After many years of not going I recently attended a Gem and Mineral Show in Denver Colorado. I was quite taken by the new Welo opals. The ones I saw were fairly translucent and had interesting watery colors. But I didn't like the ring or pendant settings and they were very pricey. At the last minute I decided to look at loose stones. Out of a tray of mostly white, larger opals I selected the 14x10mm fairly oval opal below. Because of the bargaining process I forgot to ask where the opal was mined.
Originally the opal was milky white with flashes of brilliant color. Once I got outside and saw the opal in sunlight I saw a strong ribbon pattern on the flatter underside.
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| Picture taken in my house, not in sunlight but exposed to a window. |
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| Picture taken outside in direct sun of the domed top. |
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| Back side of opal with ribbon pattern showing. |
All of the above pictures were taken after having put the opal under running water. It seemed to get more translucent and the ribbon pattern showed through from the top.
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