Opal is from the Latin word opalus meaning "stone" or "jewel". Opal is a quartz mineral valued for its iridescence and showing variations in color from white to black and in transparency from transparent to opaque. Numerous types ore known, but usually only the transparent or translucent varietiea are used as gems. Opals contain between 1% and 21% water.
The ancients believed that the storm god, jealous of the beauty of the rainbow god, broke the rainbow and that pieces of the rainbow falling to the earth became a part of the opal.
In spite of a superstition that the opal brings bad luck, it has been used as a gemstone for many centuries. In the Midddle Ages, blonde maidens valued opal necklaces as they believed that they helped their hair to keep its color.
The Native Americans and the Australian Aborigines have used opal to invoke visions and it is known as a "stone of happy dreams and changes".
Opal is one of the birthstones for October (with toumaline) and symbolizes hope.
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