What Is the October Birthstone? Opal & Tourmaline Guide
October has two recognised birthstones: opal and tourmaline. Opal is the traditional October birthstone, famous for flashes of shifting rainbow colour, while tourmaline is the newer alternative and occurs in an exceptionally wide range of colours. The Gemological Institute of America recognises both stones for October.
For most of this guide we will concentrate on opal because it is the October birthstone represented in our current jewellery range. You can browse our opal jewellery collection online, or visit West Country Goldsmiths in Plymouth to compare different pieces in person. Our online range represents only part of what we can access, so a jewellery consultation is also useful if you are looking for a particular style, size or type of opal.
Opal is centuries old as a jewellery stone, but it does not have to look old-fashioned. Its shifting colours work particularly well in contemporary earrings, pendants and carefully protected rings. UK gemmological body Gem-A has also noted a resurgence in opal's popularity.
Opal stud earrings are a straightforward October birthday gift and keep the gemstone away from many of the knocks a ring can receive.
A smaller round opal stud is another practical way to wear the October birthstone while keeping the focus on the stone's changing colour.
Opal: The Traditional October Birthstone
Opal is usually the first stone people associate with an October birthday. Unlike a gemstone defined by one signature colour, precious opal can show flashes of several colours as the stone, light or viewer moves. This optical effect is known as play-of-colour.
In the UK, the National Association of Jewellers lists opal as October's traditional gemstone and pink tourmaline as an alternative. That makes opal a particularly natural choice for an October birthday present without excluding tourmaline as an equally meaningful modern option.
What Is Opal? Properties, Colour and Strength
Opal is a hydrated form of silica rather than a conventional crystalline gemstone such as sapphire or diamond. According to GIA's opal information, ordered arrays of tiny silica spheres can diffract light and produce the shifting flashes seen in precious opal.
Colour: Opal can have white, pale, dark or strongly coloured body tones, often combined with flashes of blue, green, orange, red and other hues.
Play-of-colour: The pattern, brightness and spread of coloured flashes can vary enormously from one stone to another.
Lustre: Polished opal can have a smooth, glassy to waxy appearance depending on the variety and finish.
Hardness: Opal is approximately 5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, making it noticeably softer than tourmaline, sapphire or diamond.
Structure: Opal contains water within its silica structure, which is one reason excessive heat and sudden temperature changes require care.
That relative softness affects how we recommend wearing opal. Earrings and pendants are excellent choices because they are less exposed to impacts. Opal can also be used in rings, but the setting and the wearer's lifestyle matter much more than they would with a harder stone such as sapphire.
Why Is Opal the Birthstone for October?
Birthstone traditions have changed over time rather than coming from one single modern list. Opal became firmly established as October's traditional stone, while tourmaline was adopted as a newer alternative. This is why searching for October's 'real' or 'true' birthstone can produce two answers: both are recognised, but they come from different stages of the birthstone tradition.
Historical beliefs around opal have also helped give the stone its symbolic character. It has been associated in different traditions with hope, purity and truth. These should be understood as cultural and historical associations rather than medical or healing properties.
Where Is Opal Found Naturally?
Australia is particularly famous for opal, including black opal from Lightning Ridge and boulder opal from Queensland. Important material also comes from Ethiopia, Mexico and Brazil, with other deposits recorded elsewhere. GIA's October birthstone guide provides a useful overview of the major producing regions.
Despite Plymouth's long maritime and trading history, opal is not a gemstone we would describe as native to Plymouth Sound or the surrounding Dartmoor granite. The opal used in jewellery therefore comes from geological environments very different from those immediately around Plymouth.
How to Choose a Quality Opal Gemstone
Opal cannot be judged in quite the same way as a transparent faceted gemstone. Instead of concentrating primarily on clarity and brilliance, pay close attention to the character of the colour and how it changes as you move the stone.
Look at the play-of-colour: Consider how bright the flashes are, which colours appear and whether the pattern is concentrated in one area or distributed across the stone.
Check the body colour: White, pale, dark and fiery body colours create very different looks. There is no single correct choice for an October gift.
View the stone from several angles: Opal can look quite different as it moves, so judging it from one still photograph tells only part of the story.
Inspect the surface and structure: Chips, significant cracks or crazing are reasons to investigate further before buying.
Consider the setting: Earrings and pendants naturally protect opal more than exposed rings. A ring intended for regular wear benefits from a design that reduces the risk of direct knocks.
Compare metal colours: Yellow gold gives pale opal a warmer frame, while white gold can create a cooler, cleaner contrast. The best combination is the one that complements the particular stone.
Because each opal has its own colour pattern, seeing several stones in person can be more useful than choosing from specifications alone. At our Plymouth premises, customers can compare overall colour, play-of-colour, size, setting style and metal tone before deciding what suits the wearer.
Book a jewellery consultation if you would like to compare opal options in person or discuss a particular October birthday gift.
Which Jewellery Is Opal Best Suited To?
Opal's suitability depends partly on how exposed the gemstone will be. Its colour makes it extremely versatile aesthetically, but its moderate hardness means practical wear should be considered alongside appearance.
Earrings: One of the easiest ways to wear opal regularly because the stones receive relatively little impact.
Pendants: Another good choice for displaying play-of-colour while protecting the stone from much of the wear experienced by a ring.
Rings: Beautiful, but better suited to thoughtful wear. Protective settings can reduce exposure to knocks and abrasion.
Occasional-wear jewellery: Larger or more delicate opals can work particularly well when the piece is not intended for strenuous daily use.
You can see current styles in our opal jewellery collection. If the right piece is not shown online, we can discuss other opal jewellery available to us or a bespoke design.
How to Care for Opal Jewellery
Opal deserves gentler treatment than many everyday jewellery stones. GIA recommends warm, soapy water as the safest general cleaning approach and warns that high heat or sudden temperature changes can fracture opal.
Use lukewarm water, mild soap and a soft cloth or very soft brush for straightforward home cleaning.
Avoid exposing opal to sudden temperature changes or high heat.
Do not use an ultrasonic or steam cleaner.
Store opal away from harder jewellery such as diamonds and sapphires, which can scratch it.
Take extra care with opal doublets and triplets, where prolonged soaking can affect the layers or adhesive.
Remove opal rings before heavy manual work, gardening, sport or other activities where they may be knocked.
If you are unsure whether an opal is solid, assembled or treated, professional inspection is preferable to experimenting with aggressive cleaning methods at home.
Using Old Gold Towards New Opal Jewellery
An October birthday or other jewellery purchase can also be an opportunity to review old or unwanted precious-metal jewellery. If you have pieces you no longer wear, our guide to selling gold in Plymouth explains the options in more detail. The value of unwanted gold may be useful when budgeting for a new piece.
If budget is part of your planning, our guide to selling gold in Plymouth explains how old, broken or unwanted gold may help fund a new jewellery purchase.
Book a scrap gold consultation if you would like unwanted gold assessed separately from your jewellery purchase.
Tourmaline: October's Other Birthstone
Tourmaline is October's newer birthstone and is quite different from opal. GIA describes tourmaline as occurring across an unusually broad colour range, including pink, red, green, blue and multicoloured varieties.
Pink tourmaline is especially strongly associated with October, but it is not the only colour available. Watermelon tourmaline can display pink and green colour zoning in a single crystal, rubellite covers rich pink-to-red material, and other tourmalines can range through greens, blues and darker tones.
What Is Tourmaline? Properties, Colour and Strength
Colour: Tourmaline occurs in a remarkably wide range of colours, and individual crystals can contain more than one colour zone.
Hardness: Around 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale, making it harder than opal and generally more practical for frequently worn jewellery.
Appearance: Depending on variety, tourmaline can range from delicate pastel shades to highly saturated pink, red, green or blue.
Durability: Its greater hardness gives it an advantage over opal for rings, although inclusions and the individual cut still need to be considered.
Care: Warm, soapy water and gentle cleaning are appropriate general choices; high heat should still be avoided.
This difference in durability is one of the most important distinctions between October's two stones. Someone who wants a gemstone ring for frequent wear may find tourmaline easier to live with, while someone drawn to opal's unique play-of-colour may prefer a pendant, earrings or a more protective ring design.
The Dartmoor Connection to Tourmaline
There is a genuine geological link between tourmaline and the area inland from Plymouth. The British Geological Survey's description of the Dartmoor Intrusion records tourmaline as a constituent of parts of Dartmoor granite, including black tourmaline.
That local tourmaline is part of the granite geology rather than a source of the brightly coloured gem-quality stones normally selected for fine jewellery. Dartmoor also has an important granite-quarrying history: Dartmoor National Park records that granite from western quarries including Foggintor was transported via the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway.
So although an October tourmaline ring is not being cut from a piece of Dartmoor building granite, there is an interesting geological connection close to Plymouth.
Bespoke Tourmaline Jewellery in Plymouth
We do not currently stock tourmaline jewellery as part of our online range. Instead, customers looking for tourmaline can discuss a bespoke piece with us. We can source suitable tourmaline specifically for the design and create rings, earrings or pendants around the chosen stone.
A bespoke consultation is particularly useful with tourmaline because colour choice is so personal. Pink, deep red, green and multicoloured stones can produce completely different results, and the gemstone can then be considered alongside yellow gold, white gold or platinum.
Bespoke pieces are made on site at West Country Goldsmiths, with specialist stages such as stone-setting or hallmarking completed off site where required.
Book a jewellery consultation to discuss a bespoke tourmaline ring, earrings or pendant and the type of stone you would like us to source.
Opal or Tourmaline: Which October Birthstone Should You Choose?
There is no need to treat one as the only correct October stone. Choose according to the wearer and the type of jewellery. Opal offers distinctive play-of-colour and a long traditional association with October, while tourmaline offers a much wider choice of individual colours and greater hardness.
Choose opal if the wearer loves iridescent, changing colour and wants the traditional October birthstone.
Choose tourmaline if a particular pink, green, red or multicoloured gemstone is more appealing.
For earrings and pendants, either gemstone can work beautifully.
For a frequently worn ring, tourmaline's greater hardness can be useful, while opal benefits from more considered wear and setting protection.
For a highly personal colour or design, bespoke tourmaline can offer more flexibility than choosing from a ready-made collection.
Frequently Asked Questions About the October Birthstone
What is October's real or true birthstone?
October has two recognised birthstones. Opal is the traditional October birthstone, while tourmaline is the newer alternative. Neither answer is wrong when discussing modern birthstone jewellery.
Why does October have two birthstones?
Birthstone lists have evolved over time. Opal has the older traditional association with October, while tourmaline was adopted later as an additional choice. This gives October-born wearers two very different gemstones to choose from.
What is October's birthstone in the UK?
In the UK, opal is widely recognised as October's traditional birthstone, with pink tourmaline also recognised as an alternative. The National Association of Jewellers lists both for October.
What are the 12 modern birthstones?
A common modern list is garnet for January, amethyst for February, aquamarine for March, diamond for April, emerald for May, pearl for June, ruby for July, peridot for August, sapphire for September, opal for October, topaz for November, and tanzanite for December.
What colour is the October birthstone?
There is no single October birthstone colour. Opal can show a pale, dark or coloured body with flashes across several rainbow hues, while tourmaline occurs in many colours. Pink tourmaline is particularly associated with October.
What colour is October Libra's birthstone?
Libra overlaps with much of October, and both opal and tourmaline are commonly associated with the month. Opal is multicoloured rather than having one fixed shade, while pink is one of the best-known October tourmaline colours.
Is opal or tourmaline better for everyday jewellery?
Tourmaline is harder at around 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale, compared with roughly 5 to 6.5 for opal, so it is generally more resistant to scratching. Opal can still be worn successfully, particularly in earrings and pendants or in thoughtfully protected ring settings.
Who should not wear opal?
There is no factual rule saying particular people should not wear opal. Superstitions around opal have varied over time, but they are folklore rather than a practical jewellery restriction. The more relevant question is whether the wearer can give a comparatively soft gemstone appropriate care.
Is opal or tourmaline more valuable?
Neither gemstone is automatically more valuable. Prices vary enormously according to the particular variety, colour, size, quality, rarity and treatment. Fine black opal and exceptional Paraíba-type tourmaline, for example, occupy very different specialist markets from more widely available examples of either stone.
Is my October birthstone opal or tourmaline?
Either can represent an October birthday. Choose opal for the traditional association and unique play-of-colour, or tourmaline if its greater colour range or durability suits the wearer better.
What colour tourmaline is the October birthstone?
Pink tourmaline is especially associated with October, but tourmaline itself occurs in many colours including red, green, blue and multicoloured varieties. An October birthstone does not have to be limited to one tourmaline colour.
Is opal suitable for an October birthday gift?
Yes. Opal has a direct traditional connection with October and every stone can have a distinctive pattern of colour. Earrings and pendants are particularly practical gift choices because they place the opal at lower risk of knocks than an exposed everyday ring.
If you would like to compare October birthstone jewellery in person, book a jewellery consultation to discuss opal options or a bespoke tourmaline design.
Are you looking for our other posts about the 12 monthly birthstones?
What is the January Birthstone? A Complete Guide to Garnet
What is the February Birthstone? A Complete Guide to Amethyst
What Is the March Birthstone? A Complete Guide to Aquamarine
What Is the June Birthstone? Pearl, Moonstone and Alexandrite
What is the September Birthstone? A Complete Guide to Sapphire
What is the November Birthstone? A Complete Guide to Topaz
What is the December Birthstone? A Complete Guide to Turquoise
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