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Are Opals Really Bad Luck?

A

Anonymous

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I wouldn't say I'm superstitious. Just eccentric ;)

It's not that I believe certain things cause bad luck; I just have certain things I don't like. ...

I'm aware that Opals are bad luck. So are emeralds in certain circumstances.
 
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A jeweller I know tells me that opals are considered unlucky because they are quite fragile and easily chipped or shattered. ...
 
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I think opals are beautiful stones, and if I was lucky enough to have any jewellry given to me bearing opals I think I'd wear it, regardless of superstition - until something bad happened :D
 
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Emeralds are considered unlucky for the same reason as opals, although they are also green, of course. ...
 
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re:- the "bad fortune" concerning opals

was iirc spread around by the diamond mine owners, who saw that opals were becoming more popular than diamonds
 
I always thought it was because they are delicate stones and shrink and expand with the heat.

if the stone is not set by a person experienced with opals and their habits, you may lose it.

I like opals and other colourful stones such as agate and tigereye myself.
 
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Opals, have no problem with those; my mum, who touched her collarbone every time she saw an ambulance, loved opals and wore them a lot. Since I inherited those, it'd be a shame not to wear them. And although emeralds have a bit of a reputation, what does that mean for those of us born in May, who got landed with emeralds as a birthstone?
 
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Homo Aves said:
I like stuff like opals, tigerseye and agates. But most shops dont stock anything but diamonds.

Opals are beautiful. I've only seen rather boring white ones over here. I bought a rather wonderful pendent in NZ with a small chunk of opal set in gold and it glitters with oranges and greens, sometimes blues. Fabulous.
 
Mana said:
Opals are beautiful. I've only seen rather boring white ones over here. I bought a rather wonderful pendent in NZ with a small chunk of opal set in gold and it glitters with oranges and greens, sometimes blues. Fabulous.

You have to keep them at the right humidity don't you? I've heard that the legends about them being unlucky came about because if they dry out they loose their sparkel.
 
Yeah, opals are filled with flaws that contain tiny amounts of water, and it's these flaws that give them their 'fire'. If they dry out, they split, hence the 'unlucky' aspect.
Many opals you see for sale, especially the coloured varieties, are actually clever constructions, known as 'doublets' or 'triplets'. To make a black triplet, you take a piece of black fireless opal (worthless), a thin section of opal with nice fire, and a piece of clear quartz. They are then stuck together and polished to make the completed 'stone', really a laminate.
 
pizzed_off said:
re:- the "bad fortune" concerning opals

*Nods sagely*

I heard that's why they changed the name of Opal Fruits.
 
I’ve been reading up on it and their bad press seems to be a literary misunderstanding due to a part work and rumours from a diamond company that was frightened of the competition.

I find opals beautiful but I am still weary and worry that I will bring bad luck. I got one for my birthday 18 years ago and my Grandma went into hospital that day and died the following day. However she had COPD for a long time and was in a very bad way so her passing was a release for her.

Apparently the Romans used to think they were good luck as they contained all the colours of the rainbow.

Does anyone know of any experiences that have been blamed on these beautiful stones?
 
I’ve been reading up on it and their bad press seems to be a literary misunderstanding due to a part work and rumours from a diamond company that was frightened of the competition.

I find opals beautiful but I am still weary and worry that I will bring bad luck. I got one for my birthday 18 years ago and my Grandma went into hospital that day and died the following day. However she had COPD for a long time and was in a very bad way so her passing was a release for her.

Apparently the Romans used to think they were good luck as they contained all the colours of the rainbow.

Does anyone know of any experiences that have been blamed on these beautiful stones?
Is opal your actual birthstone? I've seen references to folklore online:
"A ring with an opal setting means bad luck only for those who do not have this jewel as a birthstone. An opal is an unlucky stone."
https://www.google.com/books/editio...ad+luck+folklore&pg=PA260&printsec=frontcover
In the American South.
This is interesting:
https://www.opalsdownunder.com.au/learn/are-opals-bad-luck/
But I think the most unlucky thing that could happen with an opal would be to lose one, not loose one.. :)
 
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Check these out!

Honeycomb pattern Welo opal:
59d21ba729e9c.jpg


Another:


Color changing opal:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Natural-Oval-Cabochon-11-70-Ct-Color-Changing-Opal-Gemstone-Certified-Y1804/392987879402?_trkparms=aid=1110006&algo=HOMESPLICE.SIM&ao=1&asc=20200818143132&meid=3123c818f72f4acf9a53ba7eca057245&pid=101198&rk=4&rkt=12&mehot=pf&sd=233882687392&itm=392987879402&pmt=1&noa=0&pg=2047675&algv=SimplAMLCvipPairwiseWebWithBBEV2bDemotion&brand=Unbranded&_trksid=p2047675.c101198.m1985
 
Is opal your actual birthstone? I've seen references to folklore online:
"A ring with an opal setting means bad luck only for those who do not have this jewel as a birthstone. An opal is an unlucky stone."
https://www.google.com/books/editio...ad+luck+folklore&pg=PA260&printsec=frontcover
In the American South.
This is interesting:
https://www.opalsdownunder.com.au/learn/are-opals-bad-luck/
But I think the most unlucky thing that could happen with an opal would be to lose one, not loose one.. :)

No it’s not.
This is interesting especially the De Beers bit.

‘Where opal superstitions began
So where did opal's bad luck story originate and why?

Although fantastical stories of witches and sorcerers strengthening their magical powers with black opals exist, and Medieval Europeans believed opal to resemble the 'Evil Eye', the most popular source of the story that opal is bad luck began with the great 19th century author Sir Walter Scott.

In 1829, Scott wrote a novel called Anne of Geierstein in which a character named the Baroness of Arnheim wears an opal talisman with supernatural powers. According to the story, the Baroness dies when a drop of holy water falls onto the opal and drains the stone of its colour.

Lucky for Scott, his book was very popular; unfortunately for opal, people at that time began to associate opals with bad luck and death, and amazingly sales of the gemstone dropped by 50% and remained low for 20 years after.

In the 19th Century, opal's reputation also took a hit as the cause of falling monarchies, famine, pestilence, and the Black Plague - Europeans started believing a bright and colourful opal worn by a patient lost its brilliance after the wearer died.

Disgruntled diamond traders also played a big hand in fuelling the bad luck myth at the turn of the through one of the oldest marketing tactics around – word of mouth.

At the turn of the 20th century, a large amount of opal was making its way to markets in the USA, Europe and England, causing then emerging diamond specialists De Beers to panic at the prospect of opal becoming more popular than diamonds.

To ensure diamonds retained a bigger market share, De Beers avidly propagated a rumour that opals were bad luck and promoted it with gusto.

Sadly, they were so successful some people today still think opal is a bad luck stone, an unfortunate belief inherited from grandparents and great-grandparents who bought into De Beers’ lie.

Another possible reason opals were promoted as bad luck by diamond traders is that the gemstone is softer than a diamond - around 6 versus 10 on Mohs scale of mineral hardness. As such, opals sometimes crack if a great amount of heat or pressure is applied, making them tricky for some jewellers to work with.’
https://www.blackstaropal.com/blogs/news/the-bad-luck-myth-about-opal
 
My Granny had an opal set into a ring. She never thought of it as unlucky but held the belief that if the ring wasn't worn all the time, then the stone would shrink and fall out.
She lost the entire ring while gardening and I found it a few years later when I was making a rockery. The opal was still in place.
 
I had some opal jewelry in the past not sure if I still have a any? I do like opal stuff. But I haven't really with it since the Noughties.
 
My Granny had an opal set into a ring. She never thought of it as unlucky but held the belief that if the ring wasn't worn all the time, then the stone would shrink and fall out.
She lost the entire ring while gardening and I found it a few years later when I was making a rockery. The opal was still in place.
The belief that opal are unlucky does come from the fact that when set into a ring or pendant the stones can dry out and shrink, causing them to fall out if they are not mounted correctly, properly mounted opals are set in a collar completely surrounding the stone to prevent this.
42503.jpg
images (15).jpeg
d8ae969314c89c68813f7b39aa62a125.jpg
 
I do like shiny things.
https://pin.it/4Z2QwYz

The more opals I pin the more it gives me.
Well, holy cr*p!! :twothumbs: That is some beautiful stuff and a GREAT board you put together there...:oops: Thanks!!!
I LOVE the Art Nouveau and Deco jewelry with opals and gemstones --looks like stuff the Faery Queen might wear.
All kinds of nice stuff there...
 
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How expensive is the average opal? You don't often hear of diamonds being unlucky, you see.
 
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