Natural Ethiopian Welo Opal - Ed Lohman

Just trust me on this one. This opal is INSANE. Every once in a while, Ed Lohman decides he's going to retire, which basically means you do fewer shows every year and sell more of his "hidden" inventory. This last year we were VERY fortunate to acquire some of his "locked vault" opals. This is one of those. There is color across the entire stone. Even sitting still.

This is a natural Ethiopian Welo opal, and the geology behind these stones is pretty incredible. Ethiopian opals formed in ancient volcanic environments when silica-rich water moved through porous volcanic rock. Over time, tiny silica spheres accumulated in the rock's cavities. When those spheres are arranged just right, they diffract light and produce the shifting spectral colors we call play-of-color.

What makes a really good opal different is the amount of color, which colors are present, and how easily you can see them. This one has an unusually broad range, including harder-to-find red and orange flashes, mixed with strong greens and blues.

The silverwork was intentionally kept fairly clean around the stone when Ed worked this one. There’s enough detail to give the pendant some character, but the opal is absolutely the reason for this piece. It’s a large elongated cabochon with a lot of visible play-of-color, and there really wasn't any reason to distract from that.

Natural opal is also one of those materials where you simply can't make another one exactly like it. The pattern and color are determined by what happened inside that volcanic rock long before anyone ever found it. We just get the fun part of turning it into something you can wear.

• Natural Ethiopian Welo opal

• Exceptional multi-color play-of-color

• Strong green and blue with yellow, orange and red flashes

• Large elongated oval cabochon

• .925 sterling silver setting

• Individually cut and set