Much of the superstition regarding the supposedly unlucky quality of the opal originated with an inaccurate reading of Sir Walter Scott's novel, "Anne of Geierstein."" This story tells the tale of Lady Hermione, a sort of enchanted princess, who came seemingly out of nowhere and always wore a dazzling opal in her hair. There is nothing in the text that indicates Scott meant to represent the opal as unlucky. Lady Hermoine's gem was an enchanted stone, and its nature depended entirely on its character. This nature would have been the same should Lady Hermoine be wearing an opal, diamonds, a 
ruby, or a 
sapphire. The life of the stone was connected to the life of Hermione; it sparkled when she was happy and shot out red sparks when she was mad. One night, Hermoine fell unconscious, was carried to her bedroom, and the next day nothing but a small heap of ashes remained on her bed where she had been laying. The only conclusion we can come to from this tale is that the opal was chosen as a beautiful adornment because of its stunning play of color. Thus, we are entirely justified in returning to the older belief of the virtues of the opal, making sure to remember that this gem is a little more fragile than most others, and should handled very carefully."
The opal is the gemstone for October. In the stone's beautiful, varied display of color, we are brought back to the feeling of being in the country on a bright October day, "when earth and sky vie with each other in brilliancy and the eye is fairly dazzled with the bewildering variety of color."""
It rarely happens that Pliny gives any information as to particular jewels. Most of his writings refer to precious stones simply by their color, form, and their talismanic or therapeutic powers. About the opal however, he writes the following; "There exists to-day a gem of this kind, on account of which the senator Nonius was proscribed by Antony. Seeking safety in flight, he took with him of all his possessions this ring alone, which it is certain, was valued at 2,000,000 sesterces ($80,000). The stone was 'as large as a hazelnut."""
If we knew for sure that this "opal of Nonius"" was actually an opal, it would have been the greatest opal of all time. However from classic to Roman times, the principle source of opals in Hungary was not available. Furthermore, we have learned that opals were not available in the place Pliny wrote that they were from. Thus, we have to conclude that Pliny was not, in fact, giving a description of the opal we know today in his writings. Regardless of the facts, it 's hard to imagine what other stone Pliny could have been speaking of, with his remarkably accurate description of what one would think would certainly be an opal. In the following description, we read what seems to be a beautiful description of the opal: ""There is in them a softer fire than in the carbuncle, there is the sea-green of the 
emerald- all shining together in incredible union. Some by their refulgent splendor rival the colors of the painters, others the flame of burning sulphur or of fire quickened by oil."""
What other stone could Pliny have possibly been referring to in his writings? The iris 
quartz is one possibility. Because it has an internal fracture, the iris quartz has great iridescent brilliance in all colors of the rainbow. To a person who had never seen an opal, this stone could have excited their eyes with admiration. The fact that Pliny may have praised the imitation of the opal in glass, and could write that this stone was more successfully imitated than any other, is an almost decisive argument against identifying the opal with an opal, for it is well known that no stone is more difficult to imitate.
Another 18th-century legend tells a story of a peasant who found a ring set with a precious stone in the ruins of Alexandria, Egypt. The stone was set "en cabochon"" and was as large as a hazelnut. It was eventually taken to Constantinople where it was appraised to be worth several thousand ducats. Many believed it was the opal of Nonius. It was nothing but poetic fancy since an opal of such quality would be unlikely to retain its play of color for 20 centuries without fading. Even the most lustrous Hungarian opals begin to show some loss of color within the first century, while transparent Mexican opals lose their color within just a few years."
The Edda, a medieval Icelandic literary work, mentions a sacred stone called the "yarkastein,"" which the skilled blacksmith Volondr (Scandinavian Vulcan) crafted from the eyes of children. Grimm explains it as an opal, famous for its white, milky look. No wonder opal was often called ""ophthalmios,"" or ""eyestone"" in the Middle Ages and some even claimed that an image of a boy or a girl could be seen in the pupil of the eye."
Albertus Magnus, a 13th-century German friar and Catholic Bishop, believed that a splendid opal was set in the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire. It was known as "orphanus,"" because it was completely ""one of a kind."" He described it as a translucent gem as white as snow, which flashed and sparkled with a reddish tint. There was a belief that originally the stone used to shine at night, however, now it won't even flicker. Instead, it is said to guard the regal honor."
This imperial gem was indeed considered unique and was often described as "ophthalmus 
lapis,"" a name frequently given to the opal in the medieval times. The virtues associated with it include healing diseases of the eye and making its wearer invisible. It is no wonder that opal also earned a nickname of ""patronus furum,"" or enabler of thieves."
The opal was known not only as a gemstone of rare beauty but was also a first class talisman. Many blond maidens valued opal necklaces above anything else, believing that wearing opals in their hair ensured that their hair remains its beautiful blond color. The opal mines of Cernowitz, in Hungary, were actively used for opal mining since the Middle Ages, and by the fifteenth century, more than three hundred men were employed there.
From very early on, many ignorant and superstitious people incorrectly assumed that opal is connected to the Evil Eye. That came about because the origin of opal (written ophal at the time of Queen Elizabeth) may have been derived from ophthalmos (the eye), or ophthalmius (pertaining to the eye). That was entirely incorrect since the early writers meant that opal would be beneficial for the eyesight, and as an added bonus may have even rendered its wearer invisible.
A certain type of 
agate stone, called the "eye-agate"", was sometimes used to make eyes of idols. These ""agate-eyes"" were later cut out from the idols and used to alleviate a condition known as ""Aleppo sores"". These sores were also known as ""Aleppo boils"", ""Aleppo buttons"", or ""Oriental sore"". It is a swelling that appears long after the infection is gone, and is characterized by inflammation surrounded by a white ring. This infection occurs from a pathogenic organism called ""Leishmania tropica"", and the way it enters the human body is not well known, but mosquitoes have been suggested as a possible transmitting source. The natives believed that ""Aleppo stones"", which are the ""agate-eyes,"" are necessary to alleviate this condition. The agate-eyes are cold to the touch, and that may be the reason for the short-term relief they may have offered."
In general, all stones that have been named that "cat's eye"" or the ""tiger's eye"" are usually associated in some way with the Evil Eye. The eye of a monster, a dragon, or a serpent was usually regarded as evil. In East Indies, a peacock feather was thought to bring bad luck, as the eye in the feather was considered the culprit."
One of the earliest descriptions of the opal in the English language comes from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, where it is used as a symbol of fickleness. The clown says to the Duke, "Now the melancholy G-d protect thee, and the tailor make thy garment of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is very opal."""
Gerolamo Cardano (1501-1576), an Italian physicist, also mentions the beauty of the opal in the 16th century. He considered opals to be a source of pleasure and to bring good fortune to their owner. He recounts how he once bought these stones for fifteen gold crowns and found them as enjoyable as a 
diamond that he bought for five hundred crowns. Although believing in superstitions was the rule in Cardano's time, the ill-fated qualities of the opal were not common at that time. Those superstitions emerged later in the 19th century.
Although opal was sometimes considered as a stone of misfortune, black opal was regarded as an exceptionally lucky gemstone. Originally, black opal was crafted artificially, by dipping white opal into ink. Alternatively, burnt oil was added to cracks in the opal by heating it. In the 1900's, deposits of natural black opal were found in the White Cliff region of New South Wales, which magnificently showcased specks of green, red, and blue on a black background. Some of these larger black opals have sold for over $1,000, with the total sales from New South Wales being over $2,000,000. The late Francis Marion Crawford (1854-1909), an American writer, was an avid admirer of this unusual variety of opal.
There once was a story published in Paris newspapers that illustrate the opal's bad luck. A poor girl was once stopped on the street by a wealthy woman, who took an opal ring off her finger and slipped it to the poor girl. The girl took it to a jewelry store to sell it, where she was promptly arrested on suspicion that she stole it. The judge was inclined to believe the girl and put an ad in the paper asking the wealthy woman to come forward to exonerate the girl. The wealthy woman did come forward, validating the girl's story. She explained that she voluntarily gave the ring away because she believed that it would bring her bad luck. The ring was then returned to the poor girl.
The reason bad luck may have been attributed to the opal arose from the fact that opal is a very brittle gemstone and would break easily in the process of cutting it and setting it into jewelry. The jewelers would often have to pay the owners for the opals that they broke while handling them and therefore, many began to dread working with opals, citing them as stones of misfortune.
The diamond is another gemstone with many superstitions attributed to it. There was a belief dating to as early as 7th century that a diamond would break one's teeth if it were put in the mouth, and would rupture one's intestines if swallowed. This idea originated from the diamond being hard enough to cut other stones. The diamond's destructive quality of bringing death to anyone who swallowed it came to be because old legends always had venomous snakes guarding the places where the diamond was found.
According to Garcia de Orta (1563), a Portuguese physician and naturalist who studied medicine derived from plants in a Portuguese colony in India, the diamond was not used for medicinal purposes in India at his time. The only exception was when it was injected into the bladder to break up "vesical calculi"", or bladder stones. In general, it was widely believed that crushed diamond would act as a poison when swallowed. However, de Orta challenged that belief by pointing out that slaves who worked in diamond mines would swallow the diamonds in an attempt to steal them and never got sick, and were able to successfully recover the diamonds the natural way."
Another example according to de Orta was the case of a man who suffered from chronic dysentery. His wife administered to him many doses of diamond dust in an attempt to cure him. This treatment did not hurt him or help him and was finally abandoned at the suggestion of his doctors. He finally died of his disease, but it was many days after the diamond therapy was discontinued.
The Hindus believed that a flawed diamond containing specks or spots was so unlucky that it could even deprive Indra, their deity, of the highest heaven. The original shape of the diamond was also considered important. A triangular diamond was said to initiate quarrels, a square diamond brought terrors to its wearer, the five point diamond was said to bring death, and only the six-point diamond was pronounced as good.
It was said that the Turkish sultan Bejazet II (1447-1512) was poisoned by a dose of pulverized diamond given to him by his son Selim who mixed it into his food. Even the students of Paracelsus (1493-1541), a Swiss-German physician and botanist, reported that he died from ingesting diamond dust. That was the only reason, they said, as to why an otherwise healthy, 48-year-old man would die this young.
Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), an Italian goldsmith, was imprisoned in Rome in 1538. He always suspected that his enemies would try to poison him and he shared his belief of diamond dust being the most potent poison with his colleagues. One day, when he was eating his lunch, he felt something hard scrape between his teeth. At first, he paid no attention to it, but then he noticed something small and sparkly on his plate. Upon examining it closely, he realized it was a small diamond particle, and considered himself soon-to-be-dead from ingesting diamond dust. After praying for an hour and coming to terms with his death sentence a thought suddenly occurred to him that he had not tested the shiny fragment for hardness. He was able to easily crush the particle with his knife, proving that it was not a diamond after all. Some time after his release he learned that his enemy instructed a certain diamond cutter to grind up the diamond and mix it into his food to poison him. The gem cutter was very poor and decided to substitute a citrine instead and keep the diamond for himself. And that is how Cellini describes his narrow escape from death by diamonds.
In England, more than 70 years after Cellini's experience, death by diamond dust became the gold standard for prisoners. Sir Thomas Overbury had incurred the wrath of the Countess of Essex for not supporting her choice in the man she chose to marry. She married him anyway and Sir Thomas quickly found himself imprisoned in the Tower through her evil scheming. The Countess then hired James Franklin, an apothecary, to concoct a slow and deadly poison to mix into his food. When James Franklin later confessed, he described how the Countess asked him about using white arsenic. He told her it was too violent so she then asked about diamond dust, to which he replied that he knows nothing of that. She called him a fool and gave him some gold to buy her diamond powder. It was then mixed with other poisons, such as mercury, and administered to Sir Thomas. He lingered for over 3 months but was finally put out of his misery by more mercury poison.
Another "death by diamonds"" story is told by Zacutus, the royal astronomer of Portugal. It involved a servant who surreptitiously swallowed three rough diamonds belonging to his master. The next day he was seized with violent stomach cramps and no remedy would heal him. He died shortly after, from massive internal bleeding from the sharp diamond edges of the stones."
Many times stories are told of victims dying from ingesting diamonds, with little regard to the details of each case. One such story explains that swallowing diamonds is even fatal to fowl. When a young rooster was petted by his owner, he spied a diamond ring on his owner's hand and pecked the diamond right out of the stone and swallowed it. Very shortly after, the rooster died, but not because of the diamond that he ingested. It was because he was chloroformed by his master in an attempt to retrieve the diamond.
An old English ballad recounts the love story between Hind Horn and Maid Rimnild, the king's daughter. Hind Horn and the princess loved each other and she gave him a ring set with seven diamonds as a token of her love. One day, Hind Horn had to go to sea to escape the wrath of her father, the king. He happened to look at his ring and noticed that the diamonds went pale. He realized that it meant that Maid Rimnild's love for him was in jeopardy, so he rushed home and was able to prevent her marrying another man.
In the original ballad, the stone is not named and it either grows pale or red, as a sign of impending misfortune. This is reminiscent of the stone owned by the Jewish High-Priest, which grew red as a symbol of upcoming bloodshed and defeat for the Jews.
There was an old belief that a serpent could not look at an emerald without losing its eyesight. In 1242, the Arabian gem dealer, Ahmed Teifashi, decided to test that statement for its veracity. He procured a viper from a snake charmer and placed it in a vessel. He then attached an emerald onto a stick and held it out in front of the snake. Although the snake was strong and vigorous, Teifashi heard a slight crackling sound and then the snake's eyes protruded forward, becoming dazed and confused. Instead of attempting to break out of the vessel, the snake started to move clumsily around, not knowing which way to go, and eventually, all its movements ceased.
An interesting though tragic phenomenon was once reported in regards to an Oriental ruby by Wolfgang Gabelchover in 1603. In his commentary on the sixth book of the treatise "De Gemmis"" by Andrea Bacci, he describes his journey from Stuttgart to Calw, Germany, with his wife, Catherine Adelmann, on December 5th, 1600. Gabelchover suddenly noticed that the ruby he was wearing, set in a gold ring and given to him by his wife, became obscure, changing its brilliant luster from a bright to a dark hue. This continued for a few days until he could stand it no longer and was forced to put the ring away in a case. Becoming terrified of what that symbolized, he told his wife that something ominous was coming their way. In a few days, Catherine became violently ill and died shortly after."
Johann Jacob Spener contributed his own tale that he learned from a trusted individual about color changes in precious stones, such as the ruby. There once was a jeweler, who was smart, experienced, and rich ï¾– three best qualities in a jeweler. One day, when sitting at a table after having washing his hands for dinner, he noticed that the ruby he was wearing on his finger lost its splendor and became dull. Since he believed the stories he often heard about tragic events that happen when precious stones lose their luster, he promptly removed the ruby and stored it away in a case. The next night one of his sons died from smallpox. The jeweler reached into the case and picked up the ruby. It had regained its brilliancy, confirming his belief in the ill-omened quality of the stone. A few days later, the jeweler washed his hands and again realized that the ruby's luster was compromised. He felt a sense of anxiety and doom wash over him over the next misfortune. However, nothing bad happened. Upon careful examination of the stone, he realized that there was a drop of water that got trapped under the ruby after he washed his hands, and that is what contributed to the stone losing its luster. As soon as the water evaporated, the ruby miraculously regained back its former shine.
The 
onyx is known as the "stone of sorrow"" in the Arabic tradition, as its Arabic name is ""el jaza,"" or sadness. Most of the onyx at that time was mined from China and the Maghreb, which are the North African countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Lybia. The onyx, when worn in jewelry or even placed in a treasury, was believed to induce fearful dreams and cause the owner to be plagued by doubts and anxiety. If kept in one's house, stored in a vessel, or pulverized into food and drink, the onyx would cause loss of energy and capacity to its owner. That is why only slaves and workers in dire need of money would mine the onyx, and once extracted, it would be carried out of the country and sold in other lands."
Red coral, especially the highly-colored variety, was another gemstone that suffered the fate of an ominous character. If it came in direct contact with the skin, the stone's color would lose its luster and become pale. Thus the stone would show if the wearer had ingested a deadly poison, was ill or was merely threatened with illness. According to Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576), an Italian physician, mathematician, and philosopher, the gemstone's "delicate and subtle essence"" would pick up the early signals of an impending illness, even when the human body itself has not yet recognized it and presented with symptoms. Although this may seem strange to us, most 16th century authors viewed stones and minerals as an ultimate tool to diagnose old age, disease, and death."
Rabbinical tradition tells us of a brilliantly luminous stone placed into the Ark by Noah. Though we don't know the stone's identity, we are told that it shone brighter during the day than at night. This allowed Noah to distinguish the day from the night, since during the flood, neither the sun nor the moon, were visible. According to another legend, Abraham built a city for Hagar and their six sons together. The wall surrounding the city was so high that it blocked off the light of the sun, leaving them in darkness. Abraham then gave his sons enormous precious jewels that shone even brighter than the sun. These jewels will be used once again in the times of the Messiah.
Aelian, a Roman author and teacher (175-235 AD), once told the following story about a luminous stone. Heracleis, a virtuous woman from Tarentum, Italy, was mourning the loss of her beloved husband. One day she saw a young stork just learning how to fly fall before her. She picked it up and carefully tended to it until it recovered and was able to fly away. A year later Heracleis was outside, enjoying the sunshine when a stork flew by and dropped a precious stone into her lap. She brought the stone inside her home and was amazed when the discovered that the stone illuminated the room brightly at night as if it was lit by many torches. Heracleis was positive it was the same stork that she cared for the year before and considered it a gift of gratitude from the stork.
Heracleis' stone may have been a variety of cerauniae, brilliant precious stones that Pliny believed fell from the sky during thunder and lightning. In Germany, some gemstones were called Donnerkeil, which is thunderbolt, and Storchstein, which is stork-stone, to further illustrate the belief that precious stones came from the sky. Precious stones, with the ruby, in particular, were thought to originate from a fire from heaven, or simply, in a lightning flash.
Many cultures believed in legends of luminous stones, mostly because of the stones' high degree of phosphorescence. The light emanating from those gemstones was frequently compared to the glow of burning coal or the flame of a lamp. According to Pliny, lychnis, a variation of spinel, was called lucernarum accensu, meaning "from the light of the lamp,"" or ""from lightning."" The author of the poem ""Lithica"" said the diamond, or ""adamas,"" when placed on an altar, sent forth a flame without the help of fire. Since this did not refer to using rock crystal as a burning glass, we can infer that phosphorescence of a diamond was already clearly established in the 2nd or 3rd centuries."
One example of a great luminous stone was said to have existed on the Lydian river Tmolus. Its unusual properties allowed it to change colors four times a day, exceeding the "saphire merveilleux,"" which only changed its color at night. According to legend, only innocent young girls could find that Lydian stone, perhaps hinting at the fickleness of a woman. When worn, it was said to defend the women from ""outrage."""
Another famous luminous stone was set into a carved image of a Syrian goddess Astarte found in an ancient temple. The light emanating from the gem was so great that it looked like the entire temple was lit up by numerous lamps. The stone was therefore named "lychnos,"" meaning, lamp. The light was certainly fainter in the daytime compared to nighttime, although it was still fairly noticeable, comparable to a fiery glow."
Two more luminous stones with extraordinary qualities were noted by pseudo-Aristotle, a term used for any author that furthered the writing of the famous Greek philosopher. One of the stones, dubbed the "sleeping stone,"" contained strong hypnotic power. It was a glowing stone with a bright rosy tint, which illuminated the darkness with its bright light. According to that author, if a small quantity of this stone were given to a person to wear, he or she would sleep uninterrupted for three days and three nights. And when the person would finally awaken on the fourth day, they would still be very drowsy."
The second stone mentioned was of a greenish hue and boasted an opposite effect ï¾– it induced extended wakefulness. Therefore, this "waking stone"" was extremely beneficial to night guards or anyone that needed to stay up all night. When this stone was worn, there was absolutely no difficulty staying alert, proving to be a better tool than time-clocks for necessary vigils."
Alardus of Amsterdam recounts the story of another luminous stone called "chrysolampis,"" which was, together with other precious stones, set in a marvelous golden tablet. The tablet was gifted by Hildegard, the wife of Theodoric, the Count of Holland, to the Abbey of Egmund and dedicated to St. Adelbert, an apostle of the Frisians and patron of the town of Egmund. According to Alardus, the chrysolampis gem shone so brightly that when the monks were called up to the chapel at night, they could read their prayers without any other light. Unfortunately, one of the monks stole this amazing stone, who Alardus calls ""the most rapacious creature who ever went on two legs,"" but fearing to keep such a valuable gem on him the monk threw it into the sea and it was never recovered."
Another luminous gemstone worthy of mentioning is the carbuncle on the shrine of St. Elizabeth at Marburg, Germany. This stone was set above the statue of the Virgin, and it was said to emanate fiery rays at night. However, Georg Friedrich Creuzer, a German philologist, and archaeologist, born in Marburg in 1771, maintained that the luminous stone was simply a rock crystal of a yellowish-white color. The shrine itself was a sophisticated piece of art made entirely from silver, two large pearls, and many smaller ones, and covered with 824 precious stones. All those gemstones were removed from their settings when the shrine was taken from Marburg to Cassel in 1810.
At the Dusseldorf Exhibition of 1891, the writer of this book spotted "The Ring of St. Elizabeth,"" allegedly set with her famously luminous ruby. Upon examination, it was revealed that the stone in the setting was nothing more than a 
garnet with almost no shine, set in a narrow rim of gold."
Many tales have been told by medieval travelers about the beautiful luminous rubies from the kingdoms of Pegu (modern-day Myanmar) that illuminated the night with their brilliance. However, Cleandro Arnobio states that no such rubies were found in his time. Instead, he describes a particular jewel of a pale citron hue that did shine brightly at night. He guesses it to be either a 
topaz or a yellow diamond that may have been the Marburg "carbuncle."""
Chau Ju-Kua, a 13th-century Chinese writer, and a contemporary of the Arab Teifashi wrote about the luminous "ruby"" of the King of Ceylon. He described it as ""a jewel five inches in diameter, which cannot be burned by fire, and which shines in the night like a torch."" This enormous luminous gem was also believed to be an elixir of youth, and we are told that the king rubbed his face with it daily, thereby maintaining his remarkably youthful appearance."
Benjamin of Tudela, a Hebrew traveler who visited Constantinople in 1161 A.D., described the wonders of Emperor Manuel's (1120-1180) magnificent throne. Made out of gold and studded with precious stones, the throne contained an impressive golden crown that was suspended from a canopy by gold chains. The crown was set with jewels of immeasurable value that were so bright and sparkling that their luminescence outshone any other illumination at night.
Although Garcias de Orta did not usually believe in stories told in his time regarding luminous gemstones, he relates the following story told to him by a gem dealer. A man purchased a number of small but fine rubies from Ceylon and spread them out over a table. When he gathered them up again, one small stone remained hidden in the fold of the tablecloth. That night he noticed a faint, sparkling flame emanating from the table. Lighting a candle, he walked over to the table, and upon discovering the ruby, put it away with the other stones. Once the candle was put out, the sparkling flame was no longer visible. De Orta concludes, that although the gem dealers love telling tall tales about the magical properties of gemstones, we must "trust in them nevertheless."""
The emerald was another precious stone that was considered luminous. Emerald pillars adorned the temple of Melkart, the Phoenician god of the city of Tyre, and, according to Pliny, a Roman philosopher (23-79 AD), a marble lion with gleaming emerald eyes was set over the tomb of "a petty king named Hermias."" The monument was on a coast, and the piercing light emanating from the lion's emerald eyes drove all the fish away, much to the chagrin of the local fishermen. The magnificent statue of the goddess Athena by a Greek sculptor Phidias (480 ï¾– 430 BCE) was crafted exclusively of marble and gold. We are told that its eyes were made of precious stones, whether or not they were luminous, we do not know."
Elias Ashmole, an English astrologist and alchemist (1617-1692) published a book containing a collection of works by various English alchemists. The book included a tale about an important cleric that lived in a modest town near London, who wanted to commemorate himself by constructing a bridge across the Thames River which would always be lit up at night. He planned to incorporate carbuncle stones into the bridge, believing that like rubies, they emitted a light strong enough to illuminate the darkness of the night. He obviously never realized his dream, not being able to procure the carbuncle stones necessary for his extravagant vision.
The Bologna Stone is another famous luminous stone that Dr. Mentzel published in his essay in 1675. The writer describes the different experiments performed on the gemstone, testing its peculiar qualities. It was sometimes called "The Lunar Stone,"" or Lapis Lunaris, because, like the moon, it shone in the darkness with the light it collected from the sun. Dr. Mentzel suggests that the stone was initially discovered in 1604 by Vincenzio Casscioroli, an expert in alchemy, who believed that because of the stone's solar quality, it would be a great aid in changing the molecular structure of plain metals into gold. This mineral was naturally found in Monte Paterno, near the Italian city of Bologna, where it appeared in the fissures of the mountains after heavy rains."
Myths, superstitions, and fantasies surrounding luminous stones have been around for centuries. The author of this book was involved in researching as many as 13,000 specimens of various minerals to better understand their physical properties of fluorescence and phosphorescence. One event, in particular, spearheaded the author's interest in such research. In 1891, his wife noticed her diamond ring give off a faint streak of light while she was hanging up her gown in a closet one night. This streak of light was quite noticeable in the dark, causing her to come up with many different kinds of assumptions about the nature of diamonds and other gemstones.
More than two centuries before, Robert Boyle (1627-1691), the father of modern chemistry, conducted his own experiments with a diamond at night. His experiments led to a discovery that some diamonds, when rubbed against wood or other hard substances, or even against cloth or silk, will produce a spark of light which seems to follow them. That phenomenon is called triboluminescence.
The Journal des Scavans, the earliest academic journal published in Europe, describes specific tests performed by Mons. Du Fay in 1739 on the luminous characteristics of diamonds. Du Fay required the experimenter to stay in a dark room for fifteen minutes while closing one or both of his eyes. The diamond to be tested needed to be exposed to the sun's rays or to strong daylight, for less than a minute. Afterwards, when placed into darkness, the luminosity would last up to thirteen minutes. Not all diamonds possessed this quality, and there's nothing in their appearance to determine which diamonds would demonstrate this quality. However, Du Fay did observe that yellow diamonds, of which he tested a considerable amount, were the most luminous. There was even one emerald, out of twenty that were tested, that possessed that quality as well.
The property of absorbing sunlight or artificial light and then emitting it in the dark is only found in some diamonds, which are known as Brazilian stones. Their hue is blue-white, even milky, and it is the presence of an unknown substance on the diamonds, possibly manganese or uranium salts, and not the diamonds themselves, that possess that unique quality. Willemite, kunzite, sphalerite (sulphide of zinc), and other minerals may also store up light and then give it out.
It seems that only the ultra-violet rays are absorbed by these diamonds. When a thin layer of glass is placed in between the sunlight or artificial light and the diamond, this phenomenon is not observed, since the ultraviolet rays do not pass through the glass, even though the light itself does permeate through. The mysterious substance responsible for this occurrence is not fully identified and has been named Tiffanyite by the author, in tribute to the late Charles L. Tiffany (1812-1902), founder of the firm Tiffany & Company.
On the other hand, all diamonds phosphoresce or emit light, when exposed to radium, polonium, or actinium, even if the diamonds are shielded from those rays by glass. Of this phenomenon, Sir William Crookes (1832-1919), an English chemist and physicist, wrote that diamonds in a vacuum, when exposed to a high-tension current of electricity, will emit different colors. South African diamonds will give off a bluish light, while other diamonds may give off bright blue, apricot, pale blue, red, yellowish-green, orange, and pale green light. The most phosphorescent diamonds are the ones that sparkle the brightest in the sun. One extraordinary green diamond in Sir William Crookes' collection would give off almost as much light as a candle, bright enough to read by its rays. But, Sir William concluded, the time to use diamonds as a household source of light is still very far away.
The ability to emit light from being close to a heat source is noted in the case of chlorophane, a rare variety of the mineral fluorite. A Siberian specimen of a pale violet color emitted a white light merely from the heat of the hand holding it. Boiling water caused it to emit green light, and when placed directly on burning coals, its brightness could be seen from a considerable distance. Similar phenomena were observed in chlorophane sourced from Amelia Court House, VA, an area known for its rich supply of the nation's best minerals. Here, the minerals' strong emission of light, or triboluminescence, most likely resulted either from the stones' contact with one another or with any other hard substance.
Often, the terms phosphorescence and fluorescence are used interchangeably, and they both refer to the luminescence of a non-glowing substance when exposed to sunlight, electric current, or radiant energy, such as heat. The difference is that fluorescence includes a gemstone that glows throughout the entire period the light shines onto it, while phosphorescence denotes a gemstone that stores the luminous energy inside it and emits a glow long after the direct light shining onto it is gone. After all the radiant energy is used up, the gemstone will return to its non-luminous state.
Triboluminescence and thermoluminescence are two additional terms that need to be defined. The first one depicts the emission of light in a non-luminous object due to friction. The latter involves light emission due to moderate heating, such as the warmth of one's hands.
An old essay written in Greek about the temple's sanctuary can explain to us how a temple priest would use luminous stones to impress his followers. The writer of the treatise boasted that the guts, scales, and bones of certain marine animals exhibited the phenomenon of phosphorescence. Therefore, some parts of those marine animals were used in production of a "carbuncle that shines in the night."" Gemstones, such as carbuncles, when properly treated, would glow so brightly at night that one was able to read and write by their light as though it was daylight."
Fynes Moryson, a Protestant traveler who traveled all over the world and came to Italy in 1594, testified to the widespread use of jeweled ornaments to enhance the effects of religious objects. Moryson and his two Dutch companions visited Santa Casa in Loreto, the enshrined house where Virgin Mary was believed to have lived. They were allowed to enter the inner chapel of the sanctuary, where they saw a picture of Virgin Mary adorned in precious jewels. Although it was quite dark in the room, those gems burned with as much light as wax candles, further stimulating religious awe in their beholders.
Sir Richard F. Burton (1821-1890), an English explorer, soldier, and diplomat, believed that the origin of the myths associated with luminous stones was in the refractive power of cut gems, where a dim and distant light would reflect from the surface of the gemstones and appear to spring from them. Other times, a light would be placed strategically so that its hidden rays would cut through the gem and appear to radiate from it.
