Oct 02, 2017

Birthstones of the Month: Opal and Tourmaline

Congratulations and happy birthday to all our October Enji fans! Besides being your birth month, you also have Halloween celebrations and pumpkin spice lattes to love. To add to your exciting day, we are sharing with you 10 amazing facts about your birthstones.

1. Opal has been found on Mars! It is one of only a handful of gemstones that have ever been discovered outside of our planet

2. Australia produces around 95% of the world's opals. Most of this Opal is white Opal from the fields of Coober Pedy in South Australia.

3. The ancient Romans considered it a symbol of hope and good fortune.

4. Queen Victoria’s favorite gemstone was opal!

5. Although it is a mystery how opal is formed many believe it is formed by rain.

6. Tourmalines are mined everywhere in the world including Africa, Afghanistan, Africa, Australia, Brazil, Kenya, Madagascar, and other counties.

7. Tourmaline occurs in every color of the rainbow and in combinations of two or three colors.

8. Ancient legend says that tourmaline is found in all colors because it traveled along a rainbow and gathered all the rainbow's colors.

9. The Egyptians used tourmaline for both physical and emotional remedies. They firmly believed that tourmaline could heal the nervous system, blood diseases and lymph glands.

10. The last Empress of China, Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi was in love with pink tourmaline.