Opal Lexicon

Matrix Opal: When the Fire Stays in the Rock

Genuine opal material sits finely spread through the host rock. What sets matrix opal apart from boulder opal, what the blackening means and what it is worth.

Which Opal Suits You? Four Decisions to Your Stone

Metal, piece of jewelry, shape and color world: four decisions and you land on a handful of pieces instead of the whole range.

Opal or Moonstone? How to Tell Them Apart

Both shimmer, both feel mysterious, and yet they aren't related. Moonstone shows a single bluish shimmer, opal shows many colors at once. Here's how to tell them apart.

Opal Sources: Where the Finest Opals Come From

The source determines body tone, play of color and price. Which regions count and how to spot the origin on the stone.

Birthstones: The Twelve Months and Their Stones

Garnet in January, emerald in May, opal in October: all twelve months with their stones, and why the lists differ from one another.

Opal as an Engagement Ring: Does It Take Daily Life?

No other stone is like it, but it is softer than a diamond. When an opal works as an engagement ring and when it honestly does not.

Opal Colors: What Each Color Means and Costs

An opal carries no color inside it, it creates it from light. Which colors exist, which are rare and what each one costs.

Opal Doublet and Triplet: Structure and Value

An opal doublet and an opal triplet bring genuine play of color to your skin without you paying the price of a solid opal.

How Are Opals Formed?

How opals form is above all a story of patience: what you hold as a finished stone in your hand formed over spans of time that our...

How to Tell if an Opal Is Real: 5 Reliable Signs

In most cases you can tell a real opal with the naked eye, a bit of light and a few simple checks. You do not need to be a gemmologist.

Opal Meaning and Properties: The Stone of Transformation

Opal's meaning and properties go far beyond a pretty stone: for thousands of years, its living play of color has stood for hope, change, and...

October Birthstone: Opal and Tourmaline

October’s birthstone has a surprise in store: of all months, this one did not have to settle for a single stone.