Lightning Ridge Opal Mines

Absolutely loved the Opal experience! A must visit if ure into stones came there twice in the past 3 weeks while visiting Melbourne. Big thanks to Jack and Laura (if Im not mistaken) for a nice information and fun time. Adored little Eddie! Got some nice jewelry and some really beautiful opals to customize my own jewelry once Im back home. Thanks guys!

This shop is a MUST DO when in Melbourne. From the time you walk down the stairs till you leave it's a fantastic friendly experience. Not only do you learn about the Opals but also how to polish them. A great family run business. With prices to suit everyone.

Amazing experience with friendly service very patience. Knowing more about Australian Opal at lighning Ridge opal mines. Thank you!

Amazing customer service! The staff were so quick to replace my broken earrings and expressed posted replacements straight away. It was so refreshing to deal with such kind and polite staff. Thank you!

Very informative and a no pressure buying experience. The woman that helped me found a great piece for me.

Ridiculously kind staff happy to show you around and teach you about the beauty of Australian opal. Countless beautiful opals to see and you can even find some in a bed of rocks to take home, definitely the highlight of my day!

Its more then just buying an opal! We were explained about there Mines and shown how they turn this stones into beautiful opals. They also have some real australien creatures in a back room to show and even pet. Because its a family run business, everything is very personal and we can only recomend this place, if you want to by just one of those beautiful stones ore also a ready made piece of jewelry. Christina and Family

Passing by it would be easy to miss this wonderful 'cave' of opal expertise! So much more than a shop, the staff are experts and offer an excellent mini-tour of the geology and science of these beautiful stones as well as the historic and social impact and importance. There is even a small display about the wildlife typical in mining areas. The option to select (or not) your own stone at the end is genuine and no hard-sell pressure if you just want to find out more about the stones themselves. But if you do want to find a stone, the patience and support and advice you will receive is exceptional too. The set jewelry is quite traditional but the staff can help you discuss your own options to set a 'free range' stone of your choice too. Thanks Jack and Talitha for a wonderful morning!

What a find! My daughter and I were travelling on a cruise and Melbourne was one of our stops. We decided to explore the area on our own, but stopped at the information counter to ask about an opal shop. We weren't looking for the touristy, everyone has the same things, kind of shop. We were told to try Lightning Ridge and are so glad that we did.
Immediately upon heading down the steps to this little gem, we were welcomed by Talitha, who is a gem herself. She asked if we knew much about opals and if we wanted to learn. YES, we did. They teach you as much as you want to know about the process from mining, to the beautiful end product, which they have plenty of. We spent several hours - yes, hours - there and never once did they make us feel we were a bother. Everyone pitched in with our selections from their unique offerings. We left with some great opals and quite a bit of knowledge we didn't have before entering this wonderful place. If you're in the area, it is a must see!

Amazing customer service. They are obviously really passionate about opals and we learned a lot. My wife Anja and I bought some beautiful pieces. Would highly recommend them over all the other opal places in Melbourne

Absolutely fantastic. Would recommend highly. Great service, understanding and lovely staff, super helpful and wonderful selection of opals. Definitely check out the reptiles thank you for a excellent service and experience.

Dope place to buy opals. We bought 4 cut stones this afternoon. The staff couldn't have been more helpful. I totally recommend that you purchase your opals from Lightning Ridge!

An interesting hidden corner of Melbourne. The staff are really nice and let us hold the snakes. He also shared with us some background about each one.

So down to earth. If you are looking to buy opals go here! Other stores just don’t compare when it comes to selection and service.
We learned a lot and had so much fun picking out boulder opals. Unfortunately this was our last stop before we had to catch a flight and one of my biggest regrets of my time in Melbourne is not allowing more time to shop here.

Best place in Melbourne to honestly purchase opals. Other stores were crazy offering crazy inflated prices then 70%-80% "discounts".

These people are honest opal dealers.

Nice collection of opals and jewelry. No hard sales here. I was allowed to look around without someone following me and pushing me to buy. I am very happy with my kangaroo earrings. I have other opals so I wanted something different and unique. The roo earrings are perfect! Thank you for your professional behavior and sales tactics. Highly recommended!

It's not often that I reverse a review. But I am going to in this case. I had gone to buy a pair of opal earrings. I have been looking for months to replace the pair I had purchased over a decade ago. It is easy to brag up a store when everything goes smoothly. But I believe a company really earns their ratings when they shine even on the tough customers. Here is my story. I was in Australia this past week and had seen the great reviews on Lightning Ridge. The store is a bit tricky to find but I loved the entrance where you walk downstairs like you are entering a mine shaft. The staff were helpful and we joked about how I was in a hurry to get something because I was only there 24 hours. I had fallen in love with a pair of earrings that were in a set. Stunning and exactly what I had been hunting for. They were pricey but all opals have increased in value the last 24 months and for their quality they were quite reasonable. I was very indecisive and the staff were completely understanding. They even recommend I shop a bit more at another location they recommended before I purchase so we did. Still loved those earrings. We went back and I made the purchase. Now mind you I had a flight the next morning and had to leave the room by 6: 30am. Needless to say buyers remorse kicked in after I learned I had yet another unexpected bill hit my account. I asked my friend to return the earrings for me. In the US that would have been an easy thing. But as we travelers sometimes forget. I wasn't in the US but Australia where the laws can be quite different. Their policy was not to return the item but to do a store credit. Mind you the staff were still very nice but simply explained to my friend that it was not that easy. After I called and spoke to them about the return they offered to give me a full refund but I learned a valuable lesson today. Don't assume. I had not asked about their policy nor had I asked if I could return the earrings. This company was beyond gracious to a customer despite the fact that I had erred by making assumptions. I will of course miss the fact that I couldn't get those gorgeous earrings. But what I did get was another great experience in my travels. Thank you for your understanding Atheka and for your help. Feel free to ask them to show you those earrings.sigh. Yes I'm going to be dreaming of them now.:)

Great spot and the staff are incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Don't need to be a mining & exploration/opal buff to find it interesting, would certainly recommend.

Excellent servo great price and beutiful free opals. Other jewellery shops should follow Lightning Ridge Opal shop's examples.

Brilliant. Beautiful opals at a range of prices, and history behind them. The service was great, and there was even wildlife available to look at! If you're in the market for opals, this is where you need to be. Couldn't recommend more.