A quick point here, many are aware that black ethiopian opals are smoked but i have heard that almost all yellow or brownish hue Ethiopian opals, which are very common, as many ethiopian opals have a yellowish hue, are mostly smoked as well. Much of this is being done in India. Any thoughts?
Ethiopia produces natural black opals, which aren't very hard to distinguish from the treated ones. I doubt there is much dyeing of yellow or brown ethiopian opals. These colors occur naturally and aren't necessarily that desireable. Colors to look out for are the jet jet black transparent when backlit (though I am not sure they're actually smoke treated at scale, sugar treatment or just immersing in dye seems a lot more practical given opal's response to heat) some oranges, and obvious blues or greens.
Hhm right. Thanks for the info. Its hard to grade ethiopian opals. Some suggest the strongest play of color alone determines quality while others say the stones tone is important. Im.not sure
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