| Note |
Set of 4 opals. Description specifies combined opal weight and size of largest stone. Welo opals come from the Welo province (also spelled Wollo or Wolo) in Ethiopia. Most Welo opals are hydrophane opals with a porous microstructure. Usually when immersed in water they soak up about 10 percent by weight of water and turn more transparent while the play-of-colour becomes weaker. When removed from water and allowed to dry it takes about 1 to 6 weeks until they regain their dry appearance. Do not force drying. During drying a few stones steadily return less transparent while most other stones first turn less transparent (white) and later become more transparent again. Therefore we recommend to avoid contact with water and other substances like cosmetics, soap and detergents etc. The provided description and pictures apply to the stone dried in the open air. |