Natives of October, the opal is, with the tourmaline, your birthstone. A gem surrounded by superstitions, but SPOILER ALERT we deconstruct here the myth to give the stone its letters of nobility.
And precisely, there are three types of opals:
- The iridescent opal, also called "noble opal", presents in its heart an intense play of colors
In this category, we distinguish :
- Black opals (with black or dark background, translucent to opaque), white opals, crystal opals and harlequin opals
- Boulder opals and matrix opals, combining the gem with fragments of the mother rock.
To help you recognize them at first glance, we have drawn from our collections. Below are our antique jewelry adorned with black opal, boulder opal and slightly white opal.
Opal ring with diamonds
Victorian style gold necklace set with black opals
- Second kind, the fire opal, of red/orange color most of the time, devoid of color games, transparent to translucent and coming from Mexico.
- Finally the common opal, sometimes called "shimmering opal", translucent to opaque and also devoid of color play.
Did you know that Emperor Napoleon I gave Josephine a 700 ct fire opal named the " Troy Fire "? The stone is also known as the first named opal (not without a hint of drama) and has mostly disappeared, adding fuel to the fire of the gem's frigids. Among them Eugenie, the last empress, who despite being a great lover of jewels was said to have had no love for opals.
We won't go into the probable reasons why opal was so disliked in the 19th century. Have you ever seen a magician reveal the secret of his best trick at the beginning of the show?
To satisfy your curiosity, you will first have to go through a little gemology lesson, Penelope Gallery style! 🧐
" Opalus ", see a color change
The name opal comes from the Sanskrit " upala " meaning "precious stone". We also find the terms " opalus " in Latin and " opallios " in Greek meaning "to see a change in color". Opals are gems of hydrated silica: they form in cavities as a result of the circulation of water in siliceous rocks. Moreover, opals are composed of water up to 3 to 30%.
Until the end of the 19th century, opals came mainly from Slovakia. The main deposits are now in Australia (they have been exploited since the end of the 19th century) and more recently in Ethiopia, which has become the leading producer. They are also found in Brazil, Mexico (especially fire opal), the United States, and ... in Auvergne! In our article on the sapphirewe suggested the possibility of a professional reconversion. Make a double move! Or better yet, become a galactic gemstone researcher: opals have indeed been discovered in several places on the surface of Mars.
Opal exists in many colors, varying as for most gems according to the chemical elements and mineral inclusions that compose it. As mentioned above, apart from fire opals, there are common opals and iridescent opals. It would be difficult to characterize this specific phenomenon for someone who has never observed an opal up close. The Jeweller's Directory of Gemstones by Judith Crowe defines iridescence as "rainbow-like iridescence". We advise you to familiarize yourself with the concept by observing one of our antique rings adorned with an opal, such as this model Belle Epoque.
Don't forget that once on your finger you'll have the leisure to look at it every day, and it might even limit your screen time 😉 Because let's not be afraid of words: opal has a definite hypnotic power. It's possible that the shifting, almost fluorescent nature of its reflections has contributed to the stone's negative aura. Generally speaking, when we do not understand a phenomenon or a practice we tend to keep them at a distance by discrediting them.
Opal in the jewelry industry
Odilon Redon, Reflection, Date unknown, Private collection.
Fortunately, there have always been people who love the underdog! Despite its controversial nature, opal can be found on a number of 19th century jewelry pieces, such as garter rings and half-rimmed bracelets. It is mostly cut in cabochon and often associated with garnetthe diamond or the beads fine. Opal is particularly well suited to the fin de siècle spirit and Symbolism, as evidenced by the pastel of Odilon Redon above, whose palette seems to have been borrowed from the gem.
But it is with the Art Nouveau, at the beginning of the XXth century that the opal surges on the jewelry and takes its revenge. In our article on the History of Jewelry (Part 1), we explain that the new generation of jewelers of the time, such as Lalique, Vever or Fouquet no longer base the value of a piece on its weight or the materials used to make it. The fine stones, hard stones, organic materials and other techniques, such as enamel, finally get the lion's share. Opal included, like the peacock brooch below. The craze for stone will continue during theArt Deco.
Peacock" Art Nouveau enamel, opal, garnet and pearl brooch by Georges Fouquet © Christie's
A gem surrounded by superstitions
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Bed, ca. 1892, Paris, Musée d'Orsay.
Well, but finally, this reputation of bringing bad luck, it comes from where?
If you've ever done any digging, you're probably aware of the tragic fate of Lady Hermione in Walter Scott's novella Anne of Geierstein (1829). After the opal in her hair was touched by a drop of holy water and lost its fire, Lady Hermione fell into a swoon and was carried to her room. The next day, only a small pile of ashes was found on the bed instead of the princess. The book is said to have contributed to a drastic decrease in opal sales.
Much more recently, the Harry Potter saga (Hermione is never far away! Coincidence?) mentions an ancient necklace adorned with opals, on sale at Barjow and Beurk, having caused the death of nineteen "muggles" (people without magical powers and unaware of the existence of the wizarding world, for the uninitiated).
In fact, opal is one of the gemstones that requires more attention than others. In our article on diamond cuts, we explain what the Mohs scale is. It is basically a measure of the hardness of minerals (= ability of a material to scratch another), from talc (1/10) to diamond (10/10). Opal is at 5.5-6.5 on the said scale, which means that the stone, composed of up to 30% water, is fragile. It must therefore be worked with more care, at the risk of breaking it.
Opal and enamel dragonfly ring
Can you see us coming? The only thing that opal is potentially bad luck for is the lapidary's wallet! So they are likely to play on superstition to limit the consumption of opals. Moreover, in the article on birthstonesin which we talk more about the prophylactic character of the various gems, you must have read that it was customary to say that the diamond cancels the evil power of the opal. And so, that opals had to be set with diamonds. Big deal! Wouldn't it be because a diamond setting would have the ability to protect a stone more easily damaged?
If it is still necessary to prove that the opal does not bring bad luck, here is the ornament decorated with theopal Andamooka. It was offered by the Australian government to Queen Elizabeth II in 1954, on the occasion of her coronation. The fate of the last queen of England, the first to celebrate her platinum jubilee, celebrating 70 years of reign, does it not prove the absence of link between opal and misfortune? Australia had a long time the quasi-monopoly on opal (from the end of the nineteenth century to the years 2010, when the Ethiopian mines were discovered). So much so that it is the national gem! It would also be the favorite stone of Queen VictoriaIt would also be the favorite stone of Australia, definitely in the place as soon as we talk about stones. Australia having been under British rule from 1788 to 1901, we can wonder if it was not also a marketing move of our queen-influencer!
Maintenance tips
If you have fallen in love with a piece of jewelry adorned with an opal, it is advisable to put in place some good practices in order to keep the stone intact as long as possible. Sensitive to humidity, the gem can dehydrate. This results in cracks or a possible loss of iridescence: this characteristic is probably also the reason for the stone's bad reputation. This can be avoided by storing your jewelry in a damp cloth when not in use. In any case, forget about storing your precious stone in cotton because opal does not like dry environments! Moreover, by its porous nature the gem is vulnerable to various perfumes, soaps and cosmetics. It is therefore important to remove your jewelry before using it.
Marquise opal and diamond ring
With these precautions in place, you should keep your stone unharmed. In 1932, 6000 year old opal artifacts were discovered in Kenya. Don't panic, the gem is not as alterable as it seems!
Find all our opal jewelry in the drop-down menu on the right, or below for the mobile version.
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