Australian opal is gold standard for opal and has been for almost 200 years. Ethiopian opal came onto the scene within the last 12 - 15 years. The first type that was found came from the Shewa Province ("Chocolate Opal") and was unfit for use in jewelry because it was highly prone to cracking. A few years later, a few hundred miles away, in the Wello Province, opal that is stable and beautiful was found. The deposits are huge and because of the quality of this material -- some equaling that of Australian opal, the market has been flooded with relatively inexpensive and beautiful opal. Because of its abundance, the cost of Ethiopian opal is less than one tenth the cost of Australian, and very good quality Ethiopian opal has competed well with the more inexpensive Australian opal types ... white opal.