Opal Earrings from The Diamond Store.co.uk

At The Diamond Store.co.uk, we have three fabulous examples of opal earrings. With their neutral and reflective colouring they make excellent gifts and can be worn with all manner of outfits. They are also very soft and flattering gemstones to wear.

Prices are up to 30 percent below those of high street retailers and each comes presented in The Diamond Store.co.uk´s luxurious packaging complete with free insurance valuation at the recommended retail price and free personalised gift message.

For matching opal jewellery, take a look at The Diamond Store.co.uk´s selection of opal pendants, opal rings and opal and diamond engagement rings.

Interesting Facts About Opal Earrings....

In order to best bring out the colour in an opal, the stones should be cut and polished to round or oval cabochons. Opals always contain between 2-6% water, so if they are stored in too dry a place or exposed to heat, over a long period of time fissures will appear and the play of colour will become paler. Opal jewellery should therefore be worn as often as possible so that the gemstone absorbs humidity from the air and the wearer’s skin.

Opal is the modern birthstone for the month of October and the accepted gem for the 14th wedding anniversary. Opals are also supposed to enhance the positive characteristics for people born under the zodiac sign of Libra. Black Opal is linked to those born under Scorpio, and Boulder Opal is the lucky stone for Aries.

The wordl comes from the Roman "opalus" and from the Greek "opallios" appropriately meaning "to see a change of colour”, because of the unique colour play they offer. Every opal has a life of its own offering changing hues of green, blue, pink, orange and red as you turn it in different directions.

They are found in Mexico, Brazil, USA, Japan, Honduras, Kenya, Czechoslovakia, Peru, Canada and Australia. There are many different types of opal available; the three that are best known are white (where the play of colour is against a light or white background): black (which is the most valuable and found only in Australia) and fire which tends to be a beautiful reddish stone and is found most mostly in Mexico.

Opals are steeped in tradition with the Ancient Greeks believing that they gave the wearer powers of foresight and prophecy, while the Romans regarded them as tokens of hope and purity. Napoleon gave an opal to Josephine, Queen Victoria often gave them as wedding gifts and Scandinavian women wore opals in their hair to stop it from going grey. It is even rumoured that Cleopatra wore an opal, using its changing colours to attract the attention of Mark Anthony.