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Ethiopian Opal
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NBA star Kevin Garnett, left, plays himself in "Uncut Gems," by Josh and Benny Safdie, along with Lakeith Stanfield, center, and Adam Sandler. They are looking at an Ethiopian opal in matrix that Sandler's character, Howard Ratner, is putting up for auction in the movie. Photo courtesy of A24 Films
The magical quality of Opals is the central metaphor of the 2019 movie “Uncut Gems,” starring Adam Sandler. A giant piece of Ethiopian opal, still in its matrix, is smuggled to New York.

“They say you can see the whole universe in opal, that’s how … old they are,” Sandler’s character, Howard Ratner, a jeweler and gem dealer on 47th Street in New York City, tells basketball star Keven Garnett when he shows the opal to him. Garnett is captivated to such an extent that he cannot play well without owning it.
Sandler’s character is enamored with the opal’s potentially huge sale price. He estimates that the piece weighs between 4,000 to 5,000 carats and, at up to his estimated value of $3,000 per carat, he sees millions coming his way. But the auction house he consigns it to values the piece at much less -- $150,000 to $225,000. Why?



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Ethiopian opal ‒ the featured gemstone in the movie “Uncut Gems” ‒ was first discovered in Ethiopia in 1994. Photo by Eric Welch/GIA

With opals, as with most gemstones, the final polished stones weigh only a fraction of their rough form. The specimen shown in the movie appears to have several opal nodules (though probably not black opal) inside the matrix of host rock, but that host rock appears to account for the majority of its volume. This means that it would be very difficult – in real life – to evaluate the opal and appraise its value until the matrix was removed.

“In real life, the opal nodules must be shaped and polished into gems after removing the valueless matrix, which often results in much more weight loss,” explained Nathan Renfro, GIA Graduate Gemologist® and manager of colored stone identification services at GIA. “Any realistic valuation of rough gem material is based on the potential for yielding polished gems and the risk involved in fashioning finished gemstones.”
Adding to that risk is the fact that, unlike most gems, opals are not stones or minerals.
Opals are formed from centuries upon centuries of seasonal rains that leach microscopic silica particles from sandstone, carrying them deep into underground fissures and cavities. As the deposited materials dry, the microscopic silica spheres become compressed into a closely-packed lattice. As light travels through this micro-structure, it creates a dazzling kaleidoscope of flashing rainbow colors, called play-of-color.

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The opal that beguiles the main characters in “Uncut Gems” was still in its matrix, similar to this piece of rough opal in matrix. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA
The Many Colors and Types of Opal There are five major types of opals:
  • White or light opal: Translucent to semi-translucent, with play of color against a white or light gray background color, called body-color. The opal specimen seen in “Uncut Gems” appears likely to be a representation of a white opal, despite its description as a black opal in the film.
  • Black opal: Translucent to opaque, with play-of-color against a black or other dark background. They often sell for higher prices than white opals because the color contrast is much greater against the dark background.
  • Boulder opal: Translucent to opaque, with play-of-color against a light to dark background. Fragments of the surrounding rock, called matrix, become part of the finished gem.
  • Crystal or water opal: Transparent to semitransparent, with a clear background. This type shows exceptional play-of-color.
Australian opal is best-known type of opal, but the supply has dwindled significantly since 2010
Ethiopia is the newest source, with the first discovery in 1994.
The most prolific source – which was named in the movie – was in found 2008 near a town called Wegal Tena in Wello Province. This material, mostly white opal, was formed from the silica from ancient volcanic ash. Another deposit, producing black opals about 30 miles to the Northwest of the Wello mine, was discovered in 2013 – a year after 2012, the year in which “Uncut Gems” takes place.
GIA has reported extensively on opals for many years.


Russell Shor  January 22, 2020
Russell Shor is senior industry analyst at GIA in Carlsbad.





Few Common Questions
Ethiopian Opal vs Australian Opal?
Ethiopian opal is hydrophane which prevents crazing which in Australian is caused by drying out of the water content which creates hairline cracks. Ethiopian opal is more available and generally has a wider variety of color especially reds.  Ethiopian Prices are lower and the sizes are much larger than Australian. Ethiopian opal is more durable resisting breakage better than all other opal including Australian.

Ethiopian Opal Price Per Carat?
The price per carat of Ethiopian opal ranges from $100 - $500 per carat based on the intensity, variety and patterns of color.  Top quality gems will have color over the entire surface free of visible inclusions on the top surface of the opal.

What is Value of Ethiopian Opal? What helps value? How is supply effecting the value?
There is a large quantity of Ethiopian opal available which has kept the price low.  Like most gems the top quality material is quite rare and commands a high price.  The intensity of the color is what makes this opal valuable as the best Ethiopian opal have colors that are described as unreal looking like colored L.E.D. lights.

How to do you care for Ethiopian Opal? How is the stability?
Ethiopian opal once cut is highly stable.  Being hydrophane it is absorbent and chemicals including hair products, dyes, oils and lotions should be avoided. Change in body color to more reddish orange in highly transparent slightly orange Ethiopian opal has been seen on rare occasion.

What is a honeycomb welo opal?
Honeycomb is a hexagonal pattern like the bees honeycomb.  The reason it is valued is because the colors in the pattern are often incredibly intense.

 Once in a decade, a new discovery of gems presents an opportunity to buy extremely high quality at very reasonable prices. This has been the case in the past with many gems, including peridot from Pakistan in 2001, bicolor tourmaline from Brazil in the early 1990s, sapphire from Madagascar in 1997 just to name a few.
When they are found, for a couple of years they are very inexpensive because of the quantity available. As with most finds, the quantity is finite and, as quickly as it is found, it disappears and the price inflates rapidly. This situation is compounded as we see more material on the market. The popularity increases because of this exposure to the public, and this demand also inflates prices.

Ethiopia vs Australia Today, we have one of those unique opportunities to buy extraordinary opal from Welo, Ethiopia, discovered in 2008. The quality is finer than any opal I have purchased from Australia, up until now considered to be the finest opal source. This Ethiopian opal is top crystal material, meaning it has high transparency, generally considered to be the finest quality opal. The transparency allows you to facet carve, or cab these Ethiopian opals.
The colors are evenly spread through the entire gem, and the intensity of the color is unreal as they seem to float in the gem and project from the surface. The number of colors in a single piece is only rarely seen in Australian material, and occasionally we even see violet, which is so unusual in opal from any source. The color patterns are highly varied.
The large sizes available also make this material unique. We have cut gems over 40 carats with the average stone well over five carats.
Being Hydrophane, much of the material is hydrophane, meaning it can soak up water. If placed in water, the material will become glass clear, and when removed, it will get milky, and after several days, the material will return to its original beauty. What this means is you shouldn't swim with it, while washing your hands will have little effect. The benefit of this material is that the riskiest part of traditional opal from other sources is drying out and cracking, called crazing, whereas this material will not craze from drying out.
One way to identify hydrophane opal is the characteristic of feeling sticky to the tongue or your finger. This characteristic also affects the weight, which can change with humidity.
The porous nature of Ethiopian opal has brought the charlatans out who are trying to change the colors of the opals through use of dyes and smoke treatments. We have seen violet colors from dying, and, although black opals occur naturally in Ethiopia, many are enhanced black color with smoke treatments. The color can and often is enhanced by enameling the back of the opal, which enhances the color of the Ethiopian opals that are highly transparent. This treatment is easily removed and has its benefits. This is an acceptable practice, assuming it is stated when sold.
Toughness is another characteristic of Ethiopian opal, which outperforms other locations. Tests by the Gemological Institute of America has shown that this opal is capable of withstanding drops to concrete from four feet without damage. All other sources failed this drop test.

About Star Garnet
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Star garnets are so rare that to date they have only been found in two places in the world; in the state of Idaho in the USA and in India. The garnet varieties that occasionally exhibit asterism are almandine OR a mixture of almandine and pyrope garnet.
Star Garnet gemstones are usually opaque and deep brownish-red or reddish-black. Like all star gems, the star effect is caused by inclusions of rutile needles or Silk. In order to display the star effect, the rutile needles must have the correct alignment to reflect light in a pattern forming a mult-rayed star.
Most star garnets display a 4-rayed star, but 6-rayed stars are sometimes seen. Some gemstone dealers claim that only the Idaho star garnets ever display a 6-rayed star, but this claim is difficult to verify since specimens with 6-rayed stars are very rare.
The people of Idaho are so proud of their star garnet deposits that star garnet has been declared the state gemstone. Star garnets are mined in Northern Idaho in a region that is northeast of MONTANA and southeast of Coeur d'Alene.
The star effect in most star garnet gemstones is subtle and requires the correct lighting to be seen clearly. The best lighting is direct sunlight. However, a light source such as a narrow beam halogen spotlight or small flashlight will also work. The star is best seen by standing directly above the stone and looking straight down.

Anirudh Pramanik
Gemologist, Diamond Assorted, Training and Research


About Rhodochrosite


Rhodochrosite is a very aesthetic and desirable mineral; its deep red and hot pink crystals are highly sought after. Of special note are the beautiful, intensely colored rhombohedral crystals that have come from the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado. This mine provided a fascinating discovery in the 1960's of some of the largest and most stunning Rhodochrosite crystals ever found. The largest Rhodochrosite crystal, called the "Alma King", is a single 15 cm crystal that was found in the Sweet Home Mine in 1992.
South Africa and Peru also produce intense red transparent scalenohedral scalenhodral crystals that are also highly desirable to collectors. Some consider these Rhodochrosites, with the deep color, transparency, and well-formed crystals, to be the most beautiful of all minerals.
An interesting occurrence of this mineral is in Argentina, where Rhodochrosite forms stalagmites and stalactite in the 13th century Inca Silver mines. They formed from precipitating water dripping from the manganese-rich rock inside the ancient mine tunnels, and kept on growing over the centuries into large stalagmites. These stalagmites are beautifully banded with concentric growth rings, and are often sliced and polished into slabs for collectors, and may be cut and polished for jewelry.

Rhodochrosite belongs to the calcite group of minerals, a group of related carbonites that are isomorphous with one another. They are similar in many physical properties, and may partially or fully replace one another, forming a solid solution series. All members of the calcite group crystallize in the trigonall system, have perfect rhombohedral cleavage, and exhibit strong double refraction.
Rhodochrosite is the state stone of Colorado. The beautiful crystal below is from the Sweet Home Mine in Alma, Colorado

About LonGido Ruby

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As described by Edward R. Swoboda
In 1949, two English prospectors, residents of Kenya for many years and with great practical experience in traveling the wilder, more primitive sections of that country, were systematically examining a range of dry low hills that formed part of the planalto of the Masai tribal nation, bordering the giant upthrust of spectacular Mount Kilimanjaro.

A narrow dirt track winding through the hills afforded them vantage spots where they could drive their truck off the road to approach more closely, likely looking formations that could contain the minerals or gems they were looking for.
By the end of their second week of long hikes, made daily from the starting point of their truck at various stops, and closely examining surface outcrops and checking for the float material that had eroded down-canyon from the outcrops, they had not turned up anything of real value and their enthusiasm in this hot, dry work was fast diminishing.
Then late one afternoon, Tom Blevins, one of the two partners, made a remarkable discovery. While walking up a gentle rise and searching the open spaces between the clumps of dry grass and the thorn bushes for float minerals, he came upon a small flat sink, devoid of plants, and extending for several yards to the base of an outcrop of green stone. Contained within this small basin was what he later described as the most electrifying and exciting view that he had ever experienced in all his years of prospecting in Africa. Covering the sides and the bottom of the basin was a breathtaking display of flat, sharp-faced, hexagonal, deep red ruby crystals.


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Map of Tanzania, showing the location of the Longido ruby mines. Illustration © R. W. Hughes
He was soon on his knees, picking up the fragments and the loose crystals, some of which measured up to two inches and weighing hundreds of carats each. The outcrop of green stone was exposed for several hundred feet beyond the sink and it proved to be the origin of the ruby crystals. Those rubies that had not weathered out completely were firmly held in the green zoisite matrix, as subsequent analysis in Nairobi determined the green outcrop to be.
At this particular time, with the excitement of picking up handfuls of loose ruby crystals that filled his canvas bag with thousands of carats of gleaming red gems, he remembered distinctly, three main thoughts that went through his mind. One was that he had made a discovery that would make both he and his partner extremely wealthy. Another was that he wanted to hurry back to camp to display with pride to his partner, the fabulous crystals he had loaded into his bag, so that they both could share in excited conversation the effects that this discovery would have on their futures. The third thought that kept revisiting him was the suspicion that he had finally discovered what men and expeditions had been searching for over a very long period of history, the famous long lost ruby mines of King Solomon!
Returning to camp towards the end of the day, Tom laid out all of the finer rubies in a beautiful display and then covered them with a tarp, to await the arrival of his partner. His partner arrived in camp soon thereafter, tired and discouraged, having found nothing again for all of his days’ efforts. At the proper moment, the tarp was peeled back, and with predictable results, the mood of the camp transformed into an excited clamor of comments and laughter. Early the next morning they were at the ruby locality to assess with greater care, the potential of their find.

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Edward Swoboda in his backyard, surrounded by large Longido ruby
Examining the green zoisite outcrop, the matrix that the ruby crystals were formed in, they discovered that the deep red ruby with clear portions for faceting occurred only at one end of the outcrop, at that little sink where Tom Blevins had first discovered the ruby. Here they were all flat and many were remarkably well crystallized, resembling in form some ancient hexagonal coins. They rarely exceeded two inches in diameter by a quarter of an inch in thickness. Another 150 feet along the strike of the outcrop, a noticeable change occurred to the rubies, stilt immersed in the green matrix. They became much larger but coarser in outline, changing from the thin, flat crystals with transparent areas into huge hexagonal columns of a lighter red opaque material. The most distant outcrop from the original discovery was approximately four hundred feet, at which point the exposed rubies were sparsely scattered, poorly formed and opaque, but extremely large.
Claim markers were laid out to include the total outcrop plus extensions along the strike in each direction. They also took notes on prominent features which, when sighted in by their compass, gave an angle of reading accurate enough for the registering of their claim. Having finished these details, they burdened themselves with more of the loose ruby, consisting mostly of opaque crystal sections and some very attractive specimens of flat, platy hexagonal crystals attached to small pieces of the green rock, and trudged back to camp. That evening they broke camp and returned to Nairobi.
Two weeks later they had returned to the ruby location with tools and provisions to begin mining. A not too distant village provided a convenient labor pool where they hired a number of blacks to set up a camp adjacent to the claim and to begin open cuts into the outcrop at several selected spots. During the next several weeks of mining, one or the other partner made frequent short drives to and from the local village and occasionally to Nairobi for supplies.

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A miner holding ruby in zoisite at the Longido mine.
Photo courtesy of Edward Swoboda.

An unforeseen and very strange problem developed in connection with these driving trips and persisted through the several weeks during which they used the dirt track. Elephants had toppled a six-inch thick tree which had fallen across the road. They managed to detour this roadblock at the time and did not attach significance to the event. Herd movements, following a planned seasonal itinerary of forage, leave in its wake, torn branches, trampled undergrowth and fallen saplings. Thereafter, more trees were uprooted over their access road by the elephant herd. From then on, axes and tow chains were carried to keep the road open. It became apparent to the partners, having observed these intelligent beasts for many years, that the elephants were purposely and deliberately blocking the road to discourage the unwanted visitors from passing through.
The fragments and loose flat hexagonal plaques of ruby that Tom had first come upon in the little shallow basin on the on the slopes facing Mount Kilimanjaro, contained the best and only faceting material that he and his partner uncovered. The color was an exceptionally pure dark red, with little or no yellow or brown undertones. One of several rubies Tom had cut locally weighed close to a carat, a very fine deep red flawless stone. Having no experience in beneficiating raw gem materials, Tom unfortunately listened to someone with possibly less experience than he had. Accordingly, a major portion of the better faceting rough was subjected to a thorough roasting, then quenched in cold water, on the rationale that this shock treatment would separate the cutters from the chaff. This trial, of course, added immeasurably to his reserves of chaff.
He sent a selected parcel of faceting rough to someone in Hatton Gardens in London, which was never returned to him. Little by little, the partners’ dreams of riches faded away. Several uneventful years spent in attempting to market the rubies proved fruitless and they gradually turned their thoughts and energies away from the ruby and into the mining and carving of meerschaum, a deposit of which they had also discovered.
It was during this latter period that I arrived in Nairobi. Possessing no names nor information from this part of Africa, I decided to visit a local museum maintained by the Kenyan Bureau of Mines. Espying a very attractive specimen of ruby corundum in a green matrix, I inquired of the curator-director its origin. He kindly explained that the specimen had been donated by a Mr. Blevins, a local resident, whose address he supplied me with.
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A small faceted Longido ruby, along with a large ruby crystal with attached green zoisite.
Photo courtesy of Edward Swoboda.

The taxi pulled up to a two story building, the address given as the headquarters of the two mining partners, just as some man was descending an outside staircase dressed in bush clothes. Hastily leaving the taxi, I hurried to intercept this man, asking if he knew the whereabouts of a Mr. Tom Blevins. He answered that yes he did and proffered his hand. At that very moment he was departing for a few days’ stay at the meerschaum locality. Upon telling him of my interest in ruby corundum, he thereupon drove me directly to his home.
Arriving at his residence on the outskirts of Nairobi, he drove us around to the rear where he normally parked, an open area of ample shade trees, loose running chickens and assorted equipment and litter, including an old car with a missing wheel, supported by a huge chunk of bright green zoisite with three huge ruby crystals attached. I think my eyes momentarily left their sockets. Matrix ruby crystals were scattered everywhere. As I knelt to examine the many pieces, Tom said, motioning towards an isolated wooden framework under the trees, “The best are inside the garage.”
Unlocking and pushing wide the swinging doors to allow the light in, he invited me to enter. Two rows of rusting carbide drums met my eyes, each can filled to the brim with bright red chunks of ruby corundum. Shelves on the interior walls were clustered with dozens and dozens of plaque-like ruby crystals on matrix, some crystals up to two inches in diameter, and most of them attractively weathered to stand out from their matrices.
Two boxes of selected material resting on the carbide drums contained loose crystals and crystal sections weighing up to several thousand carats each. A huge mound of green zoisite boulders covered most of what was left of the floor space, each piece containing an exceptional attachment of ruby corundum. Just the cleaned, processed ruby—as I learned afterwards—amounted to over four and a half million carats.
Truly, I was overwhelmed, gazing speechless at this massive collection of material. My meager traveling budget gave me a feeling of hopelessness and, as I gradually began to reassemble my thinking processes, I began discrete inquiries with the hopes of at least obtaining a few of the colorful matrix specimens that were lying about. Tom explained that their disillusionment was so complete, they wanted to rid themselves of the total lot, all or nothing, in order to finance the meerschaum mining, pipe-carving, marketing business they were presently involved in.

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Small faceted Longido rubies, along with a large ruby crystal
with attached green zoisite. Photo courtesy of Edward Swoboda

Gathering courage, I asked Tom what amount he was asking for everything in sight, thinking and hoping that perhaps I could find some financial backing. He answered with a double digit number that took me some time to frame an appropriate inquiry to, not knowing whether he was thinking in terms of tens of thousands of dollars or perhaps even higher amounts. When he answered that the amount he sought was only so much, a very fair price and far lower than I had expected, I sort of went into shock. I delayed responding to him for several minutes, once again attempting to gather my senses, and only then became audible with a strange remark that came out as, “and what about the freight?” Actually, I didn’t know if it were possible to ship all this material out of the country. Tom misunderstood the torpor of my delayed question and promptly offered to pay the freight also, assuring me that it would be no problem to box it up and dispatch it within a few days.
Being assured that the material would be handled by professional forwarders, I then asked Tom if the shipment could also include two tons of the green zoisite. He replies, “Yes, no problem.” At least I expected to pay extra for the zoisite, but he included that also under the original price quoted. My, what a transaction!
Returning to Los Angeles, the timing continued to prove fortunate for me in the marketing of this material. The Kazanjian Brothers gem and jewelry company had recently completed a fabulous Lincoln head carving of black star sapphire and were presently searching the world market for some big chunks of ruby, appropriate for sculpting another bust in their Presidential Series of gem carvings. The first crystal I showed them almost brought tears to those experienced eyes. It weighed several thousand carats and was a very select deep red hexagonal prism of uniform consistency that must have been just what they were looking for.

In subsequent months, the Kazanjians methodically went about obtaining all of the large ruby corundum crystals I possessed, those over three or four thousand carats each, including one mammoth crystal that weighed in excess of 30,000 carats. They eventually decided to take the total balance of the cleaned and cobbed raw ruby, weighing a total of several million carats.
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A small faceted Longido ruby, along with a large ruby crystal cluster with attached green zoisite.
Photo courtesy of Edward Swoboda.

Many years later in northern Tanzania, I eventually visited this now famous locale in the company of a Tanzanian government official. A guard posted at the gateway to the property questioned my travel companion severely and at length in native dialect before we were allowed entry into the frayed mining compound. The surface area was scarred with rusting equipment and dilapidated structures, in the process of slowly being overtaken by a mantle of scrub growth. These surviving remnants constituted the leftovers from years of selective scrounging from the local villagers.
Touring the property on foot, one of the several government employees straggling in our rear covertly showed me two small pieces of zoisite, each with some mangled reddish corundum splotches attached, which I politely refused. The cursory examination that I was allowed to make during this visit left me with the impression that the surface features had been swept clean of anything of note. The contention among the personnel guarding the property was that the mine was soon to be rehabilitated to continue mining the small ruby rough that it formerly supplied in such great quantities to India for the faceting of melee.
By the time they had worked over the easily accessible surface outcrops, the two partners had accumulated in all, an amazing total of over four million carats of rough ruby. The largest crystal found was in a class by itself, weighing slightly more than 30,000 carats. From the standpoint of sheer quantity, I think this locality is the largest producer of ruby ever known. In later years in the hands of new owners, shafts were driven down into the green zoisite and for many years rubies were mined, totaling hundreds of thousands of carats. Most of this production was sent to India to be cut into beautifully colored small faceted gems

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A small faceted Longido ruby, along with a large ruby crystal cluster with attached green zoisite.
Photo courtesy of Edward Swoboda

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