October's Birthstone - Opal
Is it unlucky to wear Opal if you were not born in October?
Legend has it that wearing opal jewelry, if it is not your birthstone, will bring bad luck to the wearer. This is not necessarily true.
The traditional gemstone for October is opal - the zodical stone for Libra. It is a common fallacy that wearing Opal if it is not your gemstone will bring bad luck to the wearer. This opal myth does not date back to ancient times but to 1829 when Sir Walter Scott published Anne of Gerstein.
In this book the main character dies and her death is attributed to the wearing of opal. Prior to this book's release the multicolored opal was considered to be a gemstone of good luck, beauty and fascination.
In modern legend it is said that opal is one gemstone that has an eerie ability to project the wearer's energy back to the wearer. Therefore, if you constantly harbor many negative thoughts wearing opal will reflect the negativity back to you. If you find that opal gives off strong vibrations try some on. If it does not feel exactly right do not buy it. Opal is not a gemstone for you.
Opal is a gemstone that requires very delicate care. It is quite soft and can not be placed in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner. Keep it away from heat or cold and it is also best to not get this gemstone wet at all. To be admired are those that have the confidence to wear opal rings. Opal is so easy to crack while wearing that earrings or pendants are best for frequent wear.
There are basically four types of opal: white, black, transparent and common. Black and white opal are the most highly sought for use in jewelry. Black opal with red, violet and orange flashes is the most expensive to buy. Less expensive black and white opal will have yellow, blue and green flashes.
A very good example of translucent opal is fire opal. When faceted properly fire opal will have breathtaking brilliant and iridescent flashes. Fire Opal is also referred to as Mexican Opal as it is primarily mined in that country.
Examples of common opal are pink and green opal that have no flash at all and very milky white opal.
Fine Australian Opal is very expensive. Two cost effective alternatives are opal doublets and triplets. Both involve attaching thin slices of opal (usually by gluing) to a base material such as agate, chalcedony or plain glass. Opal triplets have a protective top layer of quartz (three layers - the base, the opal sliver and the protective quartz) and are the less expensive of the two since triplets use less opal.
Is Opal not your birthstone? Forget about Anne of Gerstein and give this beautiful gemstone of fascination a try.
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