Natural Ethiopian Welo Opal Pendant in 925 Sterling Silver – Ed Lohman

This opal has a softer look at first, with a milky, almost translucent body color, but there’s a surprising amount of color sitting underneath it. Green is especially strong through the center, with flashes of red, orange, yellow and blue showing up as the stone moves. It’s the kind of opal that can look completely different depending on the angle and lighting.

This is a natural Ethiopian Welo opal, material that comes from volcanic deposits in Ethiopia. Opal forms when silica-rich water moves through cracks and open spaces in rock and, over time, leaves behind microscopic silica spheres. When those spheres are arranged uniformly enough, they interact with light and produce the shifting spectral colors we call play-of-color.

What I like about this particular stone is that it isn't just one bright flash surrounded by plain material. The color is scattered throughout the cabochon, with larger patches of green and red mixed with smaller flashes across the surface.

Ed Lohman made the entire pendant in .925 sterling silver. 

• Natural Ethiopian Welo opal
  
• Green, red, orange, yellow and blue flashes
• .925 sterling silver
• Completely handmade by Ed Lohman
• One-of-a-kind natural opal pendant