Opals: The Myth, The Legend, The Gem

This fiery and brilliant gemstone has been the source of many myths and legends throughout the years. Its uniqueness and fragility make it a coveted and rare gemstone, also one of my personal favorites! Opals are the birthstone of October so let’s learn a little more about this month’s gemstone.

Over 95% of the world’s opals are mined in Australia which also happens to be their country’s national gemstone. Australian opals contain about 5-6% water! Because of this the opal does not rank very high on the Mohs hardness scale. It is only around a 5.5 which gives the opal the same hardness of glass. These beautiful stones can also come in an array of colors and shapes including white with orange and blue flecks and black with fierce blues and pinks.

Opal mines in Australia

There are many myths related to the good and bad luck that opals bring. It has been said that it is bad luck to wear opals and especially bad luck to wear them when it is not your birthstone. Many people believe that these bad luck myths were influenced by the fragility of the opal. Another source of this myth can be traced back to a novel written in the 1800s were the heroine of the story had a string of misfortunes linked to her possession of an opal.

On the other hand centuries ago the opal was considered something of a good luck charm. Ancient Romans would give opals to their wives for good luck and would also carry one around with them with the hope that good fortune would come their way.

Like many of the other gemstones out there the opals have a few famous ones out there. The largest and probably most valuable opal is the Olympic Australis. It was found in the late 1950 in the famous opal mining town of Coober Pedy in South Australia. This opal has been left in its natural state and weighs 17,000 carats!

Another well-known opal was found in a group of opals known as the four Phone Line opals. Perhaps the most striking one was the Black Prince opal, originally known as the Harlequin Prince opal. The largest of the group was the Flamingo opal weighing in at 800 carats.

To learn more about opals and how to care for them please visit:

https://www.hydeparkjewelers.com/october-birthstone-opal.aspx