About The Author Len Cram
(by Gan Bruce)

About The Author Len Cram
(by Gan Bruce)

I am very pleased to be given a chance to pen this brief profile on Len Cram.

Len has been a personal friend for 27 years; though born in Sydney, Len was nurtured on the beautiful sweeping shores of the picturesque Lake Macquarie. There is no doubt that such an environment had a powerful influence on his development as a person and his inevitable love for the things of nature, which was later to include our beautiful opal.

Though Len never finished his formal education, he can stand beside many in the scientific world today. With his research as a living testimony to the worth of external study.

While writing my book on Lightning Ridge, I spent quite a lot of time with Len in his laboratory. I quickly learned that he was a profound thinking person with a strong analytical mind. Among Len’s many achievements since I have known him is a PhD.

In his subdued manner of research, Len has cut such a path through the wilderness of amorphous silica science such that scientists from Australia and worldwide continue to make contact with him, even from as far away as France and the U.S.S.R. He has unlocked many of the mysteries of the origin of Australian opals and so much so that professors of science have written to him seeking his knowledge on certain aspects of opals.

Len Cram The Author

About the Author – Opal cutter, Writer, Opal industry All-Rounder

Len Cram, a world-renowned authority on Australian opals, still shows a bright enthusiasm for our national gem even after more than thirty years in the field. His expertise extends to being an adept cutter and judge of opals, particularly the multifaceted Queensland Boulder Opal. His involvement spans trade, industry, mining, and exporting. However, I believe his most striking impact manifests in his professionalism as a world-class photographer of opals. Len’s exceptional photographic work on these precious stones features in this book and others.

In conclusion, I am delighted that, after years of encouragement, Len is finally sharing a portion of his extensive knowledge through this small pictorial.

By Gan Bruce

Rough Opal

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