Natural Fire opal

Ethiopian opal is one of the most diverse and spectacular types of opals on the market today. Since this type of opal is new, there is no industry accepted way to grade this type of opal like there is with the black opal. Black opal is grading in terms of blackness, the brightness of the colour and the pattern.

Similarly, Ethiopian opal is also graded on pattern and brightness, but the body tone of the stone does not play a huge role in determining the final value.

There are many unique patterns to Ethiopian Opals and on Opal Auctions the descriptions have to be accurate. One of the most popular patterns in Ethiopian opals is a naturally formed potch line with web inclusions known as honey comb pattern. This pattern is very rare in any other type of opals. These honeycomb shapes are also known on occasions to have brighter or different colour than the surrounding opal, this is also a rare occurrence in nature.