Care and Maintenance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nOpals are relatively soft compared to other gemstones, with a hardness of 5.5 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale. They require special care to prevent scratching and damage. It\u2019s advisable to keep opals away from harsh chemicals and extreme temperatures. Regular cleaning with a soft cloth and mild soap is recommended to maintain their luster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For centuries October’s birthstone has been considered the gem of gems. Undoubtedly precious, the name opal literally derives from the word for “precious stone” in not one but two ancient languages (Latin, opalus, and Sanskrit, upala). Shakespeare even called Opal the “Queen of the Gems” in Twelfth Night. But what makes Opal so special? In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":968314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6984,521],"tags":[3325],"class_list":{"7":"category-birthstones","8":"category-jewellery-school","9":"tag-birthstones"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=959362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/959362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/968314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=959362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=959362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiquejewellerycompany.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=959362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}