October's birthstones are opal and tourmaline. Most months get one birthstone and get on with it. October got two. One of them comes in more colours than almost any gem on earth, and the other changes colour every time you tilt your hand. If you were born this month, that probably tracks.
I have a soft spot for opal, and it started in grade 4.
That year, my parents packed us up and moved us to Australia. My dad was a science teacher who loved rocks and crystals (which probably explains a great deal about how I turned out). We climbed Ayers Rock twice, back when visitors still did. Today it goes by Uluru, it's sacred to the Anangu people, and the climb has been closed since 2019, which is exactly as it should be. But the trip that stuck with me most was Coober Pedy.
If you haven't heard of it, Coober Pedy is a small outback town in South Australia famous for one thing: opal. It's so hot there that people live underground, in homes and even churches carved straight into the stone. We toured the mines and the dugout houses, and I came home with a beautiful pair of opal earrings that, even back then, cost $300. I can't imagine what they'd cost now.
Opals are soft, beautiful and rare. I still love that colour, and these days I find it in opalite and faux opal. So here's the whole story: what October's birthstones mean, the honest bit about opal and why I don't sell it, which October pieces I do carry, and how to wear them so they feel like yours. No crystal credentials required.
Quick Shop: Shop October | All Twelve Birthstones | Shop Every Month
Jump To: October's Stones | Colour | Cost | Opal | Opalite | Pink Tourmaline | The Pieces | Gifts | How to Wear It | The Flowers | October's Sky | FAQ
What Is the Birthstone for October?
October has two birthstones: opal and tourmaline. Opal means creativity, imagination and the freedom to change. Pink tourmaline means self-compassion and a gentler heart. Opal is the traditional stone. Tourmaline joined the modern list in 1952, and pink is the shade most often named. So if anyone tells you pink tourmaline is a June stone, you now have the paperwork.
| Opal | Pink Tourmaline | |
|---|---|---|
| Worn as an intention for | Creativity, imagination, letting yourself change | Self-compassion, softness, love that starts at home |
| Looks like | Flashes of rainbow colour that shift as you move | Pink from pale blush to deep raspberry |
| Chakra | Crown | Heart |
| Hardness | 5.5–6.5 (delicate) | 7–7.5 (everyday-tough) |
| Anniversary | 14th | 8th |
| At Mystic Soul | Opalite + faux opal, inspired by opal | Genuine pink tourmaline |
October is one of several months that got more than one stone. If you're curious how the rest of the calendar shakes out, here are all twelve birthstones, side by side.
What Colour Is the October Birthstone?
Every colour, which is the point. Opal flashes green, blue, fire orange and violet depending on how the light hits it. Tourmaline comes in more shades than almost any gemstone there is: pink, green, blue, black, and sometimes several at once. The October shade most people mean is pink, from pale blush to deep raspberry.
Why One Opal Costs More Than Another
Opal is priced on its play-of-colour: how bright the flashes are, how many colours show, and how much of the stone they cover. A black opal with vivid red fire costs many times more than a milky white opal with a soft shimmer, and both are real. That's the same rule as every stone I carry: grade, not authenticity, drives the price.
Pink tourmaline follows the same logic. Clear, evenly coloured stones cost more than included or paler ones. The pink tourmaline in my pieces is genuine and faceted, at an honest grade.
Opal Meaning: The Stone That Refuses to Pick One Colour
Put the two stones side by side and October's meaning is really about balance: the spark of something new (opal) held steady by kindness toward yourself (pink tourmaline). It's a month for letting yourself change without being hard on yourself while you do it. Opal handles the first part. Tourmaline handles the second.
Opal is hydrated silica, which is a fancy way of saying it's made of tiny spheres of silica with water tucked between them. Light hits those spheres, bends, and scatters into the flashes of colour gemologists call play-of-colour. Tilt it one way, you get green and blue. Tilt it again, fire orange. It's basically a mood ring that went to finishing school.
People have been smitten for a long time. The Roman writer Pliny described opal as holding the fire of garnet, the purple of amethyst and the sea-green of emerald all at once. Legend has it the Romans considered it the luckiest stone you could own.
Then, in 1829, a Walter Scott novel featured an opal that lost its colour when touched with holy water, and readers decided opals were unlucky. Sales in Europe reportedly slumped for decades. One novel. Decades. If you've ever been told opal is bad luck unless it's your birthstone, that's where it came from. I'd call it the most successful bad review in gemstone history.
Why is opal the birthstone for October?
Opal had been linked with October for centuries before anyone made it official, and when American jewellers published the first standard birthstone list in 1912, opal was October's stone. Nobody left a memo explaining why. My theory: a month that goes from gold leaves to first snow in about a week deserved a stone that changes colour too. Anyone who has lived through a Calgary October will back me up.
What opal is worn for: creativity, imagination and permission to change your mind. It sits with the crown chakra, and it suits anyone in a chapter where the old version of them doesn't quite fit anymore. It's traditionally worn as an intention, not a promise. The stone won't write the novel for you, but it's a lovely reminder that you meant to.
The Honest Bit: Opal, Opalite and Faux Opal
I don't carry genuine opal. It's soft, it holds water, and it can crack or craze if it dries out or gets knocked. On a piece you'll wear every day, at the prices I want to keep, that's a heartbreak waiting to happen. So what's in the October collection is inspired by opal, and every listing says so.
Opalite is man-made glass. It isn't mined and it isn't pretending. It glows a soft milky blue against dark fabric and turns warm amber-peach against light, which is why people fall for it. Because it doesn't hold water the way opal does, it won't craze from dry air or heat. It's glass, and proud of it. (Lab-created gemstones are a different thing entirely, and here's how those are made.)
Faux opal is a made stone that mimics opal's flash of colour. You'll see it labelled as faux or simulated opal on every listing, never as the real thing.
Pink Tourmaline Meaning: October's Genuine Stone
Tourmaline isn't one mineral so much as a big, colourful family. Watermelon tourmaline is pink in the middle with a green rind, which is exactly as delightful as it sounds.
My favourite tourmaline fact: warm it up and it picks up a static charge. Dutch traders in the 1700s reportedly used it to pull ash out of their pipes, and nicknamed it the ash-puller. Somewhere, a gemstone with a rainbow colour range was being used as a pipe cleaner. I love that for it.
What pink tourmaline is worn for: self-compassion, gentleness and love that starts with how you talk to yourself. It belongs to the heart chakra, and it's a beautiful choice for anyone who's very good at looking after everyone else and a bit rusty at returning the favour.
At 7 to 7.5 on the hardness scale, it's also tough enough for everyday wear, which makes it the October stone you can forget you're wearing.
Pink tourmaline is October's (sorry, June)
Pink tourmaline is the stone people most often put in the wrong month. It gets credited to June because it pairs so naturally with pearl and reads as a summery stone, but it's October's on every standard list.
Where it does span both months is a piece that carries pearl and tourmaline together. The Pink Tourmaline + Pearl Chain Necklace ($255) is exactly that: a June stone and an October stone on one chain, which makes it a rather good gift for two people born six months apart. For pearl and June properly, see the June birthstone guide.
And black tourmaline?
Same family, very different job. Black tourmaline is the one people wear for protection and boundaries, and it lives in the Protection collection rather than October's. If late October has you feeling a little porous, what to wear when the veil goes thin covers the Samhain side of things, and protection jewelry for when you need a boundary covers the rest of the year.
October Pieces, Sorted by What They Are
Genuine pink tourmaline:
- Pink Tourmaline Adjustable Bracelet — $45. Faceted, adjustable, easy to stack.
- Pink Tourmaline & Pearl Charm Necklace — $55.
- Pink Tourmaline Dangle Necklace — $95. The one I'd gift an October friend.
- Pink Tourmaline + Pearl Chain Necklace — $255. June and October on one chain.
Opalite (glass, inspired by opal):
- Opalite Exquisite Teardrop Earrings — $45. The easy yes: light enough for all day, glowy enough that someone will ask.
- Opalite Exquisite Teardrop Necklace — $45. The matching necklace.
- Opalite Bracelet — $45.
- Opalite Double Teardrop Necklace — $65.
- Opalite Chain Necklace — $95. Waterproof gold plating.
Faux opal:
- Mini Medallion Earrings — $25. Simulated opal.
- Third Eye Mini Medallion Necklace — $45. Faux opal centre.
Shop October → · Take the Quiz →
October Birthday Gifts: The Cheat Sheet
- For the one who likes the real thing: the Pink Tourmaline Dangle Necklace ($95).
- For the one who likes the glow: the Opalite Exquisite Teardrop Earrings ($45).
- For the 8th or 14th anniversary: tourmaline marks the 8th, opal the 14th. An opalite piece with a note explaining the nod goes over very well.
- Two people, one gift: the Tourmaline + Pearl Chain Necklace ($255) covers a June and an October birthday at once.
For more ideas sorted by who she is to you, the gift guide and meaningful gifts under $100 are good next stops.
How to Wear October Birthstone Jewelry
Then: opal was the stone somebody's great-aunt warned you was bad luck. Now: you wear opalite to book club and let it change colour mid-sentence.
Pair them. Milky opalite and pink tourmaline were practically made for each other: cool glow next to warm blush. An opalite drop earring with a pink tourmaline bracelet is October in one outfit.
Stack small. A faceted pink tourmaline bracelet sits beautifully between plain gold chains. If you're building a stack from nothing, the five-bracelet method walks through it.
Let opalite do evenings. It glows most against dark fabric, so save your opalite pieces for a black sweater and low light. They'll do the rest.
Caring for opalite, faux opal and tourmaline
- Opalite and faux opal: wipe with a soft damp cloth, skip harsh cleaners, and store them apart from harder stones so they don't scratch.
- Pink tourmaline: durable and low-fuss. Warm water, mild soap, soft cloth.
- Gold-plated pieces: take them off before the shower, the pool and the hand lotion. Last on, first off.
- Genuine opal, if you own some: keep it away from heat and dry air, and never soak it. Dry prairie winter air can craze opal over the years, so keep it in a closed box away from heat vents (more on how to store opal jewelry).
For the practical side, here's how to clean opalite, tourmaline and gold-plated jewelry. For the energetic side, the crystal cleansing guide covers moonlight, smoke and sound.
Marigold and Cosmos, While We're Here
October gets two birth flowers. The marigold is the warm orange one that keeps blooming after the first frost should have finished it off. Cosmos is the airy one, pink and white, named from the Greek for order and harmony. One stubborn, one graceful. October birthdays tend to be both, sometimes before lunch.
October's Sky, Briefly
October birthdays belong to two signs. Libra runs to October 22: the peacekeeper, the one who can see every side. Opal's shifting colour suits her down to the ground. Scorpio starts October 23: deep, private and allergic to small talk. Pink tourmaline's softness is a lovely counterweight to all that intensity, and if she's a Scorpio, the Scorpio season crystal guide goes further.
October's full moon is the Hunter's Moon. Opal belongs to the full moon, so here's the October ritual: on the night of the Hunter's Moon, put on your opal-inspired piece, write down one creative thing you've been putting off, and leave the paper under your jewelry dish until the next new moon.
Is there an October spirit animal? Not officially. Birthstones come from jewellers' lists, and spirit animals come from somewhere much older. If you'd like to meet yours, the Spirit Animal Quiz takes about a minute and is far more fun than a calendar.
October Birthstone FAQ
What is the birthstone for October?
October has two: opal, the traditional stone, and tourmaline, added in 1952. Pink tourmaline is the shade most often named. October's birth flowers are marigold and cosmos.
What does the October birthstone mean?
Opal is worn for creativity, imagination and the freedom to change. Pink tourmaline is worn for self-compassion and love. Together they stand for balance: change, held gently.
Is pink tourmaline for June or October?
October. June's stones are pearl, moonstone and alexandrite. Pink tourmaline often gets paired with pearl, which is where the mix-up comes from.
Is opalite a real opal?
No. Opalite is man-made glass with an opal-like glow. At Mystic Soul Jewelry it's always labelled as opalite and described as inspired by opal.
Do October 22 and October 23 have different birthstones?
No. Every October birthday shares opal and tourmaline. October 22 is Libra and October 23 is Scorpio, so the star sign changes, but the birthstones don't.
Can opal get wet?
Briefly, yes, but genuine opal shouldn't be soaked, heated or left in dry air, because the water inside it is part of what makes it opal. Opalite doesn't have that problem.
Find Your October Stone in About a Minute
Not sure which October stone is yours? The free Gemstone Quiz takes about 60 seconds. It won't ask your birthday. It asks what you need right now. Or browse October's pieces and trust the one that catches your eye. It usually knows.
"I don't have to pick one colour. I'm allowed to change, and I'm allowed to be gentle with myself while I do."
Andrea 🌙
Join The Circle.
15% off your first order (good for 7 days), plus the Birthday Club, so your month gets remembered too.
Join The Circle →
More Birthstones: ← September (Sapphire & Lapis) | All Twelve Birthstones | November (Citrine & Topaz) →
Mystic Soul Jewelry — Canadian small business, Calgary, Alberta, since 2008. Honestly labelled, always.
