A variety known as "imperial topaz" is especially valuable because people enjoy its reddish orange to orangy red colors, which often both occur in the same crystal. Most of the world's imperial topaz is found in Brazil. Topaz with a natural blue color is very rare and valuable. Topaz that is yellow, brown, and colorless has a much lower value. However, some natural topaz with these colors can be heated, irradiated, coated, or treated in other ways to alter their color.
The fastest selling colors of topaz are varieties of blue that are treated by a process known as irradiation. We explain this process in detail on our blue topaz page. Topaz Treatment Methods: Colorless topaz, also known as white topaz, top left can be irradiated and heated to produce gems with a blue color top right.
Irradiation alone can produce a pale pink color bottom right. Coating with certain metallic oxides can produce a vivid pink color bottom left. Most topaz in commercial jewelry today is colorless material that has been heated, irradiated, or coated to improve its color. The name "topaz," and variants of the name in other languages, have been used for yellowish gemstones for at least two thousand years.
At that time yellowish gems were called "topaz" in many parts of the world. Many of the earliest gem traders did not realize that these yellowish stones were actually different materials.
Then, about two hundred years ago, people who traded in gems began to realize that these yellowish gems might be topaz, quartz , beryl , olivine , sapphire , or one of many other minerals.
They also learned that topaz occurred in a wide range of colors other than yellow. If you visited a jewelry store as recently as fifty years ago and asked to see topaz jewelry, you would likely have been shown gems that were in the color range of yellow, orange, and brown.
Those were the common colors of topaz being sold at that time. Then, starting in the s and s, the most common color that you would be shown began to be a beautiful blue. This blue color was usually produced by treatments that converted colorless topaz into a more marketable gemstone. These treatments are sold under the trade name of "mystic topaz.
Today most topaz offered in department stores and mall jewelry stores at low to moderate prices has been treated in a laboratory. Colorless topaz can be heated, irradiated, and coated with thin layers of metallic oxides to alter its color. Natural blue topaz is extremely rare and is usually pale blue. Almost all of the blue topaz offered in stores today is colorless topaz that has been irradiated and then heated to produce a blue color.
These colors have caused the popularity of topaz to soar! Natural pink to purple topaz is also extremely rare, but these colors can be produced in a laboratory as well. The starting point is a stone cut from colorless topaz. It is first heated and then coated with a layer of metallic oxide to produce the pink color.
If coated stones are worn in jewelry, over time the coating can wear thin or wear through at points on the stone where abrasion occurs. Some topaz is coated with a metallic oxide that gives the stone a multicolored iridescent luster. These stones, known as "mystic topaz," appear to change color if the observer moves the stone under a light or changes the angle of observation. These coatings are also thin and can be worn through during normal wear. Blue Topaz: Faceted ovals of two colors of blue topaz that are popular today.
On the left is a "Swiss Blue" topaz weighing 2. On the right is a "London Blue" weighing 2. Both stones were colorless topaz mined in Brazil.
After faceting they were irradiated and heated to produce the blue colors. Blue topaz with a color produced by treatment is the most common color of topaz in commercial jewelry today - and its low price makes it incredibly popular.
The type of irradiation used to transform colorless topaz into blue topaz can cause the irradiated material to become slightly radioactive. Fortunately, the radioactivity level of the topaz begins to decline as soon as treatment is complete. It eventually declines to a level that is safe for the topaz to be handled during manufacturing and be sold to the public in jewelry. In the United States, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission requires all irradiated gems and gem materials to be securely stored until their radioactivity decays to a level that is safe for manufacturing and sale.
This is done to protect employees of the gem and jewelry industry and the jewelry-buying public. All companies who distribute newly irradiated gems in the United States must be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
They must also conduct radiological surveys of all materials in secure storage to be sure that no gems are released until their radioactivity declines to a level that will not pose any health risks. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has detailed information about irradiated topaz and other gemstones on their website.
They also have answers to frequently asked questions. Two answers that we believe will be of interest to our readers are quoted in the box on this page. You can read the rest by visiting the NRC website. These valley fills were once thought to be deposited by water, but now many of them are believed to have been deposited by ground surges of hot ash.
The Topaz Mountain Rhyolite has many vuggy areas, which often contain champagne-colored topaz crystals. USGS image. Placer Topaz: Topaz has a high specific gravity, and because of that it is commonly concentrated by stream currents into placer deposits. Much topaz has been produced from placer deposits in Brazil and Nigeria. The topaz pebbles in the photo above are from Brazil and were rounded and frosted during stream transport. Whether you're an avid topaz jewelry collector, interested in giving this type of jewelry as a gift, or just have a keen interest in gemstones, you can't deny just how versatile topaz really is.
Topaz Gemstones in Jewelry Aesthetically pleasing and fairly durable, this gem has found a number of uses over the centuries, including as jewelry. Jewelry Types and Durability Due to the fact that there are so many different shades of topaz, it's a natural choice for many types of jewelry, such as rings, earrings, necklaces, pendants, and bracelets. Colors for Jewelry Blue, orange, and pink are the hues that are most often cut as jewelry gemstones, with colorless, clear topaz becoming increasingly popular as a cheaper alternative to diamond.
Topaz Jewelry Treatments Today, most of the topaz jewelry pieces that you find in malls and department stores have been treated in a laboratory during production. Tips for Topaz Jewelry The following are some useful facts you should know when shopping for topaz jewelry. Some colors of topaz such as pink, red, reddish brown, dark orange, and yellow-to-brown can fade with prolonged exposure to light or heat.
This usually happens over a substantial period of time; however, it's a good idea to store your gemstone jewelry away from heat and light to keep its color beautiful.
Synthetic alternatives to topaz gemstones can be created in laboratories today and should be labeled as such when they're on display at jewelry stores. Always check the label before you make a purchase to ensure that you're getting genuine topaz.
Topaz rings may contain more fragile stones that break relatively easily. Look for rings done in bezel rather than pronged settings to help protect the gemstone. Also avoid hitting the stone directly on hard surfaces. With a little care, there is no reason why your topaz ring shouldn't last.
Other Uses Of Topaz Jewelry might be the most common use for topaz, but it also has other popular uses. Birthstones Yellow topaz is the birthstone for those born in the month of November. Blue topaz is also one of the gems used as birthstones for the month of December. Anniversary Gemstones Two types of topaz are considered traditional anniversary gemstones.
Love and Friendship Traditionally, wearing yellow topaz is said to increase your ability to give love and accept it in return. Crystal Energy Many people believe that different types of crystals give off their own energy frequency, and that these waves of energy can have particular effects on the human mind and body.
Topaz is believed to: Warm the body Speed the healing of broken bones Ease the pain and swelling of arthritis and rheumatism Positively affect the function of the endocrine glands Help detoxify the system of impurities Aid in the treatment of mumps Ease eye strain Improve eyesight Improve your powers of communication Inspire feelings of peacefulness Calm the nerves Improve the intellect Help individuals get in touch with their higher consciousness Enhance a person's psychic abilities Help intuitives reach their spiritual guides.
Ancient Uses It's said that the ancient peoples held particular beliefs about the power of topaz. In keeping with some of properties listed under crystal powers: The Romans believed that this gem could be used to improve failing eyesight, and would lay the stones on their closed eyelids as a sort of therapy. The ancient Egyptians were very fond of their amulets, and they believed topaz had the power to protect the wearer from injury.
The ancient Greeks once believed that wearing topaz could make a soldier invisible to his enemies. This may have helped the soldiers to be exceptionally quiet and cautious, affording them the opportunity to sneak up on the enemy.
Some of the largest gemstone pieces ever cut were of Topaz. Topaz is a hard and durable gemstone, and will not dissolve in most chemical solvent s.
However, it does have perfect cleavage which can make it prone to chipping or forming flaw s if banged hard. Topaz is also a pleochroic gemstone and can have varied color intensity when viewed at different angles. Due to its good cleavage and pleocroic nature, care must be exercised when faceting Topaz gemstones. Blue Topaz does occur in nature, but is rare and almost always lightly color. Most if not all blue Topaz used in jewelry has been irradiated and heat treated to artificially create the blue color.
The original stones are colorless or lightly colored, and the radiation process gives them their deep sky-blue colors.
In a few rare circumstances, some forms of blue Topaz tend to slightly fade in exposure to sunlight after extended periods of time. Topaz of all different colors are used in jewelry, in rings, earrings, necklaces, pendants, and bracelets. The blue, orange, and pink colors are most often cut as gemstones, and colorless Topaz is becoming increasingly popular as an inexpensive Diamond simulant.
Gigantic gems and faceted spheres are cut from huge flawless crystals, and these make exquisite and exclusive collectors items. Topaz is rarely cut into cabochon s.
Topaz is the traditional birthstone for November. Precious Topaz. Azotic Topaz - Orange-pink Topaz with a rainbow-like color effect. Its color is synthetically colored by film deposition of an extremely thin metallic layer over the top of the gemstone. Imperial Topaz - Lustrous golden orange-yellow, orange-brown, or orange-pink variety of Topaz and is its most valuable gem form.
London Blue Topaz - Topaz with a deep sky-blue color. It is darker in tone than Swiss Blue Topaz. Mystic Topaz - Multicolored Topaz with a rainbow-like color effect. Rutilated Topaz - Topaz with yellow needle-like inclusion s of the mineral Limonite. However, the name is a misnomer, since unlike Rutilated Quartz which has inclusions of the mineral Rutile , the inclusions of Rutile Topaz are not Rutile but rather Limonite.
Sherry Topaz - Topaz with a light orange-brown to brownish-pink color. Silver Topaz - Colorless form of Topaz. Synonym of White Topaz. Swiss Blue Topaz - Topaz with a sky-blue color. It is lighter in tone than London Blue Topaz.
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