Topaz is a rare silicate mineral with a chemical composition of Al2SiO4(F,OH)2. It is best known for being these four things:
One of the most popular colored stones
Number "8" in the Mohs Hardness Scale
A birthstone for the month of November
A gemstone of many colors
Natural topaz colors include rare and valuable yellow, orange, pink, red, purple, and blue. The most affordable and frequently purchased are blue topaz and mystic topaz that have received their colors from treatment.
Translucent to transparent
Luster –– Vitreous/p>
Mineral Hardness–– 8 Mohs
Perfect basal cleavage
Orthorhombic crystals
Mineral of silicate
Specific Gravity –– 3.4 to 3.6
Along with Citrine, Topaz is the birthstone for November. It is also a suggested wedding gift for both the 4th and 23rd anniversary. More specifically, Blue Topaz is noted as the 4th anniversary gift and Imperial Topaz for the 23rd anniversary. That said, its gorgeous brilliance and crystal clarity make it a wonderful gift for all occasions.
Talking of clarity, Topaz is considered a ‘Type 1’ gemstone, meaning it is almost always found with no inclusions. Inclusions aren’t necessarily a bad thing, and they can help add character to a gem. However, it’s hard to deny that the pure clarity of Topaz is one of its defining features. It also measures an 8 (out of 10) on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, so it is quite suitable for everyday wear. These factors, along with the sheer number of varieties available, combine to make Topaz a must-own stone.
Topaz is its own gemstone species and comes in a wide variety of colours; it can be found in yellow, brownish-yellow, brown, green, blue, light blue, red, pink and colourless. The Portuguese call the colourless type ‘pingos d ‘água’ which means ‘drops of water’ - and imagining you can capture a drop of water in a piece of jewelry sounds simply wonderful.
Gemstones are as old as time, and in the years since their first discovery they've picked up a lot more than adoring collectors and fascinated mineralogists. Many have gained stories regarding their legend, lore and healing properties, and whilst there's no evidence to suggest that any of these properties are real, it's still interesting to explore the esoteric side of Mother Nature's miracles.
It's worth asking ourselves, 'If you truly believe in something, does that mean it's true'? Scientifically, the answer is no, but what about on a more personal, spiritual level? If you really truly believe that an item in your house is having an effect on you, are you more likely to feel that effect? It's really not for us to say, but it's a very interesting concept that deserves further research. Once again though, we must point out though that no studies have ever found any therapeutic effects or properties in gemstones, and the following is for your information only.
In Sanskrit, this stone is known by the name of Tapas. It is one of the powerful stones of Jupiter. It is associated with throat and stomach chakra. This crystal relates cheerfulness, confidence, humbleness, and positivity in the lives of people born under Scorpio's sun sign. It helps them manifest their potential in more creative ways and makes them more resourceful by containing their power of jealousy and wrath. Protects one’s self from evil eyes, cures insomnia, and promotes stability in married life. This gem bestows knowledge, success, money, financial rewards, name and fame, longevity, good health, and happy life, among other things.
opaz is more than just a rock; it has a spiritual power that calms, restores, refreshes, and incites positive energy all around it. It brings calm, joy, and love into one's life. It attracts the manifestation and attraction forces. This stone mirrors your ideas and desires, strengthens your attention, and assists you in channeling your thoughts into reality. It improves your attention span and inventiveness, which improves your capacity to comprehend complex ideas and concepts. Some colors, such as blue topaz, the 4th Anniversary gemstone, has extra properties in addition to generic ones, such as bringing truth and wisdom, aligning your heart, body, and soul, and protecting you from straying from your path.
The stone imparts contentment, munificence, prosperity, and sound health.
It is a stone of affection and luck.
It relieves nervousness and disseminates pleasure.
It encourages sincerity and uprightness, self-awareness, and discipline.
It helps with digestion and other eating problems like anorexia and bulimia.
It braces toughness and speeds up the brain.
Antique Topaz tends to be shades of brown which were common before the introduction of heat treatment, a method by which the stones (usually colorless) are changed to shades of blue. Sky Blue, Swiss Blue and London Blue Topaz are all shades of blue produced by treatment., with London Blue Topaz being the more expensive. Colorless Topaz has been used in jewelry recently and its lower cost makes it attractive even though it does not have as strong a visual impact as other ‘colored’ versions of the stone. However, a pink Topaz can be as much as ten times more valuable than a blue stone of equal clarity, cut and carat weight.
The aim of the cutter is to get the Topaz to reflect the maximum amount of light, with as little ‘leakage’ as possible; it’s all about the sparkle. Topaz is a relatively common gemstone and so you can feel confident that there are well cut stones available at competitive prices generally ranging from$10 to $500. Poor cuts, dull and lacking sparkle are of little value.
Topaz is one of the few gemstones which can commonly be found “eye clean“, meaning without ‘inclusions’ in the stone that can be seen by the naked eye. If the clarity is poor, the stone tends to look milky and opaque. These types of heavily included Topaz will probably be used as beads in less expensive jewelry; it is the really clear Topaz that is fashioned into more expensive jewelry.
Topaz sometimes occurs in enormous sizes, where clean gems of even 1000 cts. are known. Indeed, faceted stones of tens of thousands of carats have been produced from some monster crystals. However, cut stones of the prized “imperial” colors (orange, pink and red) are more rare.