Since the first time owner Scott Glendinning saw opals in his grandfather’s gemstone collection, he was amazed. At 8 years old he started his own collection, sending away for his first opals from Australia.

After receiving a masters degree in architecture from UC Berkeley and pursuing a career in architecture and furniture design, he renewed his interest in opals while attending the Tucson Gem Show. There he began buying rough opal and taught himself how to cut and polish them. Eventually he started Rockaway Opals (named for Rockaway Beach in Bainbridge Island, Washington).

Scott later met his partner, DeAnn Owen, who was a jewelry designer and owned her own business, and the two began to collaborate on making beautiful and unique opal pieces. Scott’s architectural background influence the designs of his pieces which are often geometric. DeAnn has a great eye for organic design and specializes in wire and metal forming.

In 2014 they decided to combine businesses and opened a brick and mortar location on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Today, Rockaway Opals is one of the only shops in North America with such a large selection of opal and opal jewelry. Besides a number of gorgeous loose pieces of opal, along with Scott and DeAnn’s distinctive jewelry, the shop has expanded to include additional artists work along with fascinating gem, mineral, and fossil specimens.