Throughout the ages gemstones and crystals have not only been part of the natural wonders of the Earth they have also been thought to possess mythical and magical powers. This also related to the month that you were born in and a different gemstone brought you particular benefits to your life.   The October birthstone is the Opal. The basic characteristic of the opal is that they have a wide range of colors when deflecting light. In a certain significance the Opal signifies a creative spirit, new friendships, and healthy relationships as the October birthstone.

Australia boasts the highest percentage of valuable opal in the world, which could be the reason for its being the national gemstone. Opal has had a long and varied history, not all of it positive. There was a time that people believed in the superstition that opals were the unlucky stone, so sales dropped. Interesting that a parallel exists with many gemstones on similar lines, for example, turquoise was believed to aid in stopping a person from falling from a horse. Where is much turquoise found? It is found in in Native American Indian land where horse riding was not only common but nece...

It is the interaction of the precious opal with light that creates the sparks and flashes of the blues, greens, yellows, oranges, reds and purples in the various distributions of colours. They can be squares, lines, harlequins, and picture stones. Not every opal will display all of the rainbow colours. The most common colour is blue, followed by green, and the rarest, and therefore the more expensive and desirable, is the red. The background of the opal also varies, from a milky white, to clear, to brown, to grey and to black. These are known as white opal, water opal, common opal, potch, a...