October's beautiful birthstones

October birthday babes have the choice of two fascinating gems: Opals or Tourmalines. We love both of these stones as they are both all about colour!

Opals are known for their spectacular “play of colour” with a flickering of rainbow colours scattered throughout the gem. Whilst tourmalines often show a variety of colours in bands of colour fading from one to the next....more about tourmalines in our next post.

The mesmerising opal is a porous material and as such was considered unlucky. However, Queen Victoria did much to change that superstition as it was one of her favourite gems. She particularly liked the milky White Opals with their beautiful colours which are known to sometimes include the whole gamut of rainbow colours. It is not surprising that this gemstone is prominent in jewellery of that period. Milky white opals look beautiful in rings, pendants and earrings but we do recommend looking for a secure setting for your opals, like a full bezel setting or a halo of diamonds for longevity.

Besides Queen V’s popular white opals, do also have a look at the more unusual Black Opals from Australia. The dark material really makes the flashes of colour pop. You will frequently find “out of this world” electric blues and greens but the rarer gems with fiery reds come at a premium.

For those of you who truly want something different check out the lesser known Mexican Fire Opal. It’s colours range from sultry reddish-orange colours through to bright transparent orange gems showing a play of colour to rival Queen V’s White Opals. This gemstone looks superb in a modern bezel setting particularly in earrings, necklaces or brooches.

We have some exquisite pieces with opal in DesignYard for you to investigate, or if you’re feeling adventurous have a look at our loose gems available for commissions.

To find out more about the equally interesting Tourmalines you will have to wait for our next post this month.....