In the ever-competitive opal market of opals, the dominant power has always been Australia. Yet, since the discovery of Ethiopian Welo opals in 2008, Ethiopia has become the new heavyweight in the opal arena, pushing the century-long dominance of the Australian opal.
Let us rewind to 1994 when the first Ethiopian opal was discovered in Mezzezo, Shewa region. It was a highly anticipated discovery that created a huge interest within the opal community and especially in major gem shows. The news that there’s a new entrant in the opal scene with a spectacular play of color created a buzz many dealers and jewelers couldn’t wait to get their hands on.
This type of opal, ‘Mezzezo Opal’ as it came to be known, came in a variety of magnificent colors. from brown to reddish to white. Some had patterns that were unmatchable anywhere else. Unfortunately, the buzz was short-lived because the majority of mezzezo opal had some serious crazing problems.
In 2008, another opal discovery in the Wegel Tena region of Welo province, created a huge interest among the opal community as these mines produce colorful material that can be considered precious opal. Ethiopian ‘Welo’ or ‘Wollo opal’ was named after this locality. At first, the bad experience people had about “Ethiopian opal” made it hard to convince and sell to dealers and jewelers. Everyone wanted to study its properties for some time. Yet it persevered to get attention as time goes on. Recently more opal-bearing areas have been discovered like Stayish with its black opals, Kokwuha, Beska, and others which are producing some of the finest Ethiopian opals that made Ethiopian opals the new heavyweight.
Nowadays, it is customary for jewelers and opal lovers to search for Ethiopian Opal on the internet. You will come across many opalholics who are knowledgeable not only about the different varieties but also the specific properties of each opal.
Since most of the opals from the Welo area are hydrophane in nature, initially there was some skepticism on their durability, hardness, price, and cutting properties. Yet through time and after a lot of trials, jewelers and cutters found a way to address the issue. Especially the water-absorbing nature of these opals didn’t affect the opal as much because the color returned to its original state after drying without cracking or crazing.
When you consider the huge amount of opal that is being produced and that new opal bearing areas are popping up that produce amazing opals with completely new properties, the future of Ethiopian opal looks promising.
At Opal Exporter, we are committed to bringing you the very best of Ethiopian opals. We guarantee reliable and prompt delivery of the best Ethiopian opals we can get our hands on in the shortest time possible, directly from the source.
