Welo Opal necklace and earrings with Sterling Silver. The necklace is approximately 16 inches in length with 50 carats of 3 to 7 mm rondell shaped opal beads. The necklace is finished with Sterling Silver chain and a handmade clasp. The earrings are framed with Sterling Silver textured drops approximately 0.9 inches in length. The 22 gauge earwires are approximately one inch in length. As with any high polish and flashy opals, pictures can not do them justice.
Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silica; its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. Because of its amorphous character, it is classed as a mineraloid, unlike crystalline forms of silica, which are classed as minerals. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl, and basalt. The internal structure of precious opal makes it diffract light. Depending on the conditions in which it formed, it can take on many colors. Precious opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and black. Of these hues, the black opals are the rarest, whereas white and greens are the most common. Opals vary in optical density from opaque to semitransparent and show opalescence, a form of iridescence.
In 2008, a new opal deposit was found approximately 180 km north of Shewa Province, near the town of Wegel Tena, in Ethiopia's Wollo Province. The Wollo Province opal was different from the previous Ethiopian opal finds offers in that it more closely resembled the sedimentary opals of Australia and Brazil, with a light background and often vivid play-of-color. Wollo Province opal, more commonly referred to as "Welo" or "Wello" opal, has become the dominant Ethiopian opal in the gem trade.
Product code: Opal offers and Sterling Silver Necklace and Earrings Set Handmade by Chris Hay