I've recently become quite fond of Ethiopian opals—the interplay of color and light in each piece is so vibrant.
Some say they are too soft for everyday wear, while others call them the most brilliant of gemstones.
I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts—do you own or work with Ethiopian opal jewelry? What has your experience been like so far?
I’m a colored stone nerd who’s just recently gotten into pearls.
Ethiopian opals are actually weirdly similar to pearls, in terms of care. Except worse in terms of durability.
They are VERY soft. 5.5-6.5 on the Moh’s hardness scale, depending on the specific stone. Quartz, a major component in dust, is a 7. These stones can quite literally be scratched by dust.
They’re also often unstable. Most Ethiopian opals cannot tolerate exposure to water, oil, basically any liquid, due to them often being hydrophane. If exposed, they’ll suck it up into the stone. It does not come out. It can permanently change the base color, play of color, and transparency of the stone.
Overall, yeah, they’re very pretty stones! And I won’t pretend that the play of color in Australian opals isn’t different. But Australian material is SO much more stable. The hardness is the same, and they’re still porous, but they don’t suffer the same level of environmental sensitivity that Ethiopian material does.
If you want Ethiopian opals in jewelry, same rules as pearls. Last on, first off. Do not expose to perfumes or lotions. The safest forms of jewelry for them are long necklaces, brooches/pins, and earrings. Basically anything that *isn’t* on the hands or arms where it can be easily bashed.
