OPAL
Creativity & freedom
Opal is the birthstone for October and gets its name from the word, “Opalus” which means “seeing a change in colour”. This gemstone can be found in a broad array of colours – our favourites include the Pink and White opal. The white opal is made partly of water, which is trapped inside the gemstone, creating a completely unique play of colours. The pink opal doesn’t have the same reflective qualities but is in turn a creamy pink nuance.
OCTOBER'S BIRTHSTONE
Opal is October's birthstone, alongside the Tourmaline, and are also the birthstones for the zodiacs Libra & Scorpio. Each month has its own unique gemstone to represent it. Carrying your birthstone is said to bring good luck. You can carry your birthstone as a good luck amulet, or your loved ones’ birthstone as a symbol of love.
SYMBOLISM
The Opal symbolises creativity, freedom, love, fidelity and consciousness. Opal is a great ally, as it’s said to help you get rid of negative emotions. Opal is also said to contain a freeing quality, letting you focus on creativity and self-expression. The opal is likewise a gemstone connected to love – especially the Pink Opal is said to
have a great influence on romantic and platonic friendships.
Learn more about gemstone symbolism in our large Gemstone Encyclopedia here.
SPIRITUALITY
The Opal is most often referred to as a gemstone off amplification. In the metaphysical and spiritual world, the Opal acts as a prism within the aura, bringing out the full spectrum of light energy to your system, which is said to calm and cleanse the feeling body and boost the joy of earthly existence.
Depending on the colour of the Opal you wear, it’s connected to different chakras. Our favourite, Pink Opal, has loving and mild vibrations connected to the heart chakra, which promotes peace and emotional
healing.
HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR OPAL JEWELLERY
The Opal is a medium-hard gemstone and is also very
porous. That is why you should never soak your Opal jewellery, since this can cause the gemstone to break. When you’re cleaning your Opal jewellery, use a mild detergent in room-temperature water and wipe with a soft cloth.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE
In the early 1800s, the novel “Anne of Geierstein” gave the opal a reputation for being the bringer of bad luck, as it connected the gemstone to tragedies. However, the opal’s good reputation was partly resurrected by the mid-1800s, as Queen Victoria and her daughters wore notable jewellery set with opals, making the gemstone modern and popular around the globe. Opal’s popularity rose again during the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods around the early 1900s when numerous highly detailed pieces of jewellery were once again decorated with opals.
LEGENDS & FOLK TALES
According to folktales and ancient legends, the opal was considered to have many mysterious qualities. In ancient Greece, the opal was thought to yield supernatural powers such as farsightedness and protection against diseases, while ancient Romans used the opal as a symbol of hope and love. Around the Arabian Peninsula, it was thought that the opal was created following a strike of lightning.
WEDDING DAY JEWELLERY
Opal is traditionally gifted on a 14th wedding anniversary, which is also called an Ivory wedding. Jewellery set with a pink opal with its soft and romantic expression, could be a perfect gift to your partner, as well as jewellery with a white opal’s rainbow complexion.
OPAL'S GEMMOLOGY
Opal consists of hydrated silicate minerals and can contain up to 20% water. This gemstone obtains its colourful reflective qualities from its tightly packed layer of silicate and is categorized from 5-6.5 on Mohs’ Hardness Scale – a scale measuring gemstone hardness from 1-10, where 10 is the hardest. More than 90% of all opals are found in Australia, but can also be found in Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and the USA.
ALL OPAL JEWELLERY
Shop the birthstone of October here
TOURMALINE
Tolerance & compassion
TURQUOISE
Friendship, positivity & love
PEARL
Integrity, purity & honesty
BLUE TOPAZ
Communication & love