Purple welo opals!

[periwinklegirl]

I found these lovelies on Etsy and ordered them instantly! Finally had time to pick them up yesterday.

They are stunning!!

They are welo opals dyed purple (pendant) and blue (earrings). I didn't know they could do that. I knew they could dye pearls, but not opals. I guess they are porous enough.

So beautiful in the sunshine.

My next step is to send them off to Patricia Saab (who I found thanks to FlyGirl!) to be wire wrapped.

 

[minousbijoux]

Does the fact that they are dyed, make them mimic black opals? From the picture, they look colorful and very pretty.

 

[periwinklegirl]

No, I wouldn't say that it does. But they are still pretty!

The purple pendant one flashes the most incredible fuschia-coloured fire in the sunlight!

 

[Kelinas]

The pendant opal looks so pretty!

 

[LD]

Typically T-shirt dye is used mixed with alcohol to get this look. Apparently the following is common in dyed opals:

1. Black color is more concentrated
2. The overall play of colour is more opaque
3. The black color will not fade when exposed to water

So Welo's that are dyed lose the ability to fade but the PoC is natural but enhanced by the dye. This has been around since 1970 apparently!

As an Opal lover, this isn't something I would want but I appreciate they can look very pretty and if cheap, why not!

For the anoraks amongst us, here's an article on dyed/smoked opals:

http://gtljaipur.info/circulars/lic_Vol_65_December_2012.pdf

 

[chrono]

Very pretty at affordable prices for those who don't need untampered stones. Am looking toward to your completed set.

 

[periwinklegirl]

Thanks Chrono, Kelinas, LD!
They are very pretty - the photo does them no justice at all.

I have some undyed welo opals as well. Which I think are great! Just, fairly small. They work fine with my little pearls in a bracelet, but I wanted something with a little more oomph for a pendant/earrings set. Not that I would wear them together!

I'm thinking of having a decent sized vail put on the pendant, so that I could wear it a thin strand of black freshwater pearls (which I happen to have lying around).

I'm having a lot of fun with pearls and opals. It's much more hands on than designing with diamonds and appeals to my crafty side.

I'll keep you all posted!

 

[ruffysdad]

Actually Welo's can absorb a comparatively enormous amount of water up to and occasionally more than 10% of its dry weight. This kind of amount can put a lot of stress on them when cutting so any heat generated has to be kept to a minimum. Also a lot of cracking occurs when they are dried out. I lost about 1/2 of a parcel of Welo rough during the 2+ years I let it dry before offering it. So much for the bad stuff. The good stuff is that IMO once stabilized, Welo is as good as any opal out there and as a bonus, can be faceted in some cases.

Pete