Opal Jewelry
In Twelfth Night Shakespeare referred to opal as "the queen of gems". There is no way to accurately describe the finest opals: milky white background dotted with red, gold, purple, blue, and green; a dark night with rainbow lightning. Delicate and mysterious, opal has been treasures since ancient times for its unique beauty.
Romans called the magnificent gemstone "Cupid Paederos," meaning a child as beautiful as love. They believed that opals fell to earth from the heavens in a flash of lightening. However they arrived in on Earth originally, today opals must be mined from deposits found primarily in Southern Australia, although other sources exist in Brazil, Mexico, Czechoslovakia, and Nevada.
Crown Jewels Opal has symbolized hope, innocence and purity through the ages. During the Middle Ages, fair-haired young women put sapphires in their tresses to protect the lovely blond color of their hair. Physicians ground opals into a powder that was ingested to ward off nightmares. Since the 14th century, many cultures have considered this stone to be an Eye Stone, a stone that watches over royal families as well as a stone that strengthens the eyesight.
They believed it to be the "king of gems" because an opal holds within its fire all the colours of the rainbow…and all other gems, as well. And like many birthstones, opals were treasured by ancient monarchs for their appearance AND their powers.
Opals were routinely set into the crowns and necklaces of rulers who believed the protective powers of the gemstones would ward off evil. Writers of the period believed the opal could render its wearer invisible when the need arose. The Russians had the complete opposite belief in opals, viewing them as nothing but bad luck..
Opal lost much if its popularity in the 19th Century when Sir Walter Scott published a novel "Anne of Geierstein" (1829). In this book the heroine owned an opal that burned fiery red when she was angry and turned ashen gray upon her death. Sales of opals dropped after the book was published as acquired a superstition of being "bad luck". The tendency of opal to crack spontaneously did not help the reputation of the opal. Queen Victoria finally helped quell this superstition by giving opal jewelry wedding presents to her relatives.
Opal is the birthstone for October and the gemstone given to commemorate a 14th wedding anniversary. The word "opal" for this dynamic gemstone was derived from the Greek word "opallus" which means to see a change in color…because it is, after all, opal's ability to refract and reflect specific wavelengths of light that make it so special. In fact, there are more than a dozen varieties of fiery and iridescent opals.
Always the Right Gift, A gift of Opal is symbolic of faithfulness and confidence. And the wide range of choices in opal makes them a perfect gift for anyone.
