Say Hello to October’s Birthstones: Tourmaline & Opal

October birthdays are fortunate to have two beautiful and colorful birthstones: tourmaline and opal. Each exhibits an array of colors, making them a popular choice with gemstone buyers and jewelry designers.  Click HERE to see our Tourmaline or Opal gemstones or jewelry.

Tourmaline – 8th Wedding Anniversary                                                                Perhaps the most diverse gemstone available, Tourmaline lives up to its name, which means “multi-colored” and is available in a dazzling array of colors and color combinations including: pink, deep red, green, dark green, blue-green, deep blue, ocean blue, violet, peach, yellow, and orange. Tourmaline looks terrific in both yellow and white metals and can easily enhance any jewelry collection. Also, there are bi-color or tri-color tourmalines where two or more colors appear side by side in the same gemstone. Tourmalines are commonly enhanced by traditional heating methods to produce one of the dazzling hues.

Tourmaline is esteemed as a gem of enlightenment and resolution. Believed to foster compassion, composure, and reflection, tourmaline reveals the most captivating characteristics to those who wear it. Ancient mystics also thought tourmaline could encourage artistic intuition: it has the palette to express every mood. Tourmaline is a crystal Boron Silicate mineral that gets its rainbow-like colors from various elements such as iron, sodium, magnesium, lithium, potassium, or aluminum.

Opal - 14th Wedding Anniversary                                                    Revered as a symbol of hope, fidelity, and purity, opal was dubbed the “Queen of All Gems” by the ancient Romans because it encompassed the colors of all other gems. Opal is prized for its unique play of color, the ability to diffract light into flashes of rainbow color. Like a snowflake, each opals coloring and look is unique.

Opal is available in different colors, ranging from semi-transparent to opaque. The most common is white opal. Crystal or water opal has a colorless body. Black opal is the most valued opal and has a dark blue, gray, or black body color. Boulder opal combines precious opal with the ironstone in which it forms. Fire opal has a red, orange, or yellow body and is quite different from the other varieties of opal. Their dayglo tones, which are translucent to transparent, are beautiful with or without play of color. Today's supplies of opal come primarily from Australia, Mexico, and the United States. Most opals are not faceted but cut into rounded or free-form cabochons that enhance their play of color.

Best wishes to everyone celebrating a birthday or anniversary in October.

Click HERE to see our Tourmaline or Opal gemstones or jewelry