Opal cutting. Shewa province crystal opal for fun.

Shewa opal is a form of crystal opal from Ethiopia. it was some of the first opal found before the Welo province material was being mined.
it is Hydraphane, and very unstable. ray pieces need to be kept in mineral oil or water. the stone will Crack if dried.
I have soaked the opal to remove the oil. and then resoaked in water.
here is a video of the results.
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[@Teknojok]

I do like ethiopian opal better than aussie - for some reason. I have a couple of hefty chunks similar to this. Wiped the oil coating off and put into a small jar and watched it crack all over. Did not know a thing back then. That was a year and a half ago. Gonna have to dig through the collection i started to see how it has gone since. Thanks for this vid.

[@CanyonArchaic]

It's fun to cut. I like ethiopian opal a lot, I cut dry with ppe most of the time. Unless I'm searching in a gnarly nodule.

[@eamonia]

Why does it crack?

[@Teknojok]

I believe it can start to crack as water dries out of it at a quicker rate. There is a need to slow down this evaporation by wrapping in tissue and perhaps then putting that into a jar and leaving for several days. This has worked for me on smaller stoned at least.

[@eamonia]

@Teknojok Cool. Thanks, buddy. 👍

[@eamonia]

Well, it's no princess cut but pretty cool nonetheless. 👍

[@CanyonArchaic]

2,200 views! Thank you so much!!🎉

[@SolomomDalligos]

Wow beautiful...

[@CanyonArchaic]

Thanks a lot 😊

[@CanyonArchaic]

Thanks again for watching! 😀

[@eamonia]

Why does it crack?

[@CanyonArchaic]

@eamonia It is a very fragile opal. Oil opal needs to be kept wet, otherwise drying will cause microscopic cracks to expand

[@eamonia]

@CanyonArchaic Ah... Cool, thanks. 👍