The Topaz Gemstone is the birthstone for the month of November, the Blue variety of this lovely stone is also the anniversary gem for the fourth year of marriage.
Many variations of gentle tones are available depending on the impurities present in the Gemstone, these can range from yellow to yellow-brown, orange-brown, pink-brown, pale to medium red,blue and colourless. The best sources of Topaz are Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, Afghanistan, Australia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom and California within the United States.
Topaz is a transparent Gemstone that very often contains inclusions of gas and liquid bubbles and often small crystals, very often you will find the jewel in the step or scissor cut as the stones colour isn't very vivid these cuts show off the gem well.
Weakly coloured or colourless varieties are often faceted in the brilliant cut to show off the gems high brilliance and offer a cheaper option to the Diamond.
A red orange known as Sherry Topaz and a full apricot orange called Imperial Topaz join a pink with a tint of violet as the most sought after and expensive natural varieties.
Most Topaz these days are treated in some form as a genuine precious gemstone is quite rare.
The first of these is heat treatment, usually a brown coloured gem is partially cut as a gemstone and then heated to around 450 degrees Celsius where it completely loses it's colour, as it is slowly cooled it gradually begins to turn pink, this method is known as pinking and is a legitimate practice so long as no dyes are used to create the pink Topaz and it's colour is stable. Irradiation is a bit more controversial, because the world has a plentiful supply of colourless rough stones this method is used to turn the stone blue irradiation has largely been responsible for the abundance of blue stones on the market today which has brought the prices down, Lighter yellow and orange stones are treated in this manner to intensify the colour, however the cooling off period can be several months or even years depending on the impurities present to allow radioactivity to fall to a safe level. Diffusion treatment involves using chemical contact to heat the stone over a long period of time, this only affects the surface of the stone, the interior remains unaltered this usually creates green and blue green coloured gems.
Legend has it that Topaz dispels all enchantment and improves the wearers eyesight, the Egyptians claimed the gem was coloured with the golden glow of their sun god Ra.
The ancient Romans associated Topaz with Jupiter, the god of the sun and when pink Topaz was first discovered in Russia only the Czar and those he chose to give the jewel as a gift were allowed to own it. Blue Topaz is said to have healing powers that are able to treat people with eye problems. The most famous Topaz is a massive stone set into the Portuguese crown called the Braganza.
If you are the owner of a home ultrasonic cleaner I strongly advise that it is not used to clean this gemstone, although having a hardness of 8 on the Moh scale it's perfect cleavage does carry the risk that an impact in the wrong place has been known to make the stone divide so please be careful, warm soapy water is a much better and safer alternative.
Enjoy the many beautiful colours that Topaz Jewelry has to offer you.
