9 year old reminded us we needed to visit the Opal Museum. So off we go.

What a wonderfully surprising experience it was. Nothing prepares you for the expansive exhibition you're going to encounter once you walk through the doors. So many beautiful displays with just enough information to keep a newbie interested. You can choose to take a guided tour or take your own tour with the assistance of a tablet with informative videos. We chose the later and enjoyed our self guided tour.

From the moment we walked through the door to the time we left the lovely Stefanie was super friendly, helpful and informative...engaging positively with our niece. A couple of times when we were in the Museum another female staff member, sorry we forgot to get your name, came to share her extensive knowledge on the beautiful stones in the collection.

Whilst there is a shop as you leave, there was no pressure to purchase anything. I might have to go back and buy myself a beautiful piece of jewelry. I would love my husband to buy something for me, but, the old wives tales will get the...

Update: I am on their email list and they have a sale several times a year. I have just made mt 3rd purchase online from California and have been delighted each time. They are reliable and very willing to answer questions about the wares they are showing. I gave one old friend a small silver opal pendant for an important birthday and she was delighted.

Australia is a must see and you need to see more than Sydney. Visit brisbane (and further north) and visit brisbane opal when you are there. We were there in June/july 2017 and it's a great time of year to see tge NE coast of Australia. Make sure you don't hit school holidays though.

Great place to learn about opals and also to buy if you are able. Went here on the bus from cultural center. Small place in a strip mall near a tattoo parlor. But wonderful presentation on how opals were produced in geological time, how they are mined, what the differences are among them you see in stores. A mother and three kids showed up at the same time I did and we're treated to a very good museum presentation even though they were not going to buy jewelry. I did buy and I would trust this establishment for online purchase. They are very up front about quality and price. Worth a trip...