Effective in early July 2013, export of Ethiopian opal rough,
including the still-affordable Welo opal rough, will be banned by the
Ethiopian government in an effort to encourage gem finishing within
their own borders, thus reserving profit and taxes from sale of
finished opals for their own population and tradesepeople.
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep80bc
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep80bd
Welo opal is a hydrophane, or water-absorbing, opal: color can
either diminish or improve in the wet/dry transition. Thus some cut
Welo opal dry, while others still cut it wet.
To view samples of Welo opal, use the ebay search engine on keyword
“opal”.
Lorraine