Have you heard that wearing an opal is bad luck unless you were born in October? That rumor has followed the gemstone for years, but its history tells a different story.
In ancient Rome, opal represented love and hope. The Romans called it opalus, a word associated with a precious stone. Ancient Greeks believed opals could bring prophecy and protection, while Europeans connected the gem with hope, purity, and truth. These were beliefs about opal, but they show how highly people regarded it.
So where did the bad-luck story come from? According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), the particular superstition about wearing opal outside your birth month is linked to Sir Walter Scott’s 19th-century novel Anne of Geierstein. It came from a work of fiction, not from an ancient warning about the gem.
Opal’s shifting colors may help explain why it inspired so many stories. As you turn the stone, flashes of color appear and change. Gemologists call this play-of-color. GIA explains that it happens when light interacts with tiny spheres within the opal.
Want to see that color for yourself? Explore our 14K yellow gold Australian opal doublet ring and Australian opal doublet pendant. A doublet features a thin layer of opal attached to a backing. Visit Diamond Jim’s Pineforest Jewelry Experience in Houston to see how the colors move in person.
October birthday or not, you’re welcome to find an opal you love.
Sources: GIA Opal History and Lore, GIA Opal Gemstone, and GIA Opal Quality Factors.