October Birthstone: Opal Jewelry

About Opal: the October Birthstone

The October birthstone is opal, with tourmaline as the modern alternate, and both are sold here. Opal jewelry is prized for its play of color, the flashes of spectral light that move across the stone as it turns. Opal is hydrated silica with no crystal structure, and the flashes come from tiny silica spheres that scatter light. It rates 5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, softer than quartz. Opal also holds water, so heat, dryness and hard knocks can dull or crack it over time. Much of the opal in this listing is white opal, a pale body with soft pastel flashes.

Tourmaline grows in nearly every color, and most of the tourmaline in this listing is pink, with some green. It rates 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale, which makes it noticeably harder than opal and a sensible choice for a ring. Some pink and red tourmaline is heat treated to improve its color, so ask about a specific stone before you order. Tourmaline is by far the larger part of the October listing, so if you want a birthstone for everyday wear, start there.

Setting matters more for opal than for any other October stone. In a pendant or a necklace opal stays out of the way of knocks, which is where it lasts longest. In a ring, choose a bezel or a halo that surrounds the stone, and take the ring off for washing, cleaning and exercise. Tourmaline takes prong, bezel and halo settings equally well. The listing covers necklaces, pendants and rings, and each piece states its setting and metal.

Why buy opal from ATL Luxury Jewelry?

ATL Luxury Jewelry has served Atlanta since 2008 from a showroom at 1905 Scenic Hwy N Ste 230, Snellville, GA 30078, and customers have left us 300+ five-star Google reviews. Opal and tourmaline both look different in person than on a screen, so it is worth seeing a piece before you order.

Cleaning, inspection and prong tightening are free in store, which suits a stone as sensitive as opal, and engraving is free at purchase. To build a piece around an opal or a tourmaline of your choice, book a design consultation and we design it with you in the showroom.