Hydrophane online shopping search

With the emergence of opal production in Wollo, Ethiopia, the supply of hydrophane opal has increased significantly. This deposit offers beautiful material at a fraction of the price of similar-looking opal from several other sources, including Australia and Brazil. However, most of the opal from Wollo is hydrophane, which simply means it is porous enough to readily absorb water, much like a sponge. This property can occasionally cause durability issues that may lead to significant cracking, depending on the porosity of the material and how included it is. In general, it is difficult to predict if this material will crack when immersed, but the potential is certainly higher in hydrophane opal than in nonporous material. In hydrophane opal with a bodycolor other than white, there is the distinct possibility of artificial coloration, since stones that absorb water also absorb dye (N. Renfro and S.F. McClure, “Dyed purple hydrophane opal,” Winter 2011 G&G , pp. 260–270). While this ability to absorb water is not proof of dye, it calls for extra caution when examining an opal for color modification, especially if it has a bodycolor that can exist naturally, such as orange.

With white or colorless opals, checking for dye is…