Runako Birthstone of the Month - Opal

I'll start by saying that I'm a little bias to this gemstone, since October is my birth month. If Opal is a favorite stone of yours or October happens to be your birth month as well, you'll appreciate this little gem lore article for the month.

The gemstone Opal is unique to any other gem. Precious Opal has characteristics of flashing rainbow colors that twinkle when you move the stone in different directions, the effect is memorizing. Round cut stones will exhibit this uniqueness more so than any other cut. Silica spheres create the rainbow effect in the stone. The colors of opal come in varying degrees, but most often in jewelry you'll find it with a milky white base either clear or translucent. Black opal is another variation that is quite rare, but it has a darker grey or black color range. Fire Opal is clear to translucent with flashes of orange, red and yellow, sometimes called Mexican or or Sun Opal. 95% of the worlds Opal is mined in Australia.

Common Opal, different from precious Opal is rarely translucent and shows no play on color as I mentioned above. So take care when shopping with an expectation of purchasing yourself a precious stone. Make certain that you are looking for that play on color, transparency and body color.

Opals are delicate stones. This attribute is because of its high water content, so you must take very special care of these stones. It is said that if you allow your opal to go dry, it will begin to crack. It is recommended that you store your opal jewelry in a plastic bag with a damp cotton to keep it from dehydrating.

I had an opal ring a long time ago, and haven't been able to find it, but after doing this research I'm definitely going to be looking for a nice stone to have mounted in celebration my birth month. If October is your month or if you just love this stone, I hope this article has been of some help to you as you go shopping to unveil.

Dee