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$28.50
Current Bid
10
Bids
Closed
09/04/2013 03:15 pm
10
300
1

1.96Ct ~VOLCANIC ERUPTION Welo Opal~

SKU
Dimensions (mm)
x x mm
Weight (cts)
2.000
Colours


Quantity 1 piece Origin Welo, Ethiopia
Weight 1.96carats Treatment Untreated
Gem Type 100% Natural Opal Hardness 5-6 on Mohs Scale
Shape Cabochon Item Code ABB18
Size 12.5x8.3x3.6mm Shipping Method Pos Malaysia
Color Multi Color Remark

Totally untreated Welo opal, no smoked, no dyed, no chemical

Brightness 5 of 5 Chart Below
Tips

100% natural Welo solid opal, these good quality opals were carefully select from many and many opals. The photos were taken under incandescent lamp with low light condition as these Welo opals are very bright in color play

 

 

Brightness Rating:

Brightness 1 of 5: FAINT
Opal shows play-of-colour only under sunlight.

Brightness 2 of 5: DULL
Opal shows some dull play-of-colour under sunlight or spotlight.

Brightness 3 of 5: BRIGHT
Opal shows a nice play-of-colour under sunlight or spotlight.

Brightness 4 of 5: VERY BRIGHT
Opal shows a nice play-of-colour under low light and a very good under sunlight or spotlight.

Brightness 5 of 5: BRILLIANT
Opal shows a bright crisp mirror-like play-of-colour under sunlight or spotlight and often seems even brighter in subdued light.


Opal has long been regarded as the fifth precious gemstone. (The other four are diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and ruby). It has also been regarded as the most beautiful and exciting of all gemstones by many. Reasons for this is the mysterious change of colors as the stone is moved around and the brilliance of the different colors it contains.


How the name "Opal" came about

The word "opal" is an ideal starting point for this talk: Most mineralogical texts say that it derived from the sanskrit "upala" meaning a precious stone. A tamed rendition, actually.

Opal was introduced into Greece during the first century B.C. (The Greeks and Romans probably obtained their opal from Turkey or India). The Greeks called it "opallios" a word coined from two other words, the first of which gives us words such as opaque and optical, while the other gives us words like alias and alter. Thus "opal" literally means 'to see a change' (of color)

The Indonesian name for opal is "kalimaya", derived from the Sanskrit 'maya', an illusion, and the Javanese 'kali' which moans a river. The result is a "river of illusion". The Aztec term ton Mexican opal means "the hummingbird stone", for its change of colors was likened to the sheen found on the plumage of that bird.


What Opal is

Opal is a true precious stone which occurs in many varied forms. Opal is amorphous silica with a water content varying from one to twenty percent, depending on the porosity and degree of hydration. Precious opal usually contains from six to ten percent water (A more complete description will follow later).

Opal may be dull and valueless, in which case it is called common opal. Common opal occurs in abundance throughout the world. One form of common opal found in association with opal of value, is "potch". In color, potch may be white, gray, black, amber; it may be honey-colored, watery clear, or a mixture of these colors

About 95 percent of opal from the opal fields is potch. Only 5 percent is of any value. Of this 5 percent about 95 percent is mediocre grade, with only 5 percent of real value. It is this small percentage- 5 percent of 5 percent that constitutes the magnificent opal which we call "precious opal". (No wonder precious opal commands such a high dollar price). Any other opal showing a play of color, but which is not equal in grade (color in intensity and purity) to the tops, is "noble opal".


Opal types

Top grade solid opal is PRECIOUS OPAL. Other brightly colored opal is NOBLE OPAL.

The precious-opal classification refers only to rough opal from which SOLID stones can be cut, or to finished gems which are solid stones. Top-grade doublets or triplets are classified as noble opal, not precious opal, because their opal content is backed with other material.

Solid opal is opal, which is of natural occurrence and solid enough to be set as a gem. Any pieces which need reinforcing (as happens in a doublet) are not solid opal, nor are any pieces which have a non-opal backing, including boulder opal with a backing of ironstone. An opal backed with opal is considered a solid, not a doublet.

There are other forms which cannot be classified as solid (thus not precious opal). These include any materials which show small detracting patches in the face of the cut specimen and which are either non-opal or lacking color play. 

Where nearly all our precious and noble opals come from

Both precious and noble opals are mined in several areas in the world. A few of these areas are worth mentioning here.


Destroying some myths and complaints frequently heard about opals

1. Opals fracture easily. This is not the opal's fault. When it does occur it is usually because the opal is not cut properly or the mounting it is placed in is improperly manufactured. Opal is about the same hardness (5 to 6.5 on the hardness scale) an amethyst and jade yet you seldom hear of them fracturing. Chief reasons are due to the way they are cut (faceted) and the way they are mounted.

2. Opals are unlucky. In 1829 Sir Walter Scott published a novel, "Anne of Geierstein" in which he used an opal to reflect the changing fortunes of the heroine. Critics of his novel conjured up the idea that opal could have properties of evil influence due to some of the heroine's misfortunes. This not only cut the value of opal in half at the time but amazingly this myth started by book critics in 1829 still exists today.

 

We accept payment only from Paypal for all our online sales, please bid only if you have verified Paypal Account. All buyers requirement to make payment within 3 days once auction ended.  Items will be canceled if we do not receive payment after 3 days.


We will provide the tracking number of the parcel which can be tracked in www.usps.com after a week shipment ship out by us (USA Buyers)

Australian buyers can not track incoming Registered Mail, please allow maximum of One Month shipping period, if you do not receive the item, kindly call to Australia Post Toll Free number.

Tracking number will be provided in Paypal payment transaction page.

We ship items daily except Sunday and Public Holidays. 

We ship worldwide, but for Italy and Russia buyers, bid/buy only if you can allow 2 months of delivery. We DO NOT ship to ISRAEL


Shipping provider Shipping to Malaysia Shipping to rest of world
DHL $38.00 / 2 days $38.00 / 4 days
Malaysia
DHL is discounted to $38.00 on orders with 2 or more items
Rest of the world
DHL is discounted to $38.00 on orders with 2 or more items
Registered Shipping $19.00 / 2 days $19.00 / 30 days
Malaysia
Registered Shipping is discounted to $19.00 on orders with 2 or more items
Rest of the world
Registered Shipping is discounted to $19.00 on orders with 2 or more items

uniquegems
uniquegems
Welcome to our top grade opal collection
Jelutong, Malaysia
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    This time it was a very beautiful opal. Thank you very much for your quick shipping and wonderful opals.

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Bids History (10)
confederate
Purchased from this seller previously
10 years ago
$27.50
andyhermawan
Purchased from this seller previously
10 years ago
$25.00
kangaroo
Purchased from this seller previously
10 years ago
$22.50
andyhermawan
Purchased from this seller previously
10 years ago
$18.50
severa
Purchased from this seller previously
10 years ago
$16.00
andyhermawan
Purchased from this seller previously
10 years ago
$13.50
severa
Purchased from this seller previously
10 years ago
$11.00
andyhermawan
Purchased from this seller previously
10 years ago
$6.00
10 years ago
$3.50
10 years ago
$1.00

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Shipping Details

Shipping:
$38.00 4 days via DHL
Ships from:
Malaysia

Payment Options

  • paypal

Overview

Listing Type : Standard
Product ID : 365470
Starting Bid : $1
Starts : 8th April 2013 08:15 am AEST
Ends : 10th April 2013 08:15 am AEST
* All prices are in USD