Ethiopian Black Opal, Cabochon, 0.39 ct (Specimen)

This polished black opal is from the recently discovered deposit at Stayish mine near the town of Gashena. We source rough opals and cut and polish custom-made cabochons for jewelry companies and collectors.

This opal is a specimen due to small surface cracks. Black opals from the Stayish Mine are non-hyrophane (i.e. non water absorbing) and have a tendency to crack when cutting. This is different to the hydrophane (water absorbing) white opals from Wegel Tena and Mezezo that perform better when cutting.

External reference: GIA: New Deposit of Black Opal from Ethiopia, 2014, Opal Body Tone Scale.