| October Birthstones | Tourmaline & Opal Gemstones |
OCTOBER BIRTHSTONESIndividuals born in October get to choose between two birthstones — tourmaline and opal. Each birthstone comes in a rainbow of shades and color combinations, giving October babies a variety of options.Between tourmaline (whose color depends on trace elements in its chemical makeup) and opal (which diffracts light to show a play of multiple colors), October's birthstones offer a full spectrum of gemstones to suit anyone's personal tastes.The name "opal" originates from the Greek word opallios, which meant "to see a change in color." The name "tourmaline" comes from the Sinhalese words tura mali, which mean "stone of mixed colors." |
The American Gem Society (AGS) is a nonprofit trade association of fine jewelry professionals dedicated to setting, maintaining and promoting the highest standards of ethical conduct and professional behavior through education, accreditation, recertification of its membership, gemological standards, and gemological research.
The Society is committed to providing educational products to inform and protect the consumer and to contributing to the betterment of the trade by creating industry standards to protect the jewelry-buying public and the fine jewelry industry as a whole.
AGS Laboratories, founded to support the AGS mission, is a nonprofit diamond grading laboratory with a mission of consumer protection. Adhering to the AGS Diamond Grading Standards, AGS Laboratories is dedicated to offering diamond grading reports that provide consistency and accuracy based on science.
