October Birthstone

Chemical Formula: SiO2

Hardness 5.5-6.5

Color: A number of colors

such as bright yellow, orange,
green, blue, red or purple.
Crystalline Structure:

Streak: White

Because of opal’s amorphous

character, it is classed as a min-
eraloid, unlike crystalline forms
of silica, which are classed as
minerals.

Pop Culture: “There are as many worlds as there are kinds

of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match
the nature of a day, so do I.”
- John Steinbeck