November's birthstone: flaming Topaz
By Chloe Tomasik - 06/11/2007
Topaz, November's birthstone, is an old gem, and the name comes from the Sanskrit word "Tapas" meaning fire. The ancient Egyptians attributed its beautiful golden colour to the sun god Ra and wore it as an amulet to protect them from harm.
Throughout the ages topaz was seen as a stone of great power, so wearing one would increase the wearer’s strength. The Greeks used it to divine gold and minerals, and it was frequently given to kings - especially if engraved with a falcon’s head - as it was supposed to cultivate the goodwill of the monarch.
As with many gems it had innumerable medicinal benefits attributed to it, from being able to help asthma and insomnia if made into a powder - to being able to cure ‘dimness of vision’.This would occur if wine in which a topaz had been steeped for three days was dabbed over the patient’s eyes. This cure was carried out on patients by St. Hildegarde, Abbess of Bingen in the Middle Ages.
Although topaz is one of the most gorgeous stones, it has never had the same popularity as many other semi precious stones in recent years. It ranges in colour from white to shades of brown, pink and blue - the most valuable colour being a beautiful peachy brown. It has a wonderful lustre, depth of colour, sparkle and a sheen that almost looks oily. Such is the sparkle shown in a faceted topaz that the white stones in the past were often used as diamond substitutes. In fact, the most famous white topaz, the1,680 carat Braganza topaz in the Portuguese crown jewels, was once actually thought to be a diamond.
A natural pink topaz is very rare. However, it was discovered in 1750 in Paris that heating a light brown topaz not only turned the stone pink but that it retained its pinkness. As this was discovered so early, it is even possible that many of the beautiful Victorian necklaces with pink topaz are heat treated stones rather than natural ones.
Natural blue topaz are very pale, and most modern stones are irradiated to improve their colour. Blue topaz are now very popular in modern jewellery - not only for their colour but as a cheaper alternative to acquamarine.
The most well known colours for topaz are the yellow to brown hues. This may well be why topaz has had rather a lukewarm reception by the public. Once, any yellowish brown stones were called topaz, but most of these stones would have been citrines, which are from the far less valuable quartz family. Although attractive, they lack the warmth and sparkle of the more valuable topaz. And, of course, it also paid the more unscrupulous jewellers to pass off the less valuable gems as the pricier topaz to the unsuspecting public with names such as citrine topaz or smokey topaz.
Topaz ranks 8 on the scale of hardness. Quartz is 7 - thus a topaz can scratch a citrine. The trades description act has fortunately curbed much of the misuse of the name topaz.
Topaz are found all over the world from Africa, America, Russia, Ireland and Britain, but the main supplier of modern stones is Brazil. Here they mine not only the more usual colours but also the most valuable peachy coloured stones (sometimes called imperial topaz or precious topaz). As well as having a wide colour range (either through nature or enhancement), topaz crystal can produce facetted stones over 22,000 carats.
A new addition to the topaz colouring is a stone marketed as a "mystic topaz". This is a topaz which has had iridescent colours added to it by applying a thin layer of titanium oxide vapour to the outside of the stone. But the colouring is not permanent, and the stone is less valuable than other untreated topaz. It is apparently becoming popular as an engagement ring stone as the "many colours reflected in the stone reflect the ups and downs of married life". Rather a come down from associations with the Sun God! It is also the stone for the 4th and I9th wedding anniversaries.
If you own a topaz take care of it, for although it is a hard stone it can splinter easily if knocked sharply. And never put it in any mechanical device to clean it. Just use soap and water and a soft tooth brush.