Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

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Iskandarman
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Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by Iskandarman »

We all know that most ethiopian opal in the market came from Welo... Are they really from Welo? I know Shewa known for its cracky brown with nodules....
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PinkDiamond
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by PinkDiamond »

Yes, the Shewa material was not stable, but Welos generally are after you wet them and test them for stabiity. Those Shewa nodules are gorgeous, but I've never heard of anyone being able to remove all the surface material without the opal disintegrating into fish gravel. :o
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SwordfishMining
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by SwordfishMining »

Yeah it is. Nobody else can supply it for near as little. The Shewa was discovered first- I know the geologist/mineralogist who found it to start the rush and then they found the white & clear stuff aways away from there (after he was shot & lived).
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kjsspot
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by kjsspot »

i know there are some, very few, stable shewas. Unfortunately, I've only found the fish gravel kind. And it's a real shame because they're just breathtaking!
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OpalSpectrum
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by OpalSpectrum »

I have cut 2 sheva opals from 1 rough -- it was brown sheva with bumblebee & honeycomb pattern -- and most of you saw it on OA about 2 years ago :P
the stone is semi-stable --> I still have it but it's not like welo
I don't know how to describe it but sheva is very different and 'soft' when cutting , there is also 'light cream' material very similar to sheva
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Iskandarman
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by Iskandarman »

perhaps one day, if it very beautiful, unstable shewa can be stablilized permanently perhaps with special glass-like harderner.
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kjsspot
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by kjsspot »

Iskand - I'm sure it can be stabilized. However, any kind of treatment reduces the value. OS the one I had just disintegrated when I removed the rind. I might get a beautiful one someday and treat it just for myself.
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Iskandarman
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by Iskandarman »

so this opal is welo
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in wet equatorial climate
in wet equatorial climate
dry
dry
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PinkDiamond
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by PinkDiamond »

It looks to me like the first shot of it is dry, and the second one is in humid conditions. Did you get your labels on the pics wrong? :?:
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Iskandarman
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Re: Ethiopian opal of Welo, Shewa and Gondar

Post by Iskandarman »

Opaque when dry, transparent after soaked in water
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