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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....

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.

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).

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!

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
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

perhaps one day, if it very beautiful, unstable shewa can be stablilized permanently perhaps with special glass-like harderner.

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.

so this opal is welo

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?

Opaque when dry, transparent after soaked in water