Interested in Ethiopian Opal links to quality stones

[leggs]

Recently at my local gem show i was told by a vendor to look for Ethiopian Opal, They said it was the most amazing opal so i am interested in what top stones would look like just for fun and to see just what to look for when I am rich and famous.

 

[Richard M.]

I''m an opal lover and I spent much time at the Tucson gem show this year with opal exporters from Ethiopia. They wanted a friend and me to come to Ethiopia to help them start a cutting and marketing operation for people there. To help convince us they gave us many pieces of opal to test cut. That was a mistake on their part.

It''s volcanic opal (stable Australian opal is sedimentary). Volcanic opal has always had a bad reputation because it''s prone to cracking and crazing. It has too high a water content and its very touchy. I have several absolutely gorgeous pieces sitting on my cutting bench and I watch new cracks appear almost daily.

There is similar opal in Idaho and Nevada. If stable it would probably be the finest precious opal in the world. But it mostly must be kept in water as specimens only.

Some cutters tell me there is stable Ethiopian material. But I didn''t find any in a week of picking over a great amount of it. It is very beautiful if you like brown to red-brown base colors. But I''m not sure anyone unfamiliar with opal should be buying Ethiopian material, especially if it''s expensive.

Richard M.

 

[The Joker]

Richard M:
I know what you mean by very touchy Opal. I had two amazing pieces from the opal mines in Virgin Valley Nevada and they brought tears to my eyes when they fell apart while I was finishing them. I developed a new process for stabilizing the opal and saving some just dazzling Opal. Since I can''t promote my web-site here, I will just say that, if you "google" natural virgin valley opal, you can find my site on the first page.
Leggs:
My process works for Ethiopian Opal also, and there is one on the site.
Joker (The Opal Lover)

 

[RevolutionGems]

I acquired some ethiopian opal nodules at one of the Denver shows about a year and a half ago. I cut one of the pieces about a year ago and it has not cracked or crazed at all.

That being said, the vendor told me that the opal is extremely fragile and is prone to the cracking and crazing talked about in the other posts. The stone I cut (which is translucent contra luz) is absolutely stunning, about 8 carats and, (knock on wood) so far, stable.

There are stable pieces out there but I suspect they are the exception rather than the rule.