Opal

For October, we have the weirdest gemstone - Opal! Did we have a hard time dyeing this one in a way that reflected what we want? Yes, but that seems on the nose for a gem where the synthetic version barely holds a candle to the nature-created stone.  The name opal is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word upala, which means 'jewel', and later the Greek derivative opállios. Opals come in two broad classes - common and precious. When you're picturing an opal, it is definitely the precious variety, which has the iridescence that makes them basically impossible to capture as a synthetic (or a yarn). Opals can come in pretty much any color, with black being the rarest and white, grey, and green being the most common.  Opal was considered a stone that could provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose color was represented in the color spectrum of the opal. It was also seen as the patron gemstone of thieves during the same time period be