Opals are a fragile stone... they explode if they are in a hot environment so I take my rings off when I'm in the shower just in case the water is too hot for them - better safe than sorry!

It may just be me but I think each opal is unique... the ones I've owned have certinly been unique! There are 3 main opal colours AFAIK... white opals (my favourite), turquoise opals and fire opals. I've never owned a fire opal but the white and turquoise opals have flecks of colour within them that are hidden to those giving them a quick look but show up if you turn them ever so slightly the colours show up so for fashionable Librans they go with any colour in your wardrobe and seem to give a sort of class to even jeans and jumpers!

Genuine opals (not man-made opals) are pretty expensive... I paid £150 for a gold *plated* ring with 4 opals in it and just under £200 for the turquoise opal ring with 13 small opals in it (the one in the photo above) but they really are worth it to me!

To clean your opal, you need to be very gentle with the stone and use a soft cloth dampened with tepid water. Do NOT use a jewellery or ultrasound bath and dry it carefully - they can damage the stone and direct sunlight should NOT be used to dry them and strong sunlight can seriously damage them or, at worst, make them explode.