I received a package in the mail yesterday from my dear sister. She was fortunate enough to attend the Tucson gem and mineral show this year, and she sent along a group of stones. Among them was this beautiful pair of Ethiopian opal rough stones.

These are by far the best pieces of opal that I have in my stash. Normally my opals- most of which come from Lightning Ridge in Australia- have a very thin layer of color, covered on top and bottom with a layer of base rock. The rock has to be very carefully cut away to show the color, and it’s very easy to cut all of the color away. It’s a common occurrence to spend an hour cutting a stone, only to find there’s no color in it.

These stones, by contrast, are both solid color all the way through. They should be a breeze to cut… the hardest part will be deciding which face to flatten for the back, since the colors will look beautiful on all sides.

Look for more on these stones in the coming months as they’re cut and set into necklaces. I almost always set opals into necklaces, since they are soft stones and easily damaged with normal wear when set into a ring.