Zimagal Monthly Magazine - Volume One, Issue Ten

Opals
Opals are the birthstone for October and the astrological sign Scorpio. The name opal is derived from the Greek opallios and from the Sanskrit upala, meaning "precious stone." Opal has the same chemical composition as quartz, but it also contains 1 to 2 percent water, and it is not in crystal form. Rather, opal is composed of alignments of tiny spheres which form a compact, three-dimensional network.

Opal Types
There are many types of opal, the most familiar being white precious opal, which has a milky whitish to light grayish or pale blue background. Black precious opal, on the other hand, has a dark bluish gray, or smoke gray to black background color. There is also common opal - fairly transluscent, cloudy, and without opal's characteristic play of color. The best known of common opal is called fire opal, which may be yellow to orange or even scarlet.

Examples of opals, including some from my personal collection (at 10 and 12 o'clock).

Mythfortunate Story
The myth that opals cause bad luck comes from Sir Walter Scott's novel Anne of Geierstein (1829) which connects an opal with misfortune. This theory was encouraged by diamond merchants when opals started to vie commercially with diamonds. How can something so beautiful which comes from nature be bad luck? Of course, there will always be superstitious people who refuse to wear the gemstone because of this negative connotation.

Another myth debunked: neither oiling opal nor storing opal in water prevents cracking or heals existing cracks.

Opal Jewelry
The item pictured to the left is a "Touchstone" bead made by jewelry artist Carrie Adell. The bead itself (shown much larger than actual size) is of various colors of gold incorporated with a technique known as mokume gane, an ancient Japanese metalsmithing technique.

At the bottom is a bezel-set triangle-shaped boulder opal; the top has a line of bezel-set round diamonds.

In addition to the obvious beauty of these Touchstones, they are versatile. The bead may be strung as any other bead, or Carrie may add a shank which is convertable from ring to pendant bail. And of course, they make wonderful miniature works of art all on their own.

Caring for Opal Jewelry

Opal jewelry does require some special care, because of the nature of the opal itself. On the Moh's scale of hardness (diamond being 10, the hardest, talc being 1, the softest), opal falls in the 5 - 6 1/2 range. Such everyday items as rocks, steel, stone walls, and gems like sapphire, emerald, and of course, diamond, can easily scratch an opal. For this reason, it is best to store opal jewelry items in individual padded cloth bags, or in the box usually supplied by a reputable jeweler. Drastic changes in temperature and humidity should also be avoided.

You can safely wash solid opal jewelry in plain warm water. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners and steamers, bleach, all chemicals and cleaners.

With gentle care, one can keep a piece of opal jewelry beautiful for generations.

Jewelry artisans in the Art Nouveau period used opal in many creative ways. Below are two of my favorite pieces from that period, both by Rene Lalique.

Dog collar plaque, c.1898. Gold, enamel, opals and diamonds - the shimmering water in the background is actually carved opal.

Peacock corsage ornament of gold, enamel, opal, and diamonds. c.1898-99.

A really great book on the subject is Opals by Fred Ward, from his Gem Series. It is chock full of information and glorious photographs. It can be ordered directly from Fred at Gem Book Publishers or call 1-888-235-GEMS.