Ethiopian Wollo opals from Barry

[Aoife]

I contacted Barry last week about the Wollo opals he's been so excited about, and he sent me some to look at. These are the ones I ended up keeping, but, honestly, they were all so beautiful, and so different from each other that I almost bought all of them he sent. They never look the same way twice.

First up, the crystal. This is so transparent that you can read print through it:









Now, the broadflash:



Broadflash fire:

 

[Aoife]

Broadflash with a friend (for size perspective...and because I think it's cute)

 

[Largosmom]

I KNEW they would be better than the pictures because I have seen quite a few of them. Congratulations! Even video doesn't do them justice. You will find them listed as Welo opal or hydrophane opals, or Ethiopian opals. I just bought some rough myself to play with/learn to cabachon with last weekend and I can't wait to see what they look like.

Laura

 

[Aoife]

I KNEW they would be better than the pictures because I have seen quite a few of them. Congratulations! Even video doesn't do them justice. You will find them listed as Welo opal or hydrophane opals, or Ethiopian opals. I just bought some rough myself to play with/learn to cabachon with last weekend and I can't wait to see what they look like.

Laura

I've never seen anything quite like these. The amount of play in the colors is amazing, they have much, much more than the photos hint at. As an example: On the first evening after Barry sent them, I put them all back into the shipping box, which had a very dark interior, in their individual gem boxes. We hadn't turned on the lights in the room yet, and the sun was down, so we are talking almost no light source in the room. I looked across the room to where the box with the opals was sitting (maybe 20 feet away) and I could just see the broadflash I posted here, and it looked like it was a hot, glowing coal--no yellow or gold matrix, just fire. That was when I knew I had to have it!

I hope you'll post about your experiences shaping the rough, I'd love to hear about it. And maybe some photos?

 

[Largosmom]

I have one faceted welo opal from Dan Stair (he still has one more on his site, or did I think last i checked).

There was a local gem show this past weekend and two vendors had Ethiopian opal, and the best of them just flashed and glowed with life..neon bright colors in a clear or light background. Imagine a bit of paraiba blue, sunshine yellow, glowy purple, and ruby red all in patches in one stone. They are very vibrant and photos and even video are hard to show their quality. The ones I saw were a couple of carats, which is large because opal is a lightweight "fluffy" stone. One vendor called his best stone a "pavingstone" pattern and it was, indeed, little honeycombs of pattern, alternating colors...fabulous stone. He had some faceted and some cabbed stones. Cost was around $100 to 200 per carat depending on the stone quality. The other vendor had small pieces of rough to pick through in addition to some cabachon stones. Both had really nice and some "good" stones.

I'll try to get pictures of the rough. My house lighting is dim, so it's a bit tough.

Laura

 

[chrono]

I wish your pictures do it justice as it sounds like it’s very pretty in person. What are your plans for it?

 

[Aoife]

I wish your pictures do it justice as it sounds like it’s very pretty in person. What are your plans for it?

At this point I'm not really sure what my plans are for them. The crystal opal shows IRL as being a really dreamy medium blue, and it is tempting to set it as a ring, for very occasional and careful wear. The broadflash will probably remain unset for quite a while, but it is fun to look at, and inspiration may hit, you never know. I really just bought the broadflash because I'd never seen colorplay that made an opal actually look on fire in such low light conditions.

 

[missydebby]

So gorgeous Aoife! Wows! Are you gonna set them or keep them for playing?

 

[Aoife]

So gorgeous Aoife! Wows! Are you gonna set them or keep them for playing?

A little of both, MissyDebby! I've asked Barry to be on the lookout for a pair for me to set in earrings, too, but for the time being I'm enjoying playing with the ones I've got.

 

[Largosmom]

Would love to see a couple more pics of them. Love love opals.

 

[Aoife]

Would love to see a couple more pics of them. Love love opals.

The light is bad today for taking pictures, but here's one of the crystal opal I took yesterday:







It's 13.7mm x 9.1mm

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I would really love to see one in person some day! And maybe own one...

 

[Aoife]

I would really love to see one in person some day! And maybe own one...

The good thing about the Ethiopian opals is that they are (right now, this may change!) considerably cheaper than the Australian opals, so if you want one, now would be a good time to get one.

 

[Treenbean]

At both of the Intergem shows I've been too, and another small gem show I've been to several vendors have had a fairly large quantity of Wollo or Wello opals. Amazing color play etc and huge sizes. 40 some carats of hydrophane opal faceted and made into necklaces. The prices are pretty darn good considering what you pay for Lightening Ridge opal.
One question. Is it stable?

 

[Aoife]

At both of the Intergem shows I've been too, and another small gem show I've been to several vendors have had a fairly large quantity of Wollo or Wello opals. Amazing color play etc and huge sizes. 40 some carats of hydrophane opal faceted and made into necklaces. The prices are pretty darn good considering what you pay for Lightening Ridge opal.
One question. Is it stable?

My understanding is that they are stable, but I am currently working my way through the fascinating article on the Wollo/Welo opals that was published in the summer edition of Gems and Gemology, so I might have a more detailed answer after I've digested that! I would love to see one of the 40+ct opals. There are some photos in the G&G article that are jaw-dropping.

 

[Largosmom]

I have read a couple of online articles that also say they are stable.