It was on my hand at the time, and I reached in check on the doneness of something. Lifted the foil off the pan. Poof! Steam It gets steamed over pots, too; I’m a hovering cook.

However, I’ve gotten into the habit of taking it off when I cook now, since I’m paranoid I’ll drop it down the garbage disposal.

If you’re into ‘meanings’ behind the stones at all, keep in mine that they are traditionally considered bad luck.

Everyone else: Great info!!!!

I would be wary of it as an engagement ring, though. I’m so rough on my jewelery (I’ve smacked my ring around, steamed it in the oven, dropped it more than once…). I’d just be afraid an opal wouldn’t be sturdy enough as an engagement ring.

I adore that blue opal, though. So lovely. I also love the black opals with the rainbow colors.

My mom gave me an opal ring for my 16th birthday – we went to a jeweler and I picked out the opal myself. More than 10 years later, it’s still one of my very favorite pieces of jewelry. The stone is a brilliant, fiery blue – a little lighter in color than the one in the second ring above. One interesting thing the jeweler told us: it’s not unheard of for jewelers assembling things with opals (especially bezel-set) to paint the back of the stone black so it brings out more color. He didn’t want to do that with mine, so since the opal was to be set in silver, he had me lay any stone I was interested in against a sheet of white paper so I could be sure about the color.

Definitely something to think about when you buy any kind of loose stone – they will generally show them on black velvet under great light to bring out the best color, but it’s worth looking at your favorite against a different background so you aren’t disappointed later.