Best Opal Jewellery

October is just around the corner.  October always heralds, for me at least, the beginning of winter festivities.  As soon as Halloween hits, you get Guy Fawkes night and then the round of Christmas parties and celebrations and then New Year parties and celebrations – and then, after all of that, the calendar gets pretty dull again for a while!

All of this makes the opal, October’s traditional birthstone, a very apt one, as opals come in a wide variety of beautiful colours, many of which also exhibit precious colour-play, which, in the finest specimens, can resemble either a glittering firework display or the more subtle mysteries of the Northern Lights.  But we’ve a gripe to make here – we are not talking about the ugly cheap opal jewellery you can pick up anywhere.  You know the kind I mean – the kind that looks mass produced and reminiscent of the holographic stickers you probably found fascinating as a child.  No… walk around the V&A and have a look at the jewellery collections there – they have some amazing opal jewellery, as well as cabochon stones.  The collection is seriously stunning.  That’s the stuff I’m talking about.

In terms of shop collections, we’ve scoured the internet and taken the hassle out of finding the best of the best for you.

First up is this Edwardian opal and diamond ring from Friar House:

The ring is circa 1908, solid 18k gold and fully hallmarked for Chester.  It is a stunning piece and it is available in a UK ring size P 1/2.  The opals look mesmerising and somewhat otherworldly set amongst all the old-cut diamonds.   A true classic.   This piece of history is retailing for £2495.

If you are after more modern opal jewellery, then RAM at Browns have this seductively styled piece:

The opal itself is a dark blue/green that works well with the 22k gold – the stone itself being a vibrant colour but not too large to overbalance the texture on the band, which has a wonderful stippled effect and is probably the main reason we like this piece so much.  This ring is available for a reasonable £995 and can be resized at request.

In terms of opal necklaces, bracelets and contemporary opal earrings, you can’t go wrong with Sugarpuss London’s opal jewellery collection.  We love this Ethiopian opal and Geode pendant:

Handmade in sterling silver and available for a modest £98.00.

We are also in love with this earthy, one of a kind, Australian Andamooka Opal Bracelet:

The opals appear to have every colour from purple through to green and are off-set with small white pearls.  The finishing touch – the clasp – is more a beginning than an end… It resembles a book and is covered in an etched leaf design, which compliments the Gaia-like earthiness of the opals.   There is 49.7 carats of solid Australian opal in this bracelet, available for £965.