Impulsive Purchase - Welo Opal

[BWise]

Came across this and was totally attracted by the color play. I made an offer and it was accepted! I know nothing about those opals. Please do share your thoughts. There is a video at this link:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131473903182

 

[Acinom]

I am not an expert on opals but the photo looks amazing!

 

[LD]

It's impossible to tell what this will look like in real life unfortunately. Opals either photograph really badly OR they can be made to look magnificent by various lighting and camera tricks. Taking a photo on a black background always enhances the colour BUT that's not to say this one doesn't have a good colour play. It probably does. Don't worry about it and just wait for the mail man to deliver! Think to yourself "this is going to be awful and a waste of money" and then when you open the package it'll probably blow your socks off!

 

[minousbijoux]

I hope it is as pretty in real life as it appears in vendor's images.

 

[BWise]

Think to yourself "this is going to be awful and a waste of money" and then when you open the package it'll probably blow your socks off!

That's a nice strategy!

Did you check out the video? I thought it is much harder to "PS" the video than pictures and this one looks alive in video.

 

[T L]

I have not purchased opals lately because 1) they're dying them quite a bit, as the darker background helps the colorplay and 2) in Welo opals, the color play can sometimes disappear as the stone becomes dehydrated so to speak and 3) I've seen Welo opals where the color play goes away in some lighting.

Therefore, be aware of these things when buying an opal, in particular a Welo. Good luck and I hope it meets your expectations.

 

[LD]

Think to yourself "this is going to be awful and a waste of money" and then when you open the package it'll probably blow your socks off!

That's a nice strategy!

Did you check out the video? I thought it is much harder to "PS" the video than pictures and this one looks alive in video.

No I had missed the link but have just looked. The lighting and background are all designed to make the Opal look like a glamour queen and the seller's auctions all seem to have Opals that are similar (very bright, huge amounts of colour play). So I would still urge you to do the "OMG I shouldn't have purchased it" strategy and see what happens. I hate buying Opals online because it really is difficult. I'll keep my fingers, toes and eyes crossed for you!

 

[minousbijoux]

What is this seller's feedback? Did you have a chance to check on toolhaus.org?

 

[tourma-guy]

I have not purchased opals lately because 1) they're dying them quite a bit, as the darker background helps the colorplay and 2) in Welo opals, the color play can sometimes disappear as the stone becomes dehydrated so to speak and 3) I've seen Welo opals where the color play goes away in some lighting.

Therefore, be aware of these things when buying an opal, in particular a Welo. Good luck and I hope it meets your expectations.

Typically when the welos are dyed or smoked they are brown or black/dark blue in color. But you are correct that they have a tendency to dry out, and can even craze if you aren't careful. The Australian opals tend to be more stable and resist drying out.

There's no denying though that the welo opals are gorgeous .

 

[Siameseroo]

It looks spectacular! Please share photos when it arrives!

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,


I have a welo opal that is beautiful, with much color play--astounding. However, once you remove it from the black background, it becomes a clear opal with the color play harder to see. So, my setting idea would be to put it in something, like a a black disk and set the opal within it, or use a black metal, or find a setting with a flat bottom and coat it black. Ive had mine 3 yrs and it looks the same. I just love them if I can see them on top of black.

I did notice one thing about your stone, and that is the dimensions of it. 12mm x 6. That doesn't match up with the stone in the picture, at least to my eyes. Anyone else?.

Annette

 

[BWise]

Okay,this little fella arrived today and has quite some color play. The flat bottom also display some crazy color that reminds me of those laser sticker on products to indicate authenticity.

I've heard that Welo loose color when wet. Guess that means ring is out of question? A pendant then? Please recommend a good setter who has experience with opals please. Or shall I hold on to it for a few years to test stability? Thanks!

 

[minousbijoux]

Okay, I'll admit it - based on that seller's photos, I was certain they had been tweaked to exaggerate the saturation. I thought for sure the opal would not look like the photos and would disappoint. I have never been happier to have been incorrect! Yingh, your stone is beautiful! As you know, most Welos lose a bit of their saturated POC when they are not on a dark background, but it is quite colorful on your hand.

Unless the dimensions are too big, my vote would be a ring, in a setting with lacy gold work around it. Yum! I doubt that getting the ring wet but then drying it off will affect the opal in terms of its appearance - I believe that only occurs for hydrophane opals when they are soaked for a period of time in water. But, if you want to know for sure, try dropping water on it and then quickly wiping it off to determine if it results in any change in appearance.

I also love that its a perfect little round.

 

[tourma-guy]

Okay,this little fella arrived today and has quite some color play. The flat bottom also display some crazy color that reminds me of those laser sticker on products to indicate authenticity.

I've heard that Welo loose color when wet. Guess that means ring is out of question? A pendant then? Please recommend a good setter who has experience with opals please. Or shall I hold on to it for a few years to test stability? Thanks!

Wow beautiful color play! I wouldn't worry about getting it wet. Its only temporary, and you would have to totally soak it in water for it to suck up enough to make a difference. Opals craze when shifting from dry to wet environments. The jelly and white welos are more stable than those with color so you should be fine.

 

[katharath]

That's a lovely opal! I really like it.

I'm a bit leery of welos because I've had them lose their POC on me. I purchased a string of welo beads (the white/clear base type) and had them strung on a necklace, wore it off and on for ~6 months. Then I noticed one day that many of the beads had lost their color! It was odd bc it seemed like all of a sudden I just noticed it - not sure exactly when it took place. Many had yellowed, some had just turned a milky white with no colors - it was so sad . They were somewhat pricey too. Some were still fine, but many of them didn't look as nice compared to how they had previously looked.

On the other hand, I have a couple of other welos that I've owned for 2-3 years that show no change at all. So, I do believe that some are stable, but I have no idea how long you should let one sit around before you know if it's okay or not. If you don't mind waiting, I'd give it a good year or so! I wouldn't want to wait to set it though - it's really lovely! You might want to just ask the seller if they know how long ago the gem was cut - or even how long the seller had the gem before you bought it.

The nice thing is that welos aren't terribly expensive, so if you had it set and then had issues with it later on, you could just replace the gem. But fingers crossed for you that you don't have any issues, I'd love to see this one set!

ETA - here are before and after pics. The necklace was strung with welos and mahenge beads, it was so pretty!! You can see in the second pic that many of the previously white/clear welos are now yellow with no color play.

 

[sisxixon]

yingh, I'm drooling! I just barely stopped myself from rushing over to buy one after having seen yours.

About welos losing color-- mine can change dramatically with just changes in humidity. I had a set that I thought had lost color play for good during the summer, then they returned to normal again in the fall. I should keep an eye on them again to make sure.

 

[T L]

Yingh,
Very nice. I think perhaps waiting a year to set it would be a good idea, then you can check it out in all seasons, to see if there is a distinct change or lack of color play. I think letting them sit in water overnight also helps them regain their color play, but not sure about that (need Marlow's advice).

Some do remain stable, so good luck!

 

[missy]

Lovely gem. I would set it in a pendant and enjoy it while it is beautiful and if it does change with time than just reset with another gem. But certainly I would enjoy it as it is for now. Why wait? You can always reset the pendant (or ring if you choose) with another gem if it does lose color. My thoughts anyway. Enjoy it now.

 

[LD]

Where has this notion come from that you can't get opals wet????? That's not true at all. Of course, I'm not talking about going for a swim or scuba diving or wearing in a shower when I say that! In fact, in order to keep an opal from drying out and cracking (which of course takes years) they need to suck in moisture from their surroundings. So, for a ring, they're absolutely fine. The only time you need to worry about opals drying out is if they are stored for long periods of time. It's good every now and again to get them out and literally just wipe over with a damp cloth. In terms of losing their POC, a good opal doesn't do this. I suspect it might be dyed ones that do.

Most of the Opals from Welo are Hydrophane Opals (meaning water loving) and they react when put in water, unlike other opals - they can either get more POC or less and loss or gain transparancy in the water but they will always revert to their dry state. A bit of a warning here - if you immerse hydrophane opals in water they can also crack. Here's an article about them: http://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/FA13-LN-technique-hydrophane-opal

Yingh your stone looks lovely. The seller obviously "amps up" the photos but it does look like the starting material is good to begin with. I would say to set it as you want and will enjoy. I suspect Sally from Heart of Water has worked with opals before so she could be a good go to person.

 

[katharath]

LD - I can't say how "good" my opals that lost POC were, but they weren't dyed. They were from a reputable NYC vendor who typically deals in alexandrite - that's what he's most known for, from what I've been told. If I remember right (this was from a couple of years ago) he cut the welos there on site. The beads were fairly expensive, too. So it was pretty disappointing to have them lose color and turn yellow.

I'm thinking a great person to ask about this would be Jeff Schultz. He is well known for cutting welos and has been doing it for years - I bet he could tell us a lot! I'm friends with him on FB (he's really active over there and a very nice guy). I think I'll ask him if he has any thoughts on the stability of welos and see if there's anything he could share with us.

 

[tourma-guy]

Heres a portion of a post on GemologyOnline that is similar to the discussion of stability:

Hey D,

I've been cutting Ethiopian opals for about five years now and I've seen a couple of different reasons for stones turning yellow and losing color play. A common culprit is oil, these opals will absorb oils from your skin (allthough this usually takes several months of wear) or from any lubricant you're using during cutting. You can soak your stone in acetone for a couple of hours, then let it dry naturally for several days and see if that changes anything.

It could also be humidity, as the stone 'acclimates' to new humidity levels sometimes the appearance changes. I live in DC and I have a couple stones that look very diffferent in the summer than in the winter.

And then there's some mystery stones that seem to maintain their color for several years and then change appearance for unknown (to me) reasons. These are the ones that bother me as a vendor, but I haven't seen too many of them.
...

http://gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19891


And heres another good thread about welo opal.

http://www.gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13657

 

[LD]

LD - I can't say how "good" my opals that lost POC were, but they weren't dyed. They were from a reputable NYC vendor who typically deals in alexandrite - that's what he's most known for, from what I've been told. If I remember right (this was from a couple of years ago) he cut the welos there on site. The beads were fairly expensive, too. So it was pretty disappointing to have them lose color and turn yellow.

I'm thinking a great person to ask about this would be Jeff Schultz. He is well known for cutting welos and has been doing it for years - I bet he could tell us a lot! I'm friends with him on FB (he's really active over there and a very nice guy). I think I'll ask him if he has any thoughts on the stability of welos and see if there's anything he could share with us.

Katharath - my first paragraph was actually about non Welo opals (and certainly wasn't directed to your comments earlier). Opals (not Welos) do need to have a tiny bit of hydration and I've heard people talk about them losing POC and I reckon it's due to the dye OR perhaps an opal drying out (that's just a guess).

Welos are a different case altogether - they react differently to "normal" Opals!

 

[katharath]

LD - Ah, I see. And yes, you are certainly right about the hydration issue. I think people just get confused due to the hydrophane type of opals and are mixing up info. Obviously it's easy to get confused, lol...I have already, just in this thread

Tourma guy - thanks for the info!

I did message Jeff Schultz and he said that in his experience with welos, the only type that he has personally seen have issues are the yellow body welos. He said that he has seen them lose color play. He also said that once they are cut and dyed, they are stable, but that you can have problems with color change if they're exposed to heat (so similar to what tourma guy said re:humidity??)

I have personally owned three other welos apart from my beads which I have had no problems with. And I'm guessing it must have been a body chemistry type thing that caused my beads to change color? I guess we'll never know - but I think setting one in a a metal setting so that it's not right on your skin should help prevent any issues there.

Yingh - I think you should just set it, if you want - go for it. Jeff also said that welos are much heartier gems than people think, he said that he is very hard on his just to see how well they will hold up - and that he hasn't had any issues with his. So there's that...

 

[minousbijoux]

Heres a portion of a post on GemologyOnline that is similar to the discussion of stability:

Hey D,

I've been cutting Ethiopian opals for about five years now and I've seen a couple of different reasons for stones turning yellow and losing color play. A common culprit is oil, these opals will absorb oils from your skin (allthough this usually takes several months of wear) or from any lubricant you're using during cutting. You can soak your stone in acetone for a couple of hours, then let it dry naturally for several days and see if that changes anything.

It could also be humidity, as the stone 'acclimates' to new humidity levels sometimes the appearance changes. I live in DC and I have a couple stones that look very diffferent in the summer than in the winter.

And then there's some mystery stones that seem to maintain their color for several years and then change appearance for unknown (to me) reasons. These are the ones that bother me as a vendor, but I haven't seen too many of them.
...

http://gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=19891


And heres another good thread about welo opal.

http://www.gemologyonline.com/Forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=13657

FYI: tourmaguy: you may notice that we do not link nor mention this other website directly here but instead allude to "a certain online Gemology website." This is because we are prohibited here from discussing other sites like that one.

 

[LD]

LD - Ah, I see. And yes, you are certainly right about the hydration issue. I think people just get confused due to the hydrophane type of opals and are mixing up info. Obviously it's easy to get confused, lol...I have already, just in this thread

No, it was totally my fault. The way I had written that post I can totally see how it was jibberish and could easily be misinterpreted. I have slight dyslexia and often my typing fingers type what's in my head and it makes total sense to me until I read it back or somebody points out how rubbish it was Even if I read through it sometimes makes sense so I now just press send and hope the jibberish fairy hasn't attacked

 

[tourma-guy]

FYI: tourmaguy: you may notice that we do not link nor mention this other website directly here but instead allude to "a certain online Gemology website." This is because we are prohibited here from discussing other sites like that one.

Uh....ok. Odd rule...

I'll clean up my post.

Edit: Nvm apparently that feature is turned off....

 

[katharath]

LD - Ah, I see. And yes, you are certainly right about the hydration issue. I think people just get confused due to the hydrophane type of opals and are mixing up info. Obviously it's easy to get confused, lol...I have already, just in this thread

No, it was totally my fault. The way I had written that post I can totally see how it was jibberish and could easily be misinterpreted. I have slight dyslexia and often my typing fingers type what's in my head and it makes total sense to me until I read it back or somebody points out how rubbish it was Even if I read through it sometimes makes sense so I now just press send and hope the jibberish fairy hasn't attacked

Your posts are awesome and always appreciated!! And you made some great points in the one you are referring to, I think it was very helpful. I blame myself for not being able to interpret better, that is definitely something I seem to find myself always having trouble with, lol.

 

[katharath]

FYI: tourmaguy: you may notice that we do not link nor mention this other website directly here but instead allude to "a certain online Gemology website." This is because we are prohibited here from discussing other sites like that one.

Uh....ok. Odd rule...

I'll clean up my post.

Edit: Nvm apparently that feature is turned off....

Minous is completely right about that rule but I spaced on it...oops!

You can only edit your posts for a limited amount of time, it's not very long, maybe 15mins or so? I can't recall that, but I do know that the option disappears after a few mins.

 

[minousbijoux]

Ooh, Katharath, I certainly hope you didn't think I was chastising you - if you "broke the rules" I didn't even notice!

 

[tourma-guy]

Minous is completely right about that rule but I spaced on it...oops!

You can only edit your posts for a limited amount of time, it's not very long, maybe 15mins or so? I can't recall that, but I do know that the option disappears after a few mins.

Not your fault, its mine. I'll just be sure to give myself extra lashings tonight before bed.