Men's Opal Rings

Which opal: Ethiopian, Galaxy and blue opal rings for men

Choose the stone by its pictures, since the colors differ from one opal to the next. Most listings say only opal. Four titles say more: the Ethiopian opal ring, the Galaxy opal ring, the Galactic opal ring and the Legacy Estate, whose blue opal sits with amethyst and sapphire. No listing here calls its stone a black opal, so tell the live chat if that is the one you want; from 10 AM ET, a text to 212-872-9692 works as well. Opal is the October birthstone.

Which metal: how a silver opal ring and a gold one differ

Silver keeps the ring lighter, and 14K gold makes it heavier and keeps its color. Half the silver rings weigh under 13 grams. A jeweler's cloth revives silver when it dulls. More than half the 14K rings pass 18 grams. In gold, most of these let you choose yellow, rose or white. The one 18K ring is the eternity band, opal alternating with emerald.

The Starry Night: the Starry Night opal ring, with or without diamonds

Pick a Starry Night by its metal and by whether you want diamonds. Two are sterling silver, one with the opal alone and one with natural diamonds set around it, and the third is 14K gold. Buyers took the halo one 55 times in the year, far ahead of the rest. Both silver bands are 3.5 mm wide. They run from size 8 to 11.5, and the gold one comes without a size to choose.

Diamonds and settings: opal and diamond rings for men

Eleven rings carry diamonds beside the opal, and each of those listings calls them natural. Where the grades are printed, they run F to H in color and SI to VS in clarity. Every ring but the Legacy Estate grips its stones with prongs. Run a thumb over the prongs now and then, because one that catches on cloth can bend and let a stone go. The Legacy Estate and part of the Galaxy ring are burnish set instead: the gold is pushed over the stone's edge until it sits flush, with no prong to snag.

Daily wear and sizes: wearing an opal ring daily, and ring sizes

Leave it home on gym days and handle it gently, and an opal ring takes daily wear. On the hardness scale opal sits near 6, below quartz, so ordinary dust can scratch it. Heat is the other danger. Opal holds water in the stone, and a hot dashboard or a sauna can draw it out and leave hairline cracks. The shaking in an ultrasonic cleaner can crack it too, so clean it with a soft cloth wrung out in soapy water instead. Only the Ethiopian ring and the eternity band skip the water, since Ethiopian opal takes it in and can lose its color for a time. Wear anything from 8 to 11 and most of these rings come in your size, half sizes too. A few go up to 13 or 14. Measure your finger on the men's rings page.