One of the lucky months to have multiple birthstones, October babies are blessed with both tourmaline and opal. Tourmaline and opal, while both carrying endless colour combinations, each have distinct histories and meanings, making it easy to pick the perfect gift for your October loved ones.
Opal
The Creation of Rainbows
Opals are a hydrated, non-crystalline form of silica that are prized for the unique way they reflect light. When light hits the microscopic silica spheres inside the precious opals, they flash a bright rainbow, making each rainbow as unique as the stone itself. In the dark, opals remain an opaque white colour.
Furthermore, the stone itself forms in a chemically distinct way. Over millions of years, rainwater carrying dissolved silica seeps into underground rock cracks and cavities. When the water eventually evaporates, it leaves behind the solid silica deposits that form what we know as opals.
Currently, opals are most commonly mined in Australia, specifically Lightning Ridge, famous for producing prized black opal, which can only form under Australia's harsh heat. Although Australia produces the most volume of opal, it can be found in many places, like Ethiopia, Mexico and Brazil. Querétero, a state in Mexico, is known for producing fire opal in yellow, orange and reddish orange.
The Rainbow Gem: Opals Meaning & Significance
Across different cultures and eras, opals have found many different meanings and significance for different people. They are most commonly associated with their rainbow shine, which has resonated with people for centuries.
As mentioned, it is commonly found in Australia, and for the Australian Aboriginal tradition, it was often seen to represent a bridge between earth & the spiritual world. Many believed that the Creator descended to earth on a rainbow, and when the Creator's feet touched the ground, the rocks absorbed the rainbows sparkle, therein forming the first opal.
In ancient Egypt, opals were used in jewelry and protective amulets to ward off negative energy. They too believed that opals were a gift from something greater, with a common legend stating that the stones gained their flashing rainbow colors from passing through a rainbow on their way up from the Earth's core. Our Opal Wandering Star Ring is a beautiful example that perfectly encapsulates opal's celestial connections.
Generally, opals signify love and passion, creativity and inspiration, and luck and protection.
Because of their visual uniqueness and variety of significances, opals make perfect gifts for loved ones, especially because they are also the traditional gift for the 14th wedding anniversary.
Care and Cleaning
Opals are rated 5-6.5 on Mohs Hardness Scale, meaning it is fairly soft compared to other stones, such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. To avoid your opal being scratched, store it by itself. The safest way to clean opals is with a simple mixture of warm water and soap, which will gently remove dirt and oil. Note however that opals are sensitive to extreme temperature changes and may also weaken if left in water too long.
Tourmaline
What are they?
Similar to opals, tourmalines are gems that often have a wide variety of colours within one stone. Composition wise, tourmalines are a crystalline variety of borosilicate minerals containing aluminum, iron, magnesium, lithium, and other elements. Notably, tourmaline has special properties such as being piezoelectric (generating an electric charge when squeezed or pressured), and pleochroic, meaning it can show different colors from different viewing angles. Most commonly, it appears to be black & opaque, deep pink/red, blue, green, or watermelon (pink centres with green outer rings, check out our enchanting Watermelon Tourmaline Wrap Bracelet for a better look!).
Tourmaline is most commonly found in Brazil, but it is also mined in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Madagascar and Mozambique. Closer to home, California and Maine are both producers of tourmaline, both having several pegmatite deposits, originally discovered in 1820.
A Colour for Every Feeling: Tourmalines Meaning & Significance
Because tourmalines come in a variety of unique colours, each one is often thought to hold its own meaning and healing properties. Black tourmaline is often worn as a protection stone, thought to block and repel negative energies. It also holds a strong connection to the Root Chakra (located at the base of the spine), which is known for connecting one with the earth. Pink tourmaline holds a softer meaning, symbolizing universal love, compassion, and emotional healing. It is often believed to have the purest love energy of all different coloured tourmalines, making it the perfect gift for that someone special. Traditionally, it connects to the heart chakra, opening the wearer to giving and receiving emotional love. Although they all have different meanings, a tourmaline of any colour is given to celebrate the eighth wedding anniversary.
Care and Cleaning
Tourmaline rates a 7-7.5 on the Mohs Hardness scale, meaning it is generally suitable for everyday wear without concern of chipping or scratching. However, they can be sensitive to heat, so gentle cleaning with warm water and soap is the recommended cleaning method, as opposed to an ultrasonic or steam cleaner.
