October Birthstone Guide - Opal
OPALview opal jewellery
Rainbow gem of good fortune - opal is the birthstone for October
Down under gem
Opals are Australia's natural gemstone. The Australian Aborigines have a legend
in which the creator came down to earth on a rainbow to bring the message
of peace to all mankind. At the place where his feet touched the ground,
the rocks mixed with the rainbow and turned into opals.
A little bit of everything
In the Middle Ages opal was considered to be a lucky stone because
it was believed to contain all of the virtues of the gemstones,
as it contained all of their colours.
Mult-coloured quality
When discussing opals, experts talk about harlequin,
church windows and needle fire in an attempt to capture
and express the multi-coloured quality of opal.
The most important criteria when valuing opal is the
play of the colour, but we also consider the
thickness, cut, patterning, weight and finish.
This gemstone captures the imagination
and inspires legends - a fantastic gem
for jewellery and gifts.
Birthstones have characteristics or enhancement properties associated with them.
Here are some of these properties for opal:
- Birthstone characteristics: wisdom, purity, hope, confidence, loyalty
- Enhancements: opal is said to enhance imagination, dreams and healing