October Birthstone: Opal & Tourmaline — Color, Meaning & Guide

By Tolga Kavut, founder of Glamour Jewelry House · Updated September 2026

The October birthstone is opal — the only gem that refuses to pick a color. Turn one in the light and it flashes green, then blue, then orange and pink, a phenomenon called play-of-color that no other stone produces the same way. Every opal is unique in the strictest sense: the pattern inside yours exists nowhere else on Earth.

October’s second official birthstone is pink tourmaline, added in 1952 — harder, easier to wear, and the practical answer for anyone who wants October’s stone in a daily ring. Here is how the two compare, and how to keep an opal beautiful for decades.

Shop October birthstone jewelrySee all 12 birthstones

October birthstones at a glance

What color is the October birthstone?

All of them — which is the whole point. An opal has a body color (white, black, or transparent “crystal”) and then, floating inside it, the play-of-color: flashes of spectral hues that shift as you move. This happens because opal is built from microscopic silica spheres stacked in a grid, and that grid diffracts light exactly the way a prism does. Black opal from Lightning Ridge in Australia, where the dark body makes the colors blaze, is the most valuable variety in the world.

Because of that, October is the one month where two people can own the “same” birthstone and have nothing visually in common. Pink tourmaline, the alternative, offers the opposite: a consistent, cheerful pink from pale rose to hot watermelon.

What does the October birthstone mean?

Hope and imagination. The Romans considered opal the most precious of gems precisely because it held the colors of all the others — a stone of hope and good luck. Bedouin legend said opals carried lightning; Australian Aboriginal tradition tells of a rainbow touching the earth.

There is also a famous piece of nonsense worth clearing up: the “opals are unlucky” superstition traces largely to a bestselling 1829 Walter Scott novel in which an opal features in a character’s downfall. European opal sales reportedly collapsed for decades on the strength of a novel. Queen Victoria, who loved opals and gave them as wedding gifts, personally set out to reverse it.

How to buy a good opal

Play-of-color is the whole value. Judge brightness first, then how much of the stone shows color, then the range of colors (red is rarest and most valuable), then the pattern. A bright stone with a limited palette beats a dull rainbow.

Know solid vs. doublet vs. triplet. A solid opal is one piece of opal. A doublet glues a thin opal slice to a dark backing; a triplet adds a clear cap on top. Doublets and triplets are much cheaper and legitimate — but they must be disclosed, and they cannot be submerged in water.

Ethiopian opal is a real option. Discovered in commercial quantities this century, it offers extraordinary play-of-color at friendlier prices; it is more porous than Australian opal, so it needs extra care around liquids.

Caring for opal jewelry

Opal contains water, which drives every care rule: keep it away from heat, extreme dryness and sudden temperature changes, all of which can craze the surface. No ultrasonic cleaners, no steam, no chemicals — just a damp soft cloth. At 5.5–6.5 Mohs it is one of the softest birthstones, alongside June’s pearl and December’s turquoise.

Shop October birthstone jewelry

Every piece is made to order in 18K gold — choose opal at checkout for an October birthday, and add a name, initial or date if you’d like it engraved.

Natural Birthstone NecklaceFrom $57 Birthstone RingFrom $57 Teardrop Birthstone NecklaceFrom $58 Family Birthstone NecklaceFrom $59 Personalized Birthstone BraceletFrom $59 Custom Name Necklace with BirthstoneFrom $59

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October birthstone jewelry: where to start

Opal’s softness makes my October recommendation an easy one: this stone belongs at the collarbone. A bezel-set October birthstone necklace protects the edges and shows off the play-of-color as the wearer moves — opals literally look better on a necklace, because movement is what makes them fire.

If you want October on your hand every day, choose pink tourmaline for a birthstone ring; at 7–7.5 Mohs it takes daily wear far better than opal. And in a family birthstone necklace or personalized birthstone bracelet, an October stone is the one everyone asks about.

October birthstone questions

What is October’s birthstone?

Opal is the classic October birthstone; pink tourmaline was added as a second official stone in 1952.

What color is the October birthstone?

Opal has a white, black or transparent body that flashes every color of the spectrum — called play-of-color. Tourmaline runs pink to watermelon.

Why does October have two birthstones?

Pink tourmaline was added in 1952 to give October a harder, more affordable and more consistently colored option than opal.

Is opal bad luck?

No. The superstition largely dates to an 1829 Walter Scott novel; for most of history opal was considered the luckiest of gems, and Queen Victoria popularized it deliberately.

How do you care for opal jewelry?

Keep it away from heat, dryness, chemicals, ultrasonic cleaners and steam. Clean with a damp soft cloth — opal contains water and can craze if it dries out.

Birthstones for every month

Each month has its own guide to its stone, color and meaning — or start with the complete birthstones by month chart.

• January birthstoneGarnet · Deep red
• February birthstoneAmethyst · Violet purple
• March birthstoneAquamarine · Sea blue
• April birthstoneDiamond · Colorless
• May birthstoneEmerald · Vivid green
• June birthstonePearl · Cream white
• July birthstoneRuby · Rich red
• August birthstonePeridot · Olive green
• September birthstoneSapphire · Royal blue
• October birthstoneOpal · Play-of-color
• November birthstoneTopaz · Golden yellow
• December birthstoneTurquoise · Robin’s-egg blue

You might also like

• June birthstone — pearl and moonstone, October’s fellow soft, luminous stones
• November birthstone — topaz and citrine, October’s warm-toned neighbors
• December birthstone — turquoise, another cabochon-cut classic