Throughout history opal has been regarded as the stone of good fortune. In Roman times the gem was carried as a good luck charm or talisman, as it was believed that the gem, like the rainbow brought its owner good fortune. In the 7th Century it was believed that opals possessed magical properties. The Arabs believed they fell from the sky, and some Asians referred to them as "the anchor of hope." Lucky opal--the stone of hope, the birthstone of October. Oddly enough, in recent times it has been suggested by some that opals are an unlucky stone. This is probably due to a misreading of Sir Walter Scott's novel, Anne of Geierstein. While an opal features in the book, there is no reason to believe Scott really meant to represent it as unlucky. From Australian Precious Opal--A Guidebook for Professionals, by Andrew Cody