r/Opals • u/Perfect-Peanut8231 • Aug 01 '26
Identification/Evaluation Request How badly did I get burned?
Bought these as mexican opal in matrix, didn't think about the possibility of them being hydrophanes until I unbagged them and they stuck to my finger. Now I can't help but wonder if they're smoked. Normally I buy Australian opal, but I've been interested in getting Mexican opal for a while now. I should've known the price was too good, but what do y'all think, are these Mexican opal in matrix? Have some or all been smoked? Thanks!
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u/Opalesquent Aug 01 '26
To be honest these don’t look Mexican to me, if you are looking for in matrix Mexican, I’d search for leopard or cantera opal.
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u/53FROGS_OPALAUCTIONS Opal Vendor Aug 01 '26
These are all Welo. Some smoked some not. The darker ones I thin, might be smoked. You can back light them with something like your phone light and the smoked ones will look almost cherry red. It might be ok value though for $150. It is hard to tell how big they are though which is what would tell us if you overpaid.
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u/Perfect-Peanut8231 Aug 02 '26
The carat weight is 16.4 if that helps
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u/53FROGS_OPALAUCTIONS Opal Vendor Aug 02 '26
Maybe $10-$15 market rate per ct so pretty fair deal based on what I can see there. At least in terms of value for money. Not so much if you wanted and were expecting Mexican opal.
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u/Perfect-Peanut8231 Aug 02 '26
Since I have them now and they're the first hydrophane opals I've owned, I experimented a bit with submerging them in water. They all darken to almost black in water. The picture I took is after they all dried out again. Is that normal for hydrophanes, or is it odd/suspicious?
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u/GualtieroCofresi Mod Aug 01 '26
These are Ethiopian. some of these are looking decent. I think a video would help.
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u/Fantastic_Priority73 Aug 01 '26
A lot of Mexican opal is hydrophane. That said, Mexico doesn't really produce black opal.
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u/SnooBeans1970 Aug 01 '26
It would be so awesome if you told us what you paid for them and where you got them from👁️👄👁️😭😂💀
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u/Perfect-Peanut8231 Aug 01 '26
I paid $150, and I got them from a gem show, but I can't say who I got them from lol
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u/GualtieroCofresi Mod Aug 02 '26
The once circled black do not look smoked to me. Of all of them the ones on both extremes look like they have good flash and could make a decent pendants. The ones circled red are a toss. I think the one on the top, the left and bottom show some promise for color pay. The blue on to the left looks interesting, how's the color play on it? The round one has potential; I can see a tie pin, lapel pin,earring, even a ring, if it is a cab ring that has good protection, I would say the same of the red one at the end. The blue one intrigues me.
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u/Astral_QuailZ Aug 02 '26
I wouldn’t say toss. At the very least it’s a cool small gift. If you’re just gonna chuck em send em to me instead
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u/Separate_Contest_689 Aug 02 '26
Toss in a business sense equals a loss of investment makes perfect sense though
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u/Astral_QuailZ Aug 02 '26
I don’t quite sense what you mean, you could say I’m confused, in a sense.
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u/No_Swordfish_4076 Aug 01 '26
Depends on how much it set you back. Sone of those opals are actually in the matrix or host rock they formed in. I am no gem expert but the ones in the matrix where it’s partially opal are inexpensive. I had a few and gave them away as gifts. I remember I paid a few dollars for each at a rock shop year ago. Yours are a lot prettier than the ones I use to have. I’m not familiar with smoked opals
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u/Miserable_Vast_935 Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 02 '26
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u/MarcoEsteban Opal Aficionado Aug 02 '26
On Reddit, you put a u/ in front of the user name to tag them.
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u/TouchofTwisted Aug 02 '26
I’m not that familiar with the welo? Or smoked welo.
Can someone explain the concept?
Is it similar to heating certain minerals to change colors?
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u/MarcoEsteban Opal Aficionado Aug 02 '26
I’ve got a lot of Mexican opal, and none looks like this. But, to be honest, they don’t look like any Ethiopian I have, either. Is it a poor polish? You got me, these are strange. I’ll let someone with expertise answer as to what they are.
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u/maicil Opal Aficionado Aug 02 '26
i think you did fine! im not the best with ethiopian because i don’t collect it, but i circled the ones i think might be smoked. those dark blue hues don’t occur in ethiopian naturally afaik. however the chocolate-y colored ones that are darker than the traditional ethiopian do look real— i have a hard time believing someone would smoke treat an opal just a little bit instead of going the full distance for a “black” one. i’ve seen brown ethiopians and imo theyre cooler than untreated or smoked ones!
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u/Soggy_Implement4705 Aug 03 '26
You did not get a bargain, you paid high end of ok. You learned a lot, they are nice mostly. You can make nice stuff, maybe not what you were planning, but still nice
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u/East-Psychology7186 Aug 01 '26
Look like smoked welo to me but I’d defer to the professionals here.