The Gemstone Of October - Opal

Opal is thought to enhance insight and dispels fears, and is famous for being known as the birthstone of October. Opal is also given as a present for a 14th wedding anniversary gift. Opal gets it name from the Greek work “opallus” which means to see a change in color. This seems to be because opal has the ability to reflect wavelengths of light for a lovely vision. There are more than a dozen different colors of opals.

Opals are mined from deposits located mostly in Southern Australia, but there are still areas where you can find small amounts such as Mexico, Nevada, Brazil, and Czechoslovakia.

Opal is actually a non crystallized silica which is a mineral found near the earth’s surface in the areas where ancient hot springs once were. Roman’s referred to this gem stone as “Cupid Paederos,” which means a child as exquisite as love. The Romans also thought that opals fell to earth from the heavens in a flash of lightening.

On crowns opals symbolize hope and purity for ages. From the 14th century there have been some cultures that have thought that this gemstone was an Eye Stone which watches over royal families. They thought that the opal was the king of all gems because it has the range of all the colors in the rainbow.

You can acquire a black opal which has a dark body hue compared to most other opals, a white opal also referred to as a milky opal, a boulder opal which is very dark and magnificent in color, the crystal opal which has a transparent or semi transparent body tone and include forms of black and white crystal, and lastly the fire opal which is an American name meaning an opal that has got a specific red hue.

It doesn’t matter which color of opal you buy just make sure you know what the hue symbolizes.

By: Martin Mallett

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Published by www.MiltonGems.co.uk. Find a vast selection of October birthstone / opal jewellery. Find more information on birthstones here.