The future is very bright for Ethiopian opals. They are becoming much more visible in the gem and jewelry market, and the gem-buying public is becoming aware of them. All of this has occurred without a major mining company or jewelry brand spending millions of dollars to promote them. They occur in a variety of…

Many Ethiopian opals are sold in their natural state, and some are treated. Their porosity makes them good candidates for dye, smoke, and sugar/acid treatments. All of these treatments, when disclosed, reduce the price of the opal to much less than natural opal with the same appearance. When undisclosed they can deceive inexperienced buyers and…

Many of the opals mined in Ethiopia, especially from the Welo deposits, are hydrophane opals. “Hydrophane” is a name used for a porous opal that has the ability to absorb water. A change in color or transparency often accompanies the water absorption. These opals typically have a lower specific gravity than other types of opal…

Much of the opal produced from the Wollo Province has an orange, yellow or reddish body color along with play-of-color. The orange, yellow or reddish body color meets the definition of a fire opal, and the play-of-color meets the definition of a precious opal. Meeting both criteria, these opals could be called “precious fire opals.” The orange…

Precious opal mined in Ethiopia began entering the gem and jewelry market in 1994. This opal originated from a discovery made in the Menz Gishe District in the northern part of the Shewa Province. Opal from this area occurs in a wide range of body colors. Much of the opal has a brown, red, or…

The New Opal Heavyweight: Australia has been the dominant force in the opal market for over 100 years. During that time as much as 95% of the worldwide opal production has been mined in Australia. Today, Ethiopia is on its way to becoming the second heavyweight in the opal market. A small discovery in 1994 put Ethiopia on the worldwide…