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Lot 148
Very Fine Jelly Opal--"Aurora Borealis"
7 December 2016, 10:00 PST
Los AngelesSold for US$5,250 inc. premium
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Very Fine Jelly Opal--"Aurora Borealis"
Wello, Delanta Plateau, Tigray, Ethiopia
This is an excellent precious opal from the leading local mine found in Wello province, Delanta region, around 2700 ft above sea level and 570 km northwest of the capital city Addis Ababa. Discovered in 2008, opal from Wello, Ethiopia has recently come to the international market. Mined only by the local farmers who are currently banding together to form small mining cooperatives, the Ethiopian Ministry of Mining and Energy is making efforts to train them on mining safety, polishing, and market conditions.
Mineralogically speaking Wello opal is very different from Australian opal. In composition it may be most similar to Indonesian opal. Australian white opal, which some may superficially think has a similar appearance, is actually formed of silicon spheres stacked one on top of the other, creating a diffraction grating that disperses light entering the opal. The Wello material, on the other hand, has no spheres, but instead possesses a totally different structure altogether. The color display patterns range from rolling holographic orbs and dots to sheet, to flagstone to broadflash, to rolling ribbons and threads and exhibit some wave-like patterns as well.
This oval cabochon exhibits the most desirable qualities of this new find: fashioned as an oval double cabochon, displaying both a high degree of transparency as well as full spectral play-of-color with rolling flashes of red, orange, yellow to green and electric blue reminiscent of the optical effects of the Northern Lights. Weighing approximately 23.74 carats and measuring 26.98 x 19.85 x 8.59mm
This is an excellent precious opal from the leading local mine found in Wello province, Delanta region, around 2700 ft above sea level and 570 km northwest of the capital city Addis Ababa. Discovered in 2008, opal from Wello, Ethiopia has recently come to the international market. Mined only by the local farmers who are currently banding together to form small mining cooperatives, the Ethiopian Ministry of Mining and Energy is making efforts to train them on mining safety, polishing, and market conditions.
Mineralogically speaking Wello opal is very different from Australian opal. In composition it may be most similar to Indonesian opal. Australian white opal, which some may superficially think has a similar appearance, is actually formed of silicon spheres stacked one on top of the other, creating a diffraction grating that disperses light entering the opal. The Wello material, on the other hand, has no spheres, but instead possesses a totally different structure altogether. The color display patterns range from rolling holographic orbs and dots to sheet, to flagstone to broadflash, to rolling ribbons and threads and exhibit some wave-like patterns as well.
This oval cabochon exhibits the most desirable qualities of this new find: fashioned as an oval double cabochon, displaying both a high degree of transparency as well as full spectral play-of-color with rolling flashes of red, orange, yellow to green and electric blue reminiscent of the optical effects of the Northern Lights. Weighing approximately 23.74 carats and measuring 26.98 x 19.85 x 8.59mm