Chocolate Moonstone Coated 9mm Faceted Heart (Calibrated)

Fire on a coffee-colored ground.

On the strand the color runs from milk chocolate to tan to a red-brown that reads almost like cinnamon in daylight. Then a bead turns. Green comes up through the brown, or orange, or a quick line of blue along one facet. The body color is dark enough that the flash looks lit from inside rather than laid on top. Faceted, the fire arrives in small bright pieces. People reach for these when white opal feels too cool for the rest of their work.

In ancient Rome opal stood for love and hope, and the Roman name opalus was used as a word for precious stone in general. In 75 AD Pliny wrote that some opals held a play equal to the deepest and richest colors of painters, while others seemed to carry the flaming fire of burning sulphur or the blaze of burning oil. He marveled that one gem could hold the red of ruby along with so much else. Later writers compared opals to volcanoes and to fireworks. Great stones were given poetic names: Pandora, Light of the World, Empress. By long custom opal is the October birthstone, and that custom follows the brown bodies as much as the white.

Beliefs about stones are tradition, not advice. Read the full story.