Sunday 14 April 2013

Topaz Gemstone- Semi Precious Stone

The topaz is a fluorine aluminium silicate and comes in yellow, yellow-brown, honey-yellow, flax, brown, green, blue, light blue, red and pink ... and sometimes it has no colour at all.

The topaz has been known for at least 2000 years and is one of the gemstones which form the foundations of the twelve gates to the Holy City of the New Jerusalem. These so-called apocalyptic stones are intended to serve in protection against enemies and as a symbol of beauty and splendour. It cannot be proved conclusively whether the name of the topaz comes from the Sanskrit or the Greek, though the Greek name 'topazos' means 'green gemstone'. The Romans dedicated the topaz to Jupiter.

The colour in which the topaz is most commonly found is yellow, and that is the colour in which it occurs in one of the major German gemstone rocks, the Schneckenstein (a topaz-bearing rock said to resemble a snail) in Saxony. In the 18th century, it was mined there during a period of over 60 years. However, most of the crystals were hardly a centimetre in diameter. You had to go to Siberia or Brazil to find crystals as large as your fist. Having said that, anyone who is interested can convince himself of the beauty of cut specimens in the topaz set in Dresden's Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault). The enormous and magnificent topaz from the Portuguese crown, the Braganza, was for a long time thought to be a diamond. It weighs 1680 ct.

In mysticism, the topaz is attributed with a cooling, styptic and appetising effect. It is said to dispel sadness, anger and nocturnal fears, to warn its wearer of poisons and protect him or her from sudden death. It is reputed to make men handsome and intelligent and sterile women fertile and happy. However, it is probably better not to rely too much on its magical powers, since it was also claimed that you could immerse your hand in boiling water after a topaz had been thrown into it and retract it again unharmed! It is the stone of the month November.

In the Empire style, the topaz was still widespread, but then the more reasonably priced citrine took over from it and even usurped its name - gold topaz. Since then, the topaz has been a rather exotic figure in the jewellery trade, and has been given the additional predicate 'pure' to make it clear that the topaz, not the quartz topaz, is meant. And it is still waiting for its well deserved comeback to this day.

Types of Topaz

The market is flooded with different types of topaz today. If you plan to buy topaz, it is vital to know the various types. Read on to know the various types.

Imperial Topaz - The imperial topaz is the rarest and most expensive type. It has a beautiful yellow shade. This type of topaz appears to have a golden-orange-pink colour under daylight and appears orange-pink under incandescent light. However, this gem is imbued with pinkish to reddish tints to enhance its yellow shade to a richer golden shade. Imperial topaz is very popular and the most sought after gem by jewellers.

Precious Topaz - Precious topaz is mined in many places across the world amongst which Brazil is the most famous. It is a yellow crystal used widely in jewellery items and other attractive ornamental purposes. It is highly valuable than other synthetic or man-made topaz gems. Topaz is a highly precious gemstone having a hardness factor of 8 and a high refractive index.

Blue Topaz - Topaz stones generally undergo an irradiation treatment by synthetic means to enhance their colour.  Natural precious topaz gems are exposed to the irradiation treatment to preserve their golden-brown colour. Whereas, on the other side, colourless or smoky topaz gems when exposed to irradiation by electrons and neutrons result in beautiful different colours. The colour mostly results in blue and other shades of silver, green or teal. They are not true topaz stones and relatively inexpensive.

There are various colours of blue present in the topaz like sky blue, London blue, Swiss blue, light blue, sierra blue and electric blue.  However, the colours within the stone can fade after sometime or even break off as they only touch the top layer of the stone.

White Topaz - White topaz is a clear and transparent type which can be mistaken with a diamond when cut perfectly. The white topaz is the most common variety. The Glacier topaz is the purest type of white topaz. These gems are untreated because of their clear purity. The glacier topaz is found in Murzinka mines in Ekaterinburg.

Smoky Topaz Gems - The smoky varieties are also mined in many places around the world. They are quartz like crystals having an orange or yellow colour. These topaz gems are not precious gems technically, but are often confused as being real topaz due to language disparity
 



 

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