Ethiopian opal is beautiful and after absorbing water the color does comes back. I have all types of opals and other stones some treated, heated, irradiated, etc. If the treatment is permanent I have no issue with it as long as it is disclosed. You have a right to choose not to work with the Ethiopian stone however they are beautiful and rarer than it's Australian counterparts. It's not an inferior stone, just different. It almost sounds like the lab-grown vs earth-mined diamond argument. They are both diamonds/opals.
I bought some very high quality ethiopian and cabbed some beautiful pieces, but didn't know much about them. After cutting I told a friend I'd give her one of my opals (one that lost most color and didnt seem to be of much value). After a couple weeks the opal dried and regained it's color. It was one of the most incredible opals I've seen in person. My friend was convinced it was Australian. No dead spots, flashes of red, green, yellow, blue, aqua, with color visible in all settings of light. And I just gave it away for free :(
I give away Opals all the time! One of my favorite things to share, but I'm one of those gifting types. Seriously fills my cup enough to keep me off of psych meds, not just giving away Opals but gifting in general, acts of service, etc.
you could use something like a "HENDI Smoke infuser" that they use to smoke food, it produces a lot more smoke that you could blow directly on the opal.
I'm picturing shards of quartz rocketing across the room, you diving for cover with a rock chip embedded in your forehead. I'm really sorry, but my mental picture is hilarious. :)
I don't think you need to get defensive about ethiopian opal - aussie opal is gorgeous, and so is the best african opal. I've seen aussie opal that was unstable and cracked, and cut aussie opal is a little more mechanically brittle than cut ethiopian (according to published comparisons). If customers know their opals are hydrophane they won't be upset when they get them wet (its a transient change anyway). Smoking opals is terrible I admit, but its easily detected and no-one could mistake a smoked one for a genuine aussie black one. The real risk to buyers is buying rough ethipian to cut - it almost always cracks during cutting in my experience. I don't pay extra for large size rough since I know I'm going to end up with smaller pieces (I only pay for color and pattern quality).
You can see the crazing in the stones. Simply use a light, look for any crazing, and where it exists, decide if you can make a stone out of it depending on where the cracks are. If it is craze-free, you will be good to go . . . so long as you do not subject it to too much heat.
@@michaeldenison7339 You can see existing cracks for sure. The issue is when the stone is wet for cutting new cracks appear and old ones propagate further through the stone. The best advice I'd had for this is to rub out the stone as quickly as possible. But that's a risk as well.
I would be interested to see the smoked opal cut into a stone. The color appears to still be present. Might look nice without all the blackened potch/sand surrounding it
I have a lot of smoked Welo and they are still gorgeous! They retain their color play and actually are more stable in color. 90% of the welo beads and cut stones I got have turned an unfortunate yellowish brown and are ruined. They were stored properly and only took maybe a year for it to happen. Stranger still, other beads and stones right along side them are still as white or clear as when I got them. I don't know why or how to predict which will turn, so it's too risky to even think of ever purchasing more. If for some reason I did, I would only get the smoked black, because all of those I have still look the exact same as they did the day I got them. I'm going to try to turn the bad ones black. I can't make them worse than they are now, that's for sure!
If I were smoking it I would put it in a Masson jar light my paper then blow it out for the smoke then put a lid on it and let it smoke for a long time
I was thinking something like that as well. Showed my science kids how to create a vacuum strong enough to suck a hard boiled egg into a bottle, and the smoke stayed suspended in there a good long time.
Try setting it in a bowl full of “backflow incense burner” smoke? The smoke is separated from it’s heat so it sinks, being denser than air. I imagine it would be better for marinating a stone. 👍
I am sure your intention was not to deceive but you left us with the impression that once wet Welo opal goes clear and stays clear when actually in a day or two it returns to its original look before wetting. Also washing your hands is typically not long enough to affect the opal although I make sure I wipe the opal dry after washing hands.
As it dries, yes. It absorbs water, and then it dries out. It takes a week, usually, to get back to a neutral state. You will see if slowly change back over that time. So long as you are cutting it just with water, the stone will not be harmed.
i bought one that turned completely clear the first time i washed my hands, later on i put some body lotion without realizing i was wearing the ring and half of it turned milky with no play of colour at all and opaque, so I bought an opal from justin and forgot the first one ( luckily it was not expensive but very disappointing)
@@blackopaldirect thanks to that happened i discovered your channel and your website, so it's all well if it's well in the end (dunno if i translated this correctly hahaahahah)
Hmm atleast now i know Y when i buy Ethiopian opal its already been treated to black (not sure how) but looks good but compared to my ausie opal not that good. Depends on the piece i guess ..untreated shewa opals lovely. Treated Andamooka opal is my favourite
Have you tried doing this with a kitchen sized smoke infuser? Might get the same effect without risk of too much heat from the direct flame from the paper.
Huhhh......mmmm???? Cool science project for the kids. But for us opalholics, we want natural, earth mined, Australian opal delights. Ha! Good information to know. Thanks again Justin for the education. Be safe. Much love from California 😎🤙
Honest to Buddha I have learned so much about Opals from you and your videos. I didn’t take me long to fall in love with opals and I love watching you cutting them. Thank you❤️
I've seen videos on people treating opal with some concoction with a sugar base thats heat treated over a period of time, then concentrated sulfuric acid is added and is treated again. It really does bring out amazing color even in lackluster opal. Not sure how well it would work with welo opal as you demonstrated the color fades when soaked in water. Seems like matrix opal and wood opal from other regions are treated this way quite often.
And actually that's not the way you smoke Ethiopian you need to put it in foil I believe baking soda or charcoal can't really remember at this timebut if you do that and put it in the foil and leave it on low temperature it will turn black and it will enhance the fire I've seen it even give pieces of opal fire that had none
@@blackopaldirect so your calligraphy or scrimshaw inks did not go into the stone is what you're saying like what we use and sell to people who do scrimshaw on bone Stone and some synthetic materials?
The color comes back when it dries. It has a tube like structure that the water fills. Can take some time to dry but in a few hrs to a day the color comes back. It also becomes more white when you cut and work them. Yes they do crack fairly easy when working them. But are beautiful and very affordable for a small home base business like myself.
Me too! Once or twice a year I like to splurge on a parcel between 3 & 5 hundred dollars worth of Australian, but it's been rare that I get a very good deal for that price point, usually gamble rough that's meant for practice for beginners. (Danny if you see this I'm not talking about you, you're my favorite, and if I could go through you every time, I would!) Anyway... I'm no beginner, but I do so love all the benefits involved with even lower quality Australian opal, compared to Ethiopian. However, I definitely see a few silver linings involved with my necessity to use Ethiopian as a default in my business, including the fact that I can make freeform carvings, and see full color all the way across the entire surface of a fairly large finished piece. This isn't always the case, and of course there are devastating blows here and there when I'm very satisfied with how a work in progress is going, as the form and structure is just so flowy and beautiful, and then just as I'm starting pre-polishing steps, Bam! 😐 -it splits in two or three, (or more). But over time, I've managed to find certain ways to work the stone that mitigate the odds of that devastation via my own particular handling of the stone, assuming of course that the material is good quality to begin with and was treated well before it got to me ...
Is hydrophane the same as ethiopian? I have hydrophane, and its yellow with play of color dry, and pretty much the same wet except it does clear up a bit but clear yellow. But i just ordered 200 worth of ethiopian rough. Ill let ya know what i think.
The worst is that oils and perfumes will penetrate it. It is cheap, which I can afford to work with. But it does have its drawbacks. I would love to work with some Australian opal. But it is out of my price range. I could try with stones that are low quality, if for nothing, just the experience.
I've seen people treat opal in warm sugar water for 24 hours then in weak sulfuric acid for the following 24 hours right after. the sugar water gets into the capilaries of the opal, and then the acid turns it dark.
Just make sure it's not concentraited sulfuric acid for lab use as you'll have a problem when you put water into it as it'll react ... household cleaner style sulf. acid should be fine as long as it's got no adatives and is just weak acid only.
@@DaftFader I remember spilling a load of conc sulphuric on my lab coat at University, and it smoked like a mother! I couldn't get that thing off fast enough.
I have seen some videos where they soak the stone in sugar water and then follow that with sulfuric acid. Basically, the sugar reacts chemically within the sulfuric acid, and releases carbon into the stone. Seems to me that the sugar method would be more efficient than the smoke method. A higher percentage of carbon can be put into the stone in a shorter period of time.
Vet informative...and let's people know what to watch out for ..all the while being respectful...I have some of this ...while it is interesting...does not compare in the least to Australian opal...cheers
I had some cracked and totally dehydrated Mexican Opal that I experimented with. I was told to use a brown paper bag from the supermarket to smoke the Opal in. Since these stones were already polished and then had gone completely dry and were beautiful but worthless, I gave it a go. They came out perfectly black with bright color. They were almost chalky in texture and would "bite" on the tongue test before and after the smoking. The same sort of material can be found in Southern California at Nowak Opal mine in the Mojave desert although some is cuttable and stable. In the Mexican from Queretaro which is in a red Rhyolite, the So. Cal, which is in the vugs in a Basaltic lava flow and the Opal up by Gerlach Nevada which also comes from the vugs in a basaltic lava, the Opal has a high water content and should be put in a bottle of water immediately, and left there. In my experience very little is stable over a long period of time. As far as I know there is no way to stabilize this chalky material and make it usable in jewelry. I had my dest luck with Spencer Idaho Opal that comes from a black rhyolite. To me it feels slightly softer than the better Australian material, but takes a great polish and has lots of color although usually in thin layers so making a doublet or triplet is the best way to handle it. In it's natural state it varies from pure white to clear layers and some in the pink range. I have seen fire layers over a 1/4" thick that cut very nice solid stones that are perfectly stable. I have not tried smoking Spencer Opal, but due to it's lack of porosity, I wouldn't think the smoke would penetrate far into the stone and would likely wear off in time.
I would love to see you slice the smoked one. Your channel have made me fall in love with opals (only Australian though), keep the videos coming mate!!!
Get a piece of aluminum foils put a piece of wood and make a pyramid shape with a opening in the middle then cover it with a big pot have the opal in the pot
i'm still on the fence about whether or not i want to treat mine with opticon. I will lose money in the short run, but my customers will get a stone that won't yellow over time, especially in a tobacco household etc. decisions decisions
Not good my friend. They are introducing smoke to rough parcels of Welo now. Once cut dry or wet. The opal turns dark brown like muddy water. Rendering is worthless. I am trying to let fellow opal cutters of Hydraphane opals not to introduce oils and things like smoke to the opal. I learned from. My experience. No buyer is interested in treated Ethiopan welo, or crystal welo opal.
The other issue with smoking opals is that some ethiopian opals have naturally black body tone. High quality ones are rare but very nice. Smoking the white ones devalues the naturally black ones, even though it's possible to test them to identify the smoked (fake) ones. Its a real shame.
This is true. Most of the black ones will crack while trying to cut them but some make it through. the only difference is the brightness is not quite the same as Australian
@@blackopaldirect Yeah. I think they come from a specific field, and tend to be pretty unstable compared to welo. But I have a couple amazing huge ones!
Hiya Justin, well I thought at first you were gunna smoke a opal, you know put it in a (pipe and smoke it) lol. Well that's not what you were talking about....... But I know someone who smoked one in the BBQ pit using the brickets and putting green wood for the smoke, and he doesn't use a lot of heat, but you would have too have your stone worked before you smoke it. Because it's only colored on the outside of the stones. Awesome Video! I got click baited. Yup you got me! I hope you have a blessed great day. Cya!
Good job, mate! Great closeups! Once smoked, though, wouldn't all the nice dark bg be ground off as you cab it? Also, wouldn't it be better to set the rough up ABOVE the burning bit on a screen or little grill to get the smoke, but not the fire??
yes you get someone to put an opal in front of you and if you don't pick it up you are free of it. If you can't help your self you need to go to opalsanonomous or just buy an opal and get it out of your system haha
When are you going to cut that next to big stone in your collection and make new shows.I love ❤️ watching the show until one ☝️ in the morning. 👍👁👁👁🤟🤟🤟👉👉👉😎😎😎👋👋👋👍👍👍
And what happens if you smoke treated opal (cabochon)? Will the thin edges of the stone darken? And more: I'm from Russia and I don't understand English very well. Could you accompany your interesting videos with subtitles? It would be very good for a larger audience. Thanks!
I have seen, heat up water with sugar until it get dark color, put the opal in the sugar mix for 5 days, and have it in batery acid for 5 days, .... dangerous ... but look like natural black opal.
How's the main body color on it now, at 8 months later? Have you found it's discolored at all? It is beautiful, no denying that, I've just found it to be so temperamental in changing unwanted colors like from white/clear to yellowish brown. I truly hope yours is still like the day you got it! If it is, beware of lotions, perfumes, etc. it will soak it all up like a sponge and unlike the water, it won't return to original if it "dries" out.
@@anitataco6488 I haven't had any problems with it. I do have to be careful, since it does go clear in water if left for too long, but since I don't use perfumes or lotions I don't have to worry about that. Even when it goes clear it always dries out and goes back to white. No cracks either.
@@evanalian Yay! I'm so happy to hear that! It's so disappointing to find them discolored. It sounds like you're the perfect person to be able to keep one looking nice! Mine were in storage cases, not exposed to anything at all and 90% went a really unfortunate shade of yellowy brown within a year of storing. I was in a bout of depression and had no will to create and when it finally lifted, I was shocked to find my beautiful stockpile ruined. Thousands of beads and cut stones. Pure devastation. I just wonder what they do or don't do to the ones that stayed true to original. I can't tell a difference between which will discolor and which won't. I'm going to see if I can smoke them black. I can't make them any worse, that's for sure.
Hi, thank you for yor channel, I am complete beginner and all this is so helpful! Anyway, I need some answears and not sure where to find them 😅. Maybe someone more experienced could help me. Could you please tell me about final polishing of Welo opals? Specificly, what is the best? Use a cerium oxide, or diamond paste and if yes, water based or oil based? I really like organic shapes, so I am not about to make a cabs from stones and its dificult to get into those small areas. Anyway, there is so many contradictory informations about the final polishing stage. I would be very happy if someone will give me some explanation how to do it. Thank you.
Hi, I know this video is from quite a long time ago, but... I have recently had to deal with some of this Ethiopian opal and I heard that if you submerged a piece in red wine for 48 hours it will turn it into a lovely black opal when it's dried.... And, well if it doesn't work at least you've had to open a bottle of wine... So cheers🍷
Also when Ethiopian opal is being cut on a wet wheel the opal gets wet and when drying the opal that was just cut will begin to crack everywhere. That is why when a etheopen opal is being cut it is such a large stone that will need to be recut to try to get these cracks out. If a person is lucky that person can cut the cracks out they might have a etheopen opal that was cut many time's to get the cracks out after it's dried through many wet and drying time's. Most etheopen opals do not come to pass because of this cracking and recuting prosses. I'd take Australian opal over Ethiopian opal any day.
@@makkyd123 the one fact that I can say without a doubt is that Australian opal will not crack due to getting wet and then drying. It doesn't matter witch field or part of Australia it comes from it will not crack due to drying. I did one time buy etheopen wello opal for a short time to educate myself. I bought the white etheopen wello opal because it looked so much like Australian opal but when I got it in the mail it to was crazed and that ended it for me that was the education I was looking for. I bought it because if a person is going to buy and sell Australian opal they should know what etheopen opal looks like. I now know how to identify both. Since then I've had people try to pass etheopen opal off as Australian opal and they get blocked for doing so. Etheopen opal is cheap and to me not worth getting taken from someone that would pass it off as Australian opal. Australian opal costs a lot more for good quality and etheopen opal to me is not a investment gem. But each to their own.
I don’t really like the Ethiopian stuff, It often feels a bit glassy and cheap to me. It’s pretty obvious why Australian opal is considered so much more valuable.
I dunno... seems like a weak reason. Opals are opals, they look astonishing from different parts of the world. I'd personally rather spend 100 on an ethiopian - put it on a necklace or ear rings so it doesn't get wet for a similar opal from Australia costing thousands of dollars. Plus they regain colour after absorbing water anyway.
Think smoked BBQ, put it in a container with whatever you are burning and only a small vent hole. Remember to baste with apple juice or your opal will come out dry...
before i watch this video, i just have to be a smart alleck/ass what ever,, how do/did you keep the opal lite? it being a stone and all?? HA! HA! HA!,, now i,ll watch the video,, thank you for the video,,, that is one reason i wont shop on ebay, to many shady people trying to get me to buy their junk, be safe, be strong, be free, be blessed
Justin: "I'm going to try smoking this opal"
Me: "Well... he is more of an opal addict than I am it seems."
hahahaha
Again lmao
Hello from a mimosa bc up on van cou ver bc
Yesvancouverisland
🤣
I tried smoking opal but it wouldnt fit in my bong
😆😆
Good problem to have, i suppose
😂😂
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🤣
Small bong , or big opal ?
Ethiopian opal is beautiful and after absorbing water the color does comes back. I have all types of opals and other stones some treated, heated, irradiated, etc. If the treatment is permanent I have no issue with it as long as it is disclosed. You have a right to choose not to work with the Ethiopian stone however they are beautiful and rarer than it's Australian counterparts. It's not an inferior stone, just different. It almost sounds like the lab-grown vs earth-mined diamond argument. They are both diamonds/opals.
“We’re gonna try and smoke an opal”
My mind: *you holding a huge opal cigarette*
I could have sworn he was going to make an Opel Astra make backfire, thus creating smoke.
I thought that too. He was gonna smoke opal
I bought some very high quality ethiopian and cabbed some beautiful pieces, but didn't know much about them. After cutting I told a friend I'd give her one of my opals (one that lost most color and didnt seem to be of much value). After a couple weeks the opal dried and regained it's color. It was one of the most incredible opals I've seen in person. My friend was convinced it was Australian. No dead spots, flashes of red, green, yellow, blue, aqua, with color visible in all settings of light. And I just gave it away for free :(
def was not Australian
@@blackopaldirect I know, but it looked very similar
I give away Opals all the time! One of my favorite things to share, but I'm one of those gifting types. Seriously fills my cup enough to keep me off of psych meds, not just giving away Opals but gifting in general, acts of service, etc.
I have to say that I really enjoy when you go all mad scientist on opals to see what happens. Best wishes to you and yours as always mate!
you could use something like a "HENDI Smoke infuser" that they use to smoke food, it produces a lot more smoke that you could blow directly on the opal.
I tried a Propane Torch on a piece of quartz once..... keyword, Once. Lol. Thank you OPAL DIRECT! From a humble rockhound in Oregon
I'm picturing shards of quartz rocketing across the room, you diving for cover with a rock chip embedded in your forehead. I'm really sorry, but my mental picture is hilarious. :)
Victoria Meredith been watching too many movies 😆😆
Can't wait to see all the clever "smoking opal" comments... lol
😆
BBQ with beer 🤣
It's one thing if not smoked lol
I don't think you need to get defensive about ethiopian opal - aussie opal is gorgeous, and so is the best african opal. I've seen aussie opal that was unstable and cracked, and cut aussie opal is a little more mechanically brittle than cut ethiopian (according to published comparisons). If customers know their opals are hydrophane they won't be upset when they get them wet (its a transient change anyway). Smoking opals is terrible I admit, but its easily detected and no-one could mistake a smoked one for a genuine aussie black one. The real risk to buyers is buying rough ethipian to cut - it almost always cracks during cutting in my experience. I don't pay extra for large size rough since I know I'm going to end up with smaller pieces (I only pay for color and pattern quality).
You can see the crazing in the stones. Simply use a light, look for any crazing, and where it exists, decide if you can make a stone out of it depending on where the cracks are. If it is craze-free, you will be good to go . . . so long as you do not subject it to too much heat.
Well said
@@michaeldenison7339 You can see existing cracks for sure. The issue is when the stone is wet for cutting new cracks appear and old ones propagate further through the stone. The best advice I'd had for this is to rub out the stone as quickly as possible. But that's a risk as well.
I would be interested to see the smoked opal cut into a stone. The color appears to still be present. Might look nice without all the blackened potch/sand surrounding it
normally ethiopian opals are smoked after they are cut.
I have a lot of smoked Welo and they are still gorgeous! They retain their color play and actually are more stable in color. 90% of the welo beads and cut stones I got have turned an unfortunate yellowish brown and are ruined. They were stored properly and only took maybe a year for it to happen. Stranger still, other beads and stones right along side them are still as white or clear as when I got them. I don't know why or how to predict which will turn, so it's too risky to even think of ever purchasing more. If for some reason I did, I would only get the smoked black, because all of those I have still look the exact same as they did the day I got them.
I'm going to try to turn the bad ones black. I can't make them worse than they are now, that's for sure!
@@anitataco6488 is it safe or risky to smoke treat it by our own self? I also want to apply this on my opal but I'm scared of cracking it
Excellent opal for making a secret message ring or pendant! Anyone done that yet?
What a great idea!
😆😆
I feel a novel coming on....
If I were smoking it I would put it in a Masson jar light my paper then blow it out for the smoke then put a lid on it and let it smoke for a long time
great idea
I was thinking something like that as well. Showed my science kids how to create a vacuum strong enough to suck a hard boiled egg into a bottle, and the smoke stayed suspended in there a good long time.
Try setting it in a bowl full of “backflow incense burner” smoke? The smoke is separated from it’s heat so it sinks, being denser than air. I imagine it would be better for marinating a stone. 👍
Have you tried this
@@user-cv7cw5xz7i how does one go about doing that
I am sure your intention was not to deceive but you left us with the impression that once wet Welo opal goes clear and stays clear when actually in a day or two it returns to its original look before wetting. Also washing your hands is typically not long enough to affect the opal although I make sure I wipe the opal dry after washing hands.
Does the opal that went clear when placed in water change back after it drying or is this a permanent change??
It changes back in a few days to weeks
As it dries, yes. It absorbs water, and then it dries out. It takes a week, usually, to get back to a neutral state. You will see if slowly change back over that time.
So long as you are cutting it just with water, the stone will not be harmed.
It can go back but if it’s in soapy or dirty water repeatedly it will get dirty
i bought one that turned completely clear the first time i washed my hands, later on i put some body lotion without realizing i was wearing the ring and half of it turned milky with no play of colour at all and opaque, so I bought an opal from justin and forgot the first one ( luckily it was not expensive but very disappointing)
Yes it can happen. I’m sorry it happened to you
@@blackopaldirect thanks to that happened i discovered your channel and your website, so it's all well if it's well in the end (dunno if i translated this correctly hahaahahah)
@@Drusille Close enough to be understood!
Hmm atleast now i know Y when i buy Ethiopian opal its already been treated to black (not sure how) but looks good but compared to my ausie opal not that good. Depends on the piece i guess ..untreated shewa opals lovely. Treated Andamooka opal is my favourite
I just oked a smopal too 💨
Shay Stafe buddy.
haha nice one Mark haha hey thank you for being a subscriber my friend
Black Opal Direct -Absolutely, there’s a lot of competition for views on You Tube but I just really appreciate real people 🙏
Mark McArthy I def appreciate that. 🙏
Smoke n opal... BBQ with beer on the side as refreshment? cooking bacon?? IDK. Note: I haven't ate my breakfast when I've watched this.
you will break your teeth lol
Have you tried doing this with a kitchen sized smoke infuser? Might get the same effect without risk of too much heat from the direct flame from the paper.
Does the sulfuric and sugar heated soaks work?
That’s only for concrete Andamooka opal
@@blackopaldirect should work for any porous opal as well. as long as the sugar and acid solutions can penetrate the stone (and I bet they would)
How stable is Ethiopian opal compared to Australian opal regarding flintnapping? Could you Knapp an Ethiopian opal into a Arrowhead?
Good question I am not sure about that one
Ive only seen slabbed Australian opal knapped as the Ethiopian forms in funky shaped nodules without color bars in hard potch per se.
Huhhh......mmmm???? Cool science project for the kids. But for us opalholics, we want natural, earth mined, Australian opal delights. Ha! Good information to know. Thanks again Justin for the education. Be safe. Much love from California 😎🤙
Thank you David
Honest to Buddha I have learned so much about Opals from you and your videos. I didn’t take me long to fall in love with opals and I love watching you cutting them. Thank you❤️
I've seen videos on people treating opal with some concoction with a sugar base thats heat treated over a period of time, then concentrated sulfuric acid is added and is treated again. It really does bring out amazing color even in lackluster opal. Not sure how well it would work with welo opal as you demonstrated the color fades when soaked in water. Seems like matrix opal and wood opal from other regions are treated this way quite often.
Bother old method is to boil in sugar water,sounds crazy but it will bring out the flashes. Ethiopian opal is also extremely fragile.
Wish you had cut or put a window in it. I don't you can respond fast enough for an e-bay buyer to make a purchase decision but nice offer.
interesting information on Hydrophane opals, but I have to ask if you smoke an opal do you see lots of pretty colors? ;-)
Hahaha I doooooooooooooeeee
And actually that's not the way you smoke Ethiopian you need to put it in foil I believe baking soda or charcoal can't really remember at this timebut if you do that and put it in the foil and leave it on low temperature it will turn black and it will enhance the fire I've seen it even give pieces of opal fire that had none
I wonder if you could treat it by submerging it in dye, the same way they dye tumbled stones. Personally, I like to keep the opals as they are.
I filmed something with ink and it soaked in a little. But it was not worth the Filming
My friend spilled cranberry juice on one and it looks pretty cool. He calls it ethiopian cranberry opal lol
@@juliancannone432 or make actual chocolate opal by pouring hot chocolate on it
@@blackopaldirect so your calligraphy or scrimshaw inks did not go into the stone is what you're saying like what we use and sell to people who do scrimshaw on bone Stone and some synthetic materials?
Haha! You said you would never deal with Ethiopian opal!
I won’t and this this me showing you why 😊
INTERESTING very informative / very happy with your knowledge / its the best /😊
Rolling a fat joint with a small opal inside should work better.
The color comes back when it dries. It has a tube like structure that the water fills. Can take some time to dry but in a few hrs to a day the color comes back. It also becomes more white when you cut and work them. Yes they do crack fairly easy when working them. But are beautiful and very affordable for a small home base business like myself.
Me too! Once or twice a year I like to splurge on a parcel between 3 & 5 hundred dollars worth of Australian, but it's been rare that I get a very good deal for that price point, usually gamble rough that's meant for practice for beginners. (Danny if you see this I'm not talking about you, you're my favorite, and if I could go through you every time, I would!)
Anyway... I'm no beginner, but I do so love all the benefits involved with even lower quality Australian opal, compared to Ethiopian. However, I definitely see a few silver linings involved with my necessity to use Ethiopian as a default in my business, including the fact that I can make freeform carvings, and see full color all the way across the entire surface of a fairly large finished piece. This isn't always the case, and of course there are devastating blows here and there when I'm very satisfied with how a work in progress is going, as the form and structure is just so flowy and beautiful, and then just as I'm starting pre-polishing steps, Bam! 😐 -it splits in two or three, (or more). But over time, I've managed to find certain ways to work the stone that mitigate the odds of that devastation via my own particular handling of the stone, assuming of course that the material is good quality to begin with and was treated well before it got to me ...
Is hydrophane the same as ethiopian? I have hydrophane, and its yellow with play of color dry, and pretty much the same wet except it does clear up a bit but clear yellow. But i just ordered 200 worth of ethiopian rough. Ill let ya know what i think.
yes it is
should've done this on 4/20
I've never seen smoking rocks end so beautifully. Usualy it end with auntie pawning her couch.
🤣 Good one!
The worst is that oils and perfumes will penetrate it. It is cheap, which I can afford to work with. But it does have its drawbacks.
I would love to work with some Australian opal. But it is out of my price range. I could try with stones that are low quality, if for nothing, just the experience.
Great to learn on but cutting it is very different to Australian
Thank you SO much for this valuable information!
Glad it was helpful!
I've seen people treat opal in warm sugar water for 24 hours then in weak sulfuric acid for the following 24 hours right after. the sugar water gets into the capilaries of the opal, and then the acid turns it dark.
Just make sure it's not concentraited sulfuric acid for lab use as you'll have a problem when you put water into it as it'll react ... household cleaner style sulf. acid should be fine as long as it's got no adatives and is just weak acid only.
Yes that is Andamooka matrix opal. A very different and one expensive type of treated opal
Black Opal Direct "Johnny was a chemist, now Johnny is no more, what he thought was H2O was H2SO4!"
I've seen carnelian treated this way or something similiar
@@DaftFader I remember spilling a load of conc sulphuric on my lab coat at University, and it smoked like a mother! I couldn't get that thing off fast enough.
This Ethiopian opal is very lovely stuff.
I have seen some videos where they soak the stone in sugar water and then follow that with sulfuric acid.
Basically, the sugar reacts chemically within the sulfuric acid, and releases carbon into the stone.
Seems to me that the sugar method would be more efficient than the smoke method. A higher percentage of carbon can be put into the stone in a shorter period of time.
Don't put these opal in acid. It does not work out.
Vet informative...and let's people know what to watch out for ..all the while being respectful...I have some of this ...while it is interesting...does not compare in the least to Australian opal...cheers
Politzer opal uses sugar water and acid
I had some cracked and totally dehydrated Mexican Opal that I experimented with. I was told to use a brown paper bag from the supermarket to smoke the Opal in. Since these stones were already polished and then had gone completely dry and were beautiful but worthless, I gave it a go. They came out perfectly black with bright color. They were almost chalky in texture and would "bite" on the tongue test before and after the smoking. The same sort of material can be found in Southern California at Nowak Opal mine in the Mojave desert although some is cuttable and stable. In the Mexican from Queretaro which is in a red Rhyolite, the So. Cal, which is in the vugs in a Basaltic lava flow and the Opal up by Gerlach Nevada which also comes from the vugs in a basaltic lava, the Opal has a high water content and should be put in a bottle of water immediately, and left there. In my experience very little is stable over a long period of time. As far as I know there is no way to stabilize this chalky material and make it usable in jewelry. I had my dest luck with Spencer Idaho Opal that comes from a black rhyolite. To me it feels slightly softer than the better Australian material, but takes a great polish and has lots of color although usually in thin layers so making a doublet or triplet is the best way to handle it. In it's natural state it varies from pure white to clear layers and some in the pink range. I have seen fire layers over a 1/4" thick that cut very nice solid stones that are perfectly stable. I have not tried smoking Spencer Opal, but due to it's lack of porosity, I wouldn't think the smoke would penetrate far into the stone and would likely wear off in time.
I would love to see you slice the smoked one.
Your channel have made me fall in love with opals (only Australian though), keep the videos coming mate!!!
Just use water based permanent dyes, and there are many organic ones as well. This would give you more color control. L 👍
Change very easily = cracks 😆 thank you for being so kind
changes to clear but CAN crack also lol
rarely cracks
Your videos are really informative and mesmerizing, I appreciate them so much!
Get a piece of aluminum foils put a piece of wood and make a pyramid shape with a opening in the middle then cover it with a big pot have the opal in the pot
Everybody knows you gotta brine it before you smoke it. Oh wait...this ain't fish. lol
Very good info BOD
Hahaha I was thinking Oh do I hahah
Ethiopian opals are beautiful but all of mine have gone milky and don't recover.
Yes you can tell which ones will and which ones wont. thank you for the comment. please subscribe :-)
Justin, I wonder if you have ever had cut an Indonesian opal and if so, what is your opinion on the quality?
It is also volcanic opal
i'm still on the fence about whether or not i want to treat mine with opticon. I will lose money in the short run, but my customers will get a stone that won't yellow over time, especially in a tobacco household etc. decisions decisions
I had so many yellow on me. Not all of them though, and they were all stored in the same cases and place. It's strange.
Looking out for us all , great guy , thank you
I got my first opal yesterday im so proud its a fire opal from Etheiopia its so beautiful in real life 😊
Thats great I am glad you like it.
I would imagine a trip maybe smoking an opal with all those colours
haha nice make sure you subscribe :-)
@@blackopaldirect haha you caught me 😂
I tried smoking some opal once but it was only potch
Not good my friend. They are introducing smoke to rough parcels of Welo now. Once cut dry or wet. The opal turns dark brown like muddy water. Rendering is worthless.
I am trying to let fellow opal cutters of Hydraphane opals not to introduce oils and things like smoke to the opal.
I learned from. My experience.
No buyer is interested in treated Ethiopan welo, or crystal welo opal.
How about throw it on the barbecue, or a smoker ;)
You could but I prefer the bin 😆
That's crazy!! Thanks for the now ledge lol
No problem 👍
Amazing videos
My dear friend I worry for your well-being. Smoking opal is dangerous possibly even illegal 😁😁😁!
Hope you're all doing well over there! Stay safe :)
I feel sorry for your lungs
I had a piece of “gem quality” welo put it in water and still to this day never regained its color. Nothing can compare to Australian opal
Yes that can happen to some of them
The other issue with smoking opals is that some ethiopian opals have naturally black body tone. High quality ones are rare but very nice. Smoking the white ones devalues the naturally black ones, even though it's possible to test them to identify the smoked (fake) ones. Its a real shame.
This is true. Most of the black ones will crack while trying to cut them but some make it through. the only difference is the brightness is not quite the same as Australian
@@blackopaldirect Yeah. I think they come from a specific field, and tend to be pretty unstable compared to welo. But I have a couple amazing huge ones!
Craftsman!!
Hiya Justin, well I thought at first you were gunna smoke a opal, you know put it in a (pipe and smoke it) lol.
Well that's not what you were talking about....... But I know someone who smoked one in the BBQ pit using the brickets and putting green wood for the smoke, and he doesn't use a lot of heat, but you would have too have your stone worked before you smoke it. Because it's only colored on the outside of the stones.
Awesome Video! I got click baited. Yup you got me!
I hope you have a blessed great day.
Cya!
Hahah sorry I did bait you. You. It’s be a fisherman
Super interesting, thank you for sharing
My pleasure
dyed quartz is all ive seen
Could you use A bee smoker ?
Possibly could.
Good job, mate! Great closeups! Once smoked, though, wouldn't all the nice dark bg be ground off as you cab it? Also, wouldn't it be better to set the rough up ABOVE the burning bit on a screen or little grill to get the smoke, but not the fire??
G'day Nathan
Thank you for this episode on Ethiopian Opal.
It is good to know and be aware of possible frauds.
Thank you.
Andy
There is no breathalyzer test for opalholism.
yes you get someone to put an opal in front of you and if you don't pick it up you are free of it. If you can't help your self you need to go to opalsanonomous or just buy an opal and get it out of your system haha
You can get a table top smoker that takes wood pellets, they are used in bars to smoke drinks.
When are you going to cut that next to big stone in your collection and make new shows.I love ❤️ watching the show until one ☝️ in the morning. 👍👁👁👁🤟🤟🤟👉👉👉😎😎😎👋👋👋👍👍👍
And what happens if you smoke treated opal (cabochon)? Will the thin edges of the stone darken? And more: I'm from Russia and I don't understand English very well. Could you accompany your interesting videos with subtitles? It would be very good for a larger audience. Thanks!
Ooooooh Reaaaaaly! Smoking Opals! I don’t need another addiction! 😆 I will confine myself to stable, natural material. Thanks for the heads up👍🏻🇺🇸
I have seen, heat up water with sugar until it get dark color, put the opal in the sugar mix for 5 days, and have it in batery acid for 5 days, .... dangerous ... but look like natural black opal.
I have to admit, while I love Australian opals, Ethiopian welo opals are amazing. My mother just bought me a gorgeous welo opal for mother's day.
Very nice!
How's the main body color on it now, at 8 months later? Have you found it's discolored at all? It is beautiful, no denying that, I've just found it to be so temperamental in changing unwanted colors like from white/clear to yellowish brown. I truly hope yours is still like the day you got it! If it is, beware of lotions, perfumes, etc. it will soak it all up like a sponge and unlike the water, it won't return to original if it "dries" out.
@@anitataco6488 I haven't had any problems with it. I do have to be careful, since it does go clear in water if left for too long, but since I don't use perfumes or lotions I don't have to worry about that. Even when it goes clear it always dries out and goes back to white. No cracks either.
@@evanalian Yay! I'm so happy to hear that! It's so disappointing to find them discolored. It sounds like you're the perfect person to be able to keep one looking nice!
Mine were in storage cases, not exposed to anything at all and 90% went a really unfortunate shade of yellowy brown within a year of storing. I was in a bout of depression and had no will to create and when it finally lifted, I was shocked to find my beautiful stockpile ruined. Thousands of beads and cut stones. Pure devastation. I just wonder what they do or don't do to the ones that stayed true to original. I can't tell a difference between which will discolor and which won't. I'm going to see if I can smoke them black. I can't make them any worse, that's for sure.
@@anitataco6488 I'm sorry that happened. I would be so upset! Hopefully you can salvage them in some way!
Don't smoke Opals... I've been addicted since the first Try. 😊
Hi, thank you for yor channel, I am complete beginner and all this is so helpful! Anyway, I need some answears and not sure where to find them 😅. Maybe someone more experienced could help me. Could you please tell me about final polishing of Welo opals? Specificly, what is the best? Use a cerium oxide, or diamond paste and if yes, water based or oil based? I really like organic shapes, so I am not about to make a cabs from stones and its dificult to get into those small areas. Anyway, there is so many contradictory informations about the final polishing stage. I would be very happy if someone will give me some explanation how to do it. Thank you.
Seems if you could do that with paper, you could use wood pellets for a stove to get a more controlled outcome
I hate smoked opals, but learning the process via you I did truly love. Thank you.
Hi, I know this video is from quite a long time ago, but... I have recently had to deal with some of this Ethiopian opal and I heard that if you submerged a piece in red wine for 48 hours it will turn it into a lovely black opal when it's dried.... And, well if it doesn't work at least you've had to open a bottle of wine... So cheers🍷
well said
I've seen food smokers on a small scale. For individual plates. Maybe Google that. Just saying.
Excellent comparison, Justin... Does the stone go back to white when it dries out, or does it stay clear after being submerged?
Thank you. YEs some do go back and some don't it just depends on the stone and its density I guess
when the ethiopian opal drys dose the colour come back or is it lost for good
It can come back but some pieces never change back. You just don't know. Thank you for being a subscriber for over a year :-)
@@blackopaldirect i normaly smoke meat that i hunt not rocks ha ha
Hey justin try cold smoking it. That should work better instead of direct heat. That should work.
Thank you Justin for sharing your knowledge!
Also when Ethiopian opal is being cut on a wet wheel the opal gets wet and when drying the opal that was just cut will begin to crack everywhere. That is why when a etheopen opal is being cut it is such a large stone that will need to be recut to try to get these cracks out. If a person is lucky that person can cut the cracks out they might have a etheopen opal that was cut many time's to get the cracks out after it's dried through many wet and drying time's. Most etheopen opals do not come to pass because of this cracking and recuting prosses. I'd take Australian opal over Ethiopian opal any day.
This is not true for most welo opal (from the specific welo field). Other ethiopian opals from other fields do craze after cutting though.
I have never had a good experience with them but I haven't learnt to cut them properly so I should not really say otherwise
@@makkyd123 the one fact that I can say without a doubt is that Australian opal will not crack due to getting wet and then drying. It doesn't matter witch field or part of Australia it comes from it will not crack due to drying. I did one time buy etheopen wello opal for a short time to educate myself. I bought the white etheopen wello opal because it looked so much like Australian opal but when I got it in the mail it to was crazed and that ended it for me that was the education I was looking for. I bought it because if a person is going to buy and sell Australian opal they should know what etheopen opal looks like. I now know how to identify both. Since then I've had people try to pass etheopen opal off as Australian opal and they get blocked for doing so. Etheopen opal is cheap and to me not worth getting taken from someone that would pass it off as Australian opal. Australian opal costs a lot more for good quality and etheopen opal to me is not a investment gem. But each to their own.
First and thanks for teaching what smoke treating opal is
you are #2
I have several Ethiopian Opals. Mine are not polished! I love all Opals!
Got my first one yesterday
I don’t really like the Ethiopian stuff, It often feels a bit glassy and cheap to me. It’s pretty obvious why Australian opal is considered so much more valuable.
I dunno... seems like a weak reason. Opals are opals, they look astonishing from different parts of the world. I'd personally rather spend 100 on an ethiopian - put it on a necklace or ear rings so it doesn't get wet for a similar opal from Australia costing thousands of dollars. Plus they regain colour after absorbing water anyway.
Think smoked BBQ, put it in a container with whatever you are burning and only a small vent hole. Remember to baste with apple juice or your opal will come out dry...
before i watch this video, i just have to be a smart alleck/ass what ever,, how do/did you keep the opal lite? it being a stone and all?? HA! HA! HA!,, now i,ll watch the video,, thank you for the video,,, that is one reason i wont shop on ebay, to many shady people trying to get me to buy their junk, be safe, be strong, be free, be blessed