Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

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Hot4TENER
Posts: 568
Joined: 4 years ago

Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by Hot4TENER » 4 years ago

Recently someone mentioned on another thread that the Welo opals are impregnated. This greatly troubles me as the Welo opals are my favorite gem and I have purchased MANY from ShopLC over the past year or two. Currently, the education section does mention impregnation under welo opal treatments, but I'm pretty sure that when I started buying them from you it did not. Many hosts refer to this gem as "all natural" during their presentations. I've read other posts where customers stated that their welo opals have yellowed. Personally, I have not had this happen and I thought it is because I am EXTRA careful about storing my opals in their plastic bag with the tarnish paper. Also, I strictly adhere to the "last on-first off" rule with my opals. I remove them when I wash my hands. I've researched welo opals online and from what I can find, I've learned that the Ethiopion opals are rarely impregnated. Then yesterday Cheryl said on air that the welo opals will change and that is just part of the aging. I nearly puked!

So dearest moderator, would you please research and answer the following questions: Are ShopLC's Welo opals treated? How? When did they start impregnating the Welo opals? What is the purpose for impregnating them (because as I understand, the welo opals are stronger than the Australian opals anyhow). And how can a customer know which of your opals are treated and which are not? (because I currently do not see any mention of treatments in the product title or product description). Do they yellow due to the treatment, or outside chemicals? What will cause them to yellow?

I really appreciate being able to reach out to a moderator through this forum because I believe it would take numerous call to CS to actually find someone who might be knowledgeable enough to answer these questions, and even then, I probably wouldn't be confident that I received the correct answer. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
7 x

2Blonde
Posts: 231
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by 2Blonde » 4 years ago

I have many, many Ethiopian opal pieces of jewelry (bracelets and rings mostly), as I've been collecting this gem ever since I first saw it many years ago. Most of the larger stones have kept their original color, but many of the smaller stones have either turned yellow or gray. I've actually discarded a few older pieces that got downright ugly. I have learned not to ever get them wet, but even with that, pieces that have been stored in tarnish proof jewelry boxes have changed color. This has happened mostly with older pieces, so I don't know if they were just lower quality or if it's just because they were old. I've never heard of them being "impregnated." One thing I can say is that I would never invest in an expensive piece set in gold for this reason. They say these stones can absorb and release moisture, and I live in a climate that's humid in the summer and very dry in the winter. I've tried researching the stone and have gotten conflicting info, so I have become very wary of the smaller stones.
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SueB
Posts: 304
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by SueB » 4 years ago

http://opalholicsanonymous.com/phpbb/vi ... 19&p=12986 Is a link I FINALLY FOUND about the resin coating... it would be on the outside though and is the Ethiopian AND mine did yellow over a few yrs!!!! Don’t think the impregnate! Is coating. Also I’m storing my NEW REPLACEMENT PIECES( yes upset) in little zipper bags in jewelry box so in two yrs we’ll see... ugh not buying any more.
2 x

LisaC2019
Posts: 610
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by LisaC2019 » 4 years ago

I actually keep all of my Welo opal pieces in the original bags they arrived in with the tarnish pieces and have not had any issues as of yet. I keep them in a place that is a little cooler and hopefully, in the winter I will move them to another area that does not get that warm so they don't sweat. I am looking forward to hearing from the MODS on this one.
1 x

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Moderator_Preston
Posts: 932
Joined: 4 years ago
Answers: 1

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by Moderator_Preston » 4 years ago

Hot4TENER wrote:
4 years ago
Recently someone mentioned on another thread that the Welo opals are impregnated. This greatly troubles me as the Welo opals are my favorite gem and I have purchased MANY from ShopLC over the past year or two. Currently, the education section does mention impregnation under welo opal treatments, but I'm pretty sure that when I started buying them from you it did not. Many hosts refer to this gem as "all natural" during their presentations. I've read other posts where customers stated that their welo opals have yellowed. Personally, I have not had this happen and I thought it is because I am EXTRA careful about storing my opals in their plastic bag with the tarnish paper. Also, I strictly adhere to the "last on-first off" rule with my opals. I remove them when I wash my hands. I've researched welo opals online and from what I can find, I've learned that the Ethiopion opals are rarely impregnated. Then yesterday Cheryl said on air that the welo opals will change and that is just part of the aging. I nearly puked!

So dearest moderator, would you please research and answer the following questions: Are ShopLC's Welo opals treated? How? When did they start impregnating the Welo opals? What is the purpose for impregnating them (because as I understand, the welo opals are stronger than the Australian opals anyhow). And how can a customer know which of your opals are treated and which are not? (because I currently do not see any mention of treatments in the product title or product description). Do they yellow due to the treatment, or outside chemicals? What will cause them to yellow?

I really appreciate being able to reach out to a moderator through this forum because I believe it would take numerous call to CS to actually find someone who might be knowledgeable enough to answer these questions, and even then, I probably wouldn't be confident that I received the correct answer. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Good afternoon everyone,

Welo opals undergo no additional treatment. There may be confusion here, as these are highly porous stones that tend to absorb what is around them. They are sometimes called hydrophane opals. Like pearls, it’s best to observe the ‘last on, first off’ rule.

In regard to yellowing, this gem may change color over time, just like other porous stones such as turquoise or pearl. Caring for an opal like you would a pearl will help prolong enjoyment of the stone.

The listing for impregnation treatment being used on Welo opals in the enhancements list is being removed since it is inaccurate.

Additional Resources
General Jewelry Care:
https://www.shoplc.com/education/jewelry-cleaning

Pearl Jewelry Care:
https://www.shoplc.com/education/articl ... for-pearls

Are Hydrophane Opals Safe for Jewelry?
https://blog.shoplc.com/hydrophane-opal/

Thank you for the message, and for being a part of the Shop LC family!
2 x

Hot4TENER
Posts: 568
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by Hot4TENER » 4 years ago

Yes! THANK YOU PRESTON! I will continue to care for them properly and I really really appreciate your speedy reply. You take care of removing that from the enhancement page while I go shopping on your opal pages!👜💍🛒🤑
2 x

2Blonde
Posts: 231
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by 2Blonde » 4 years ago

I have always taken care of my Ethiopian opals. I never even get them wet, and I store them in a non-tarnish jewelry box. Even so, I've had many of them turn an ugly yellow or gray color.....mostly the smaller stones. I've not seen this happen with any of my larger stones, however. I do have some newer rings from ShopLC with small stones that are OK so far, but I'm very leery.
3 x

User avatar
Gem Lover
Posts: 2086
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by Gem Lover » 4 years ago

The one that turned yellow on me was a caribbean quartz ring surrounded by opals and I wore it only twice, the rest of the time it was in my tarnish free jewelry box but the strange thing is after wearing it all day I noticed the stones returned back to their original color and were no longer yellow so at this point it is a mystery, lol. I love my opals and have many very large ones from here I would have been very angry if the moderator would have said they were treated, thank goodness they are not. I did read that if they have to much or not enough moisture it can affect their color and where they are porous and like liquid it also said to not leave it out near colored liquid like a glass of wine for example because it can turn the color of the liquid.
6 x

Lulu
Posts: 516
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by Lulu » 4 years ago

Those tarnish free jewelry boxes might be putting off a chemical which could be absorbed by the opal. I don't keep mine in a tarnish free box and have had no problems.
3 x

Spooky
Posts: 563
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: Impregnated Welo opals? Mod PLEASE ANSWER

Post by Spooky » 4 years ago

I also wonder if these opals were exposed to
cigarette or vaping smoke. If so, the color would
change. Also, if you had the opal on while you were
cooking it’d absorb grease or anything else in
the air. I’ve researched quite a bit about the color
changing on opals. The GIA did an experiment with
welo opals to find out if most sellers were impregnating
their opals and found that no one was. It was because
of the lack of impregnating that gave Welo opals their
value over the Australian opal. I have messaged Cheryl
as she is a graduate gemologist like Becky Booker if the Welo opals were possibly made into triplets. Much of
the Australian material is made into a triplet to make it sturdier. It’ll have a base material backing (plastic or mineral) and have a clear quartz over the top of gem. If they did this with the Welo material there may not be an issue any more with the color changing. Just a thought
1 x

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