OPAL AND TOURMALINE – THE COLORS OF OCTOBER

October. The first month of the year’s last quarter. In the Northern Hemisphere, this means that the entire landscape is covered in orange, red, and yellow leaves – a truly beautiful scenery to behold. The weather is nice and cold because it’s autumn season, and it gets colder as the winter approaches. It reminds you of the good old days of playing in piles of dead leaves, having the time of your life without any worries at all. After playing, you’d go back into your house and have some hot chocolate or milk with biscuits, talking with your friends and family about your excitement and anticipation for the coming holiday season.

In the Southern Hemisphere, however, October falls into the spring season, where all the vegetation in the land is in full bloom and life is blossoming everywhere, and the weather starts to get warmer and warmer as summer approaches. In both parts of the world, going the park to enjoy the view and hang out with your friends is always a fun, wonderful thing to do.

Opal meaning

Even though it has the prefix octo, meaning “eight” in Latin, the Gregorian Calendar puts October as the tenth month of the year, so this month is associated with both the numbers 10 and 8. October is the birth month of people who have the two most colorful precious stones, Opal and Tourmaline, as their birth stones. And both stones are perfect for the month of October as well, since this month is one of the most colorful months in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and the symbolisms behind the month and both stones are very complementary.

Play of Color-Value of Opals

You see, despite how common silica is, which is the mineral that opals are made of, the Opal gem itself is very rare. In fact, it is one of the rarest gems in the world, even more so than diamonds. The reason for this is that the natural processes that need occur in order for silica to turn into opal are very rare. So rare, that most of the opal found by miners is common opal, without any gem color. For a colored opal to occur is even rarer, and depending on how the process goes, an opal can be black, pink, white, blue, green, purple, yellow, red, grey, brown, orange, or any number of combinations between the above-mentioned colors. In fact, when an opal has multiple colors, it is immediately considered one of the rarest and most beautiful precious stones in existence. This combination of beauty and rarity is the reason why colored opals fetch such a dear price. The more intense the play-of-color(the spectrum of different colors present in the opal), the higher the price!

Opal meaning or significance

Because of its rarity, the opal is heavily associated with uniqueness and value. Since it has the colors of practically every other gem, the ancient Romans believed it to be the most powerful of all the gemstones, and used it as an amulet or a charm to ward off diseases and other evils. It is also a very popular as a center stone for rings of all kinds because it also symbolizes love, passion, desire, and eroticism. Its seductive quality as a stone is said to intensify emotional states and releases inhibitions. When set as the center stone for an engagement ring or a wedding band, it is a truly magnificent sight to see.

Tourmaline, another birthstone for people born in October, is another rare gem that can have multiple colors. In fact, very few gems match its vast array of colors, which can be of any combination. Its colors can range from red to pink, to blue, green, yellow, even purple. Its most popular color combinations can feature something like pink on one side and a completely different color like lime green on the other, with beautiful shades in between. Sometimes, a tourmaline can also only exhibit a single color, and it can look exactly like another gem of that same color. For example, a green tourmaline can look so much like an emerald that it can almost be mistaken for one. As a matter of fact, its very name, tourmaline, which is derived from the Sinhalese “toramalli”, means “mixed gems”, which is a perfect reflection of all the confusion about the stone. As such, this stone is associated with adaptability, resourcefulness, and mimicry. In the world of spiritism, the tourmaline has quite a few symbolisms as well. For instance, it is said to give shamans or witch doctors the ability to heal and get rid of curses. It is known to be a “receptive stone”, meaning that it is soothing, calming, inward and magnetic, promotes meditation, spirituality, wisdom, and mysticism, among other things. This gem is an absolute beauty as a center stone for any ring, or as a pendant for a necklace. Its uniqueness in appearance and the beautiful combination of colors it can have is sure to turn heads wherever you wear it.

Opal or Tourmaline? You decide!

Are you an October baby? Which of these two beautiful stones did you like more? Would you like to create your own custom ring using opal or tourmaline as the center stone? Don’t hesitate to contact us, Angelucci Jewelry, for any professional help or guidance you may need. And don’t forget to check our other helpful  educational content.