Topaz - the birthstone of November
Also the 4th anniversary stone
Mineral - Topaz
Colour - Yellow, orange, pink to red, blue, light green and colourless
Mohs Hardness - 8
The Ancient Greeks believed that topaz gave them strength. During the Renaissance in Europe people believed that it broke magic spells and free you of anger. Imperial Topaz was named in the nineteenth century in honour of the Russian Tsar. At this time the Ural Mountains were the world’s main source of the stone and ownership was restricted to the royal family.
Where is Topaz found?
Today topaz is mined in various parts of the world, with the most stones originating from South America. One of the largest topaz crystals was mined in Brazil, weighing in at 271kg!
Caring for your Topaz
With a harness rating of 8 on the Mohs scale, topaz is a durable stone that can be worn everyday. And is perfect for setting in rings, bracelets, earrings or necklaces. Don’t store your topaz stones in the same compartment as sapphires or diamonds. These stones can scratch and damage topaz.
Heat treatments are common with topaz and an industry accepted norm, these treatments can improve the colour, clarity and durability of the stones. Our advice is to have your topaz pieces professionally cleaned at a jeweller. However, a warm soapy wash won’t do any harm to your stones.
Why we love Topaz
- The range of colours! Blue Topaz is by far our favourite with naming for them being:
- Sky Blue Topaz: pale white-blue, resembling aquamarine to a degree
- Swiss Blue Topaz: a vibrant blue tone that is gaining a lot of popularity
- London Blue Topaz: an intense teal-blue colour that most resembles blue-green sapphires
Topaz is pleochroic, this means the gem can show different colours in different crystal directions. We see this most in London Blue Topaz.
Shop our Topaz Collection, or customise one of our designs, or your own, with this gemstone.