Tourmaline and opal are two of October’s birthstones and favourites amongst the jewellery design industry. Each have very unique properties and characteristics. Let’s start with tourmaline. Pink tourmaline balances the feminine and masculine aspects within a woman. Tourmaline comes in every colour in the rainbow and its name comes from the Sinhalese word ‘turmali’ meaning mixed.
Did you know that this gemstone is said to encourage artistic intuition? Pink to red tourmaline is known as ‘rubellite’ and the colour is probably from manganese – an important component of special steels and magnetic alloys. The multi colour variety is known as watermelon tourmaline and features pink, green and white colour bands.
Opal is a fragile hydrated silica material, a soft stone easily altered in appearance by changes in heat and pressure. This mineral contains varying amounts of water within that determine this gemstone’s appearance. Did you know that when water evaporates out of an opal, the stone appears slightly smaller and the stress of the evaporation creates cracks on it?
Opals are formed in near-surface volcanic rocks within cavities and cracks. In sedimentary volcanic ash rock, percolating water in the ground dissolves silica that eventually form the opal, often becoming the replacement material for fossils. The impurities in the stone give opals their characteristic colours. The principal source of opal is in Australia and fire opals were first are mined in Mexico.
During the Medieval period, colour changes in opal was believed to show whether a wearer was ill or in good health.
This month at Williams Jewellers we’re offering a wide selection of opal and tourmaline jewellery. Drop by and take a look around at what we have to offer!
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