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October is one of the most generous months for birthstones. While most months get one, October gets two: opal and tourmaline. Both are remarkable in completely different ways. Opal shifts through every colour depending on how the light hits it. Tourmaline comes in more colour variations than any other mineral on earth.
If you were born in October, or you are buying for someone who was, this guide covers everything: what the October birthstone colour is for each stone, what they mean, where they come from, and how to choose between them for jewellery.
Browse the gold pendants and necklaces at Manna Jewellers in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter for ready-made gemstone pieces, or speak to our team about a bespoke birthstone commission designed around your chosen October stone.
The October birthstone in the UK is opal, with tourmaline recognised as an alternative since 1952.
The October birthstone colour varies by stone: opal shows a shifting rainbow display, tourmaline comes in virtually every colour.
Opal is associated with creativity, hope, and emotional expression. Tourmaline is linked to compassion, clarity of thought and positive energy.
Opal scores 5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale and requires careful handling for daily wear. Tourmaline scores 7 to 7.5 and is more practical for rings.
Australia produces approximately 95% of the world's opal supply.
Tourmaline is nicknamed the rainbow gemstone and is the most colour-diverse mineral known.
Both stones are traditional gifts for October birthdays, and opal is also given for 14th wedding anniversaries.
The October birthstone in the UK is opal. The National Association of Goldsmiths included opal in its standardised UK birthstone list in 1937, and it has been October's primary stone in Britain ever since.
The Jewellery Industry Council of America added tourmaline as an alternative October birthstone in 1952, after recognising that opal's relative softness made it less practical for everyday rings. This addition gave October-born buyers a more durable option without losing the rich colour that defines both stones.
Both are now widely recognised internationally and in the UK as October birthstones, though opal remains the more traditional and historically significant of the two.
The October birthstone colour in opal is not one colour but all of them. Opal displays a phenomenon known as play-of-colour: a shifting, iridescent display of spectral colours that moves and changes as the stone or the light source moves. Blue, green, orange, red and violet can all appear across the surface of a single stone.
This play of colour comes from the opal's internal structure. Tiny spheres of silica arranged in a regular grid diffract light, splitting it into its component wavelengths. The sphere size determines which colours appear. Larger spheres produce red and orange. Smaller spheres produce blue and violet.
Opals are described by their base colour (the background tone) and their play-of-colour. The main varieties are:
White opal: Pale white or cream background with multicolour play-of-colour, the most widely available and widely worn type.
Black opal: Dark grey or black background that makes the play-of-colour appear more vivid and contrasted. Found primarily in Lightning Ridge, Australia, and the most prized opal type.
Fire opal: Warm orange, yellow or red background, sometimes with play-of-colour, sometimes without. Found primarily in Mexico.
Crystal opal: Transparent or semi-transparent, with play-of-colour visible through the stone.
Boulder opal: Found within ironstone host rock, with the natural rock matrix forming part of the finished stone.
Tourmaline is the most colour-diverse mineral in the gemstone world. It occurs naturally in red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, brown, black and colourless. It can also be multicoloured within a single crystal, with different zones showing different colours in one stone.
The most widely known variety for October birthstone purposes is pink tourmaline, sometimes called rubellite in its deeper red-pink form. Other notable varieties include:
Indicolite: Blue tourmaline, associated with calm and clear communication
Paraiba: Vivid neon blue-green tourmaline from Brazil, among the rarest and most valuable gemstones in the world
Verdelite: Green tourmaline, associated with healing and growth
Chrome tourmaline: Intensely vivid green, coloured by chromium
Schorl: Black tourmaline, associated with protection and grounding
Watermelon tourmaline: A single crystal with a pink centre and green outer zone, resembling the fruit in cross-section
Opal has carried symbolic weight across many cultures for thousands of years. The opal's name is derived from the Sanskrit word for "precious stone," upala, and the Greek word opallios, meaning "to see a colour change."
The Romans considered opal the most powerful and precious of all gemstones because it appeared to contain the colours of every other stone. Ancient Roman writers described it as a stone that carried the beauty of emerald, ruby, amethyst and every other gem within it.
In modern birthstone tradition, opal is associated with creativity, inspiration and emotional expressiveness. It is considered a stone of hope that encourages imagination and artistic thinking. It is also linked to faithfulness and loyalty in relationships.
An old, largely unfounded superstition claims that opal is unlucky for those not born in October. This belief has no ancient roots. It appears to trace back to a 19th-century novel and was likely spread further by diamond merchants who found opal competition inconvenient. The stone has no negative associations in any historical culture.
One ancient Egyptian legend claimed that tourmaline made its journey up from the earth's centre along a rainbow, which is why it appears in so many colours. This story gave rise to its description as the rainbow gemstone.
In modern stone tradition, tourmaline is associated with compassion, understanding and the ability to see situations from multiple perspectives. Its extraordinary colour range has made it a stone associated with creativity, individual expression and emotional balance.
Each tourmaline colour carries its own specific associations. Pink and red tourmalines are linked to love, passion and vitality. Blue tourmaline is linked to calm, clear thinking and communication. Green tourmaline is linked to growth, healing and positive energy. Black tourmaline is linked to protection and grounding.
Expert tip: The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) provides free consumer guides on bothopal andtourmaline covering what to look for when buying, including how play-of-colour is assessed in opal and what the colour grading factors are for tourmaline. Reading these before purchasing helps you evaluate stones and ask the right questions.
Australia is the world's dominant opal source, producing about 95% of the global supply. The main producing regions are Coober Pedy in South Australia (white opal), Lightning Ridge in New South Wales (black opal) and Quilpie in Queensland (boulder opal).
Other notable sources include Ethiopia, which has become a significant producer of high-quality crystal opals since deposits were discovered there in the 1990s. Mexico is the primary source of fire opal. Smaller deposits exist in Brazil, Honduras and the United States.
Tourmaline is found across multiple continents, with significant deposits in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, East Africa, Madagascar and the United States. The most exceptional specimens, including the rare and intensely coloured Paraiba tourmaline, come from a small region in northeast Brazil and, later, Mozambique.
The right choice depends entirely on the wearer's lifestyle, preferred colours and how the piece will be worn.
|
Opal |
Tourmaline |
|
|
Colour |
Shifting rainbow play-of-colour |
Every colour, including pink, blue, green and multicoloured |
|
Mohs hardness |
5.5 to 6.5 |
7 to 7.5 |
|
Durability for daily wear |
Requires care, best in protective settings |
Good, suitable for everyday rings |
|
Sensitivity |
Heat, dryness and impact can damage |
Generally stable; avoid rapid temperature changes |
|
Price range |
Wide, from affordable to very expensive for fine black opal |
Wide; Paraiba is extremely expensive, other varieties accessible |
|
Best suited to |
Pendants, earrings, occasional-wear rings |
All jewellery types including daily-wear rings |
|
Symbolism |
Creativity, hope, faithfulness |
Compassion, clarity, emotional balance |
|
Setting recommendation |
Bezel or protective claw |
Any setting type |
The person loves colour, appreciates uniqueness and is comfortable with slightly more careful handling. Opals work beautifully in pendants and earrings where they are less exposed to knocks. A white gold or yellow gold bezel-set opal pendant is one of the most striking birthstone pieces available.
The person wants a stone for daily wear in a ring, or prefers a specific colour over the rainbow play-of-colour that defines opal. Pink tourmaline, in particular, suits those who love rose tones, and its durability makes it practical for all jewellery types, including engagement-style rings.
Opal contains water within its structure, typically between 3% and 21%. This is what makes it visually spectacular but also requires particular care. Prolonged exposure to very dry environments or extreme heat can cause opal to crack or craze (develop fine surface fractures). Keep opal jewellery out of direct sunlight for extended periods, and store it in a slightly humid environment if you live somewhere particularly dry.
Clean opal only with a barely damp soft cloth. Never use ultrasonic cleaners, steam or chemical cleaning solutions on opal. Remove opal rings before any physical activity that could cause impact.
Tourmaline is significantly more robust than opal. Clean with warm water, a drop of mild washing-up liquid and a soft brush, rinse thoroughly and dry with a lint-free cloth. Avoid rapid temperature changes and keep away from harsh chemicals. Most tourmalines are safe for occasional ultrasonic cleaning, though jewellers should assess treated stones first.
For professional cleaning or setting inspection on either stone, our jewellery repair service at Manna Jewellers in Birmingham handles both routine care and more complex restoration work.
October has two birthstones: opal and tourmaline. Opal is the primary and most historically significant October birthstone, recognised in the UK since the National Association of Goldsmiths formalised the UK birthstone list in 1937. Tourmaline was added as an alternative October birthstone in 1952 to offer a more durable option for everyday jewellery. Both are recognised internationally and in the UK.
The October birthstone colour depends on which stone you mean. Opal displays a shifting, iridescent play-of-colour that can include every colour of the spectrum across a single stone. Tourmaline comes in virtually every colour, with pink tourmaline being the most commonly associated with October. The October birthstone colour is therefore not one fixed colour but a spectrum, which is part of what makes both stones distinctive.
Opal is associated with creativity, hope, inspiration and faithfulness. Tourmaline is linked to compassion, positive energy, clear thinking and emotional balance. Historically, ancient Romans considered opal the most powerful gemstone because it appeared to contain the colours of every other stone. Tourmaline's rainbow origin myth in Egyptian tradition connects it to joy, diversity and creative expression.
Opal requires more care than most other gemstones for daily wear. Scoring 5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, it is more vulnerable to scratching, chipping and impact than harder stones such as sapphire or tourmaline. For a ring worn daily, a bezel setting that protects the stone's edges is strongly recommended. Opal pendants and earrings are a more practical choice for daily wear than rings, as they face less direct impact.
The key differences are colour display, durability and how they suit different jewellery types. Opal shows a unique shifting play-of-colour that no other gemstone replicates. Tourmaline offers a consistent, saturated colour in a wide range of hues and is significantly harder and more practical for daily ring wear. Opal is the more historically traditional October birthstone. Tourmaline was added later to provide a durable alternative. The choice comes down to personal style and how you'll wear the piece.
Manna Jewellers is a family jewellery business based in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter, trading since 1977. We stock gemstone jewellery including coloured stone pendants, rings and earrings, and our on-site workshop can create a bespoke October birthstone piece in opal or tourmaline to your exact brief. Our team hand-finishes every piece before it leaves the building. For October birthstone jewellery as a gift or for yourself, visit us in store or book an appointment to speak with our team.
Complete UK gemstone chart and birthstones guide- all twelve months covered with meaning, colour and gifting advice, with October's opal and tourmaline in full context
A guide to precious and semi-precious gemstones- understanding where opal and tourmaline sit in the broader gemstone classification, and how their value and rarity are assessed
June birthstone in the UK: pearl, moonstone and alexandrite explained- another multi-birthstone month guide, following the same format as this one for easy cross-reference
