Happy Opal Birthday: The October Amulet Birthstone

October 10, 2022

By Katerina Perez

14 min read

After a long ‘vacation’, the noble opal – the birthstone for the month of October – once again finds itself at the height of fashion. Indeed, high jewellery collections of recent years have been saturated with these unique stones. It’s safe to say the incredible play of colour demonstrated by precious opals is mesmerising designers and jewellery aficionados alike! Here are some of our favourite opal jewellery creations from world-leading designers and high jewellery collections of note.

Gemmologists can distinguish more than 140 varieties of opal, depending on colour, composition and place of origin. Broadly speaking, they can be divided into two large groups: noble stones, with a characteristic iridescence, and ordinary ones, without such iridescence.

Basak Baykal Forget Me Not opal, sapphire, garnet, aquamarine, enamel and diamond earrings

Basak Baykal Forget Me Not opal, sapphire, garnet, aquamarine, enamel and diamond earrings

But regardless of how you divvy up the stones, you would be hard-pressed to find two the same. Each individual opal possesses a unique composition. The brighter and more interesting the opal, the more actively it determines the specific architecture of a piece of jewellery, in some cases dictating its shape and design. Yet, paradoxically, the more unusual an opal, the harder it can be to create a worthy piece of surrounding jewellery! This is precisely the reason why I treat a certain breed of designs – those that are neither excessively simple nor excessively gaudy – with such special reverence.

Alex Sepkus pendant in yellow gold with black opal and diamonds

Alex Sepkus pendant in yellow gold with black opal and diamonds

 Alex Sepkus black opal ring

Alex Sepkus black opal ring

 Alex Sepkus earrings in yellow gold with blue opal

Alex Sepkus earrings in yellow gold with blue opal

 Alex Sepkus ring in yellow gold with an oval-shaped black opal

Alex Sepkus ring in yellow gold with an oval-shaped black opal

 Alex Sepkus earrings in yellow gold with slices of boulder opal in matrix

Alex Sepkus earrings in yellow gold with slices of boulder opal in matrix

 Alex Sepkus ring in yellow gold with an oval-shaped black opal

Alex Sepkus ring in yellow gold with an oval-shaped black opal

 Alex Sepkus earrings in yellow gold with carved boulder opal in matrix

Alex Sepkus earrings in yellow gold with carved boulder opal in matrix

 Alex Sepkus earrings in yellow gold with boulder opal and diamonds

Alex Sepkus earrings in yellow gold with boulder opal and diamonds

 Alex Sepkus ring set with a piece of boulder opal

Alex Sepkus ring set with a piece of boulder opal

 Alex Sepkus pendant with a slice of boulder opal infused with copper

Alex Sepkus pendant with a slice of boulder opal infused with copper

The play of light is the opal’s most valuable quality. It is for precisely this reason that a stone is often cut into a rounded cabochon, ensuring the entire surface of the stone is even and smooth. Through this kind of processing, the stone can fully reveal its potential and display the true wonder of its possible colour spectrum. In some cases, opals retain an organic and fluid shape that can look especially striking in high jewels. It is the art of the designer to encapsulate these natural forms into a piece that presents a precious opal’s colour to its best advantage.

Opal Minded

Opal Minded

Opals can be seen in works by Dior, Boucheron, Feng J, Chopard, Louis Vuitton, Boghossian and other world-famous brands. These houses have placed colourful cabochons next to sapphires, rubies, and emeralds and in some cases, even offered them a position of priority over these more traditional stones! Take, for example, the star of Louis Vuitton’s Bravery collection (which I should note is dedicated to Louis Vuitton’s birthday) – the La Constellation D’Hercule or “The Constellation of Hercules” necklace – composed of 12 opals, 11 tanzanites and 9 tsavorites, studded with diamonds.

Louis Vuitton La Constellation d’Hercule necklace featuring  50.20-ct of opals, tanzanite, tsavorite and 15 LV Monogram-cut diamonds from the Bravery by Louis Vuitton Collection

Louis Vuitton La Constellation d’Hercule necklace featuring 50.20-ct of opals, tanzanite, tsavorite and 15 LV Monogram-cut diamonds from the Bravery by Louis Vuitton Collection

 A model wears Louis Vuitton La Constellation d’Hercule necklace featuring  50.20-ct of opals, tanzanite, tsavorite and 15 LV Monogram-cut diamonds from the Bravery by Louis Vuitton Collection

A model wears Louis Vuitton La Constellation d’Hercule necklace featuring 50.20-ct of opals, tanzanite, tsavorite and 15 LV Monogram-cut diamonds from the Bravery by Louis Vuitton Collection

 La Constellation d’Hercule ring from the Bravery by Louis Vuitton Collection

La Constellation d’Hercule ring from the Bravery by Louis Vuitton Collection

More recently, David Morris unveiled the Ribbon necklace at the heart of its Modern Classics High Jewellery collection. The pear-shaped black opal centre stone is from Australia and weighs 41 carats. It’s surrounded by white diamonds, pink and blue spinels, garnets, Paraiba tourmalines and further black opals of around 30 carats. Elsewhere, the Chaumet Ondes et Merveilles High Jewellery collection boasts the Gulf Stream necklace set with a 19.84-carat black Australian opal. Emeralds, sapphires, diamonds and Paraiba tourmalines are its precious co-stars.

David Morris Ribbon necklace with 77.57ct Australian black opal,  pear shape diamond, spinel and garnet

David Morris Ribbon necklace with 77.57ct Australian black opal, pear shape diamond, spinel and garnet

 Chaumet Gulf Streat High Jewellery necklace featuring a 19.84-ct Australian black opal, sapphire and diamond from the Ondes et Merveilles High Jewellery collection

Chaumet Gulf Streat High Jewellery necklace featuring a 19.84-ct Australian black opal, sapphire and diamond from the Ondes et Merveilles High Jewellery collection

And if you’re a fan of fire opal, I recommend a closer look at the Tasaki Atelier Ore necklace from the Radiant Sky High Jewellery collection. It’s set with a rainbow of coloured gems, but all appear to draw the eye to an oval-shaped fire opal cabochon that’s remarkably vibrant.

Tasaki Atelier Ore necklace featuring a fire opal, tanzanite, tourmaline and sapphire from the Radiant Sky High Jewellery collection

Tasaki Atelier Ore necklace featuring a fire opal, tanzanite, tourmaline and sapphire from the Radiant Sky High Jewellery collection

Below, I have drawn together an array of opal jewellery that showcases the natural beauty of the October birthstone. I invite you to create a dream shopping list for your own private collection…

Anne Sisteron

Anne Sisteron

Elektra earrings in opal and tsavorite

Kimberly McDonald

Kimberly McDonald

Stained-Glass Crystal opal and diamond earrings

Lily Gabriella

Lily Gabriella

Evil Eye pink opal and pink sapphire Ring

Nadine Aysoy

Nadine Aysoy

Tsarina Sun Flake & Opal earrings in Tsarina beryl, fire opal and brown and white diamonds

Nak Armstrong

Nak Armstrong

Opal and rose gold earrings

Nakard

Nakard

Caterpillar Chartreuse Enameled Bypass hoops in Ethiopian opal, sterling silver, chartreuse enamel and black rhodium finish

Niza Huang

Niza Huang

Opal ring

Retrouvai

Retrouvai

Lollipop opal and aquamarine ring

Rush

Rush

Madison Opal & Fossilized Mastodon Tusk ring featuring an Ethiopian opal

Samantha Tea

Samantha Tea

Astrid Pink ring featuring a pink opal

Chaumet

Chaumet

Bague Planetes opal and diamond ring

Sig Ward

Sig Ward

Manifest necklace in opal, pink opal, sapphire, emerald and diamond from the Manifest collection

Piaget

Piaget

Extravagant Touch Watch with opal dial and feathers created in collaboration with Nelly Saunier

Toktam

Toktam

Majestic Qajar pink opal, turquoise and diamond ring

Akaila Reid

Akaila Reid

Pavé Mini Hoops in opal and diamond

Alina Abegg

Alina Abegg

Alien ring in pink opal and peridot

Annoushka

Annoushka

Ethiopian Opal Nectar Chain in opal and diamond

Arman Sarkisyan

Arman Sarkisyan

Bow earrings in opal, diamond and yellow gold

Pasquale Bruni

Pasquale Bruni

Opal and diamond High Jewellery ring

Ashley Zhang

Ashley Zhang

Enamel Moon Love Token pendant in opal, enamel and diamond

Brent Neale

Brent Neale

Large Magic Mushroom pendant with carved Peruvian opal and cabochon opals from the Down the Rabbit Hole collection

Chopard

Chopard

High Jewellery necklace featuring a 29.84-ct cabochon opal, topaz, emerald beads, amethyst, ruby, rubellite, tourmaline (3.90ct) and blue sapphires from The Red Carpet collection

Dale Novick

Dale Novick

Opal and coloured sapphire ring

Dior

Dior

GEM DIOR ring in pink opal, tiger's eye and carnelian

Eden Presley

Eden Presley

Pink opal, carved ruby and diamond earrings from the Rock collection

Emily P. Wheeler

Emily P. Wheeler

One of a kind Odette II Studs in australian opal and pink sapphire

Gemella

Gemella

BomBae pink opal and diamond ring

Harwell Godfrey

Harwell Godfrey

Major Moon in white opal, pink sapphire pendant

K&Co

K&Co

Aurelia Aurita Sautoir necklace featuring an incredibly rare opalised clam shell, multi-coloured sapphires, tsavorites and spessartite garnets

Karma El Khalil

Karma El Khalil

Paraiba Opal Pendant necklace from the Rock Hall III collection

ANANYA

ANANYA

Chakra bracelet in pink opal and diamond from the Chakra collection

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