11 Things To Know About Topaz
1. Along with citrine, Topaz is the birthstone for November.
2. In the UK, Topaz in its blue form is also the stone for 4th wedding anniversaries.
3. No-one really knows how it came to the named, but there is a tiny island in the Red Sea called Zabargad, which Pliny the Elder tells us was once known as Topazios and is where Cleopatra imported her peridot from. Significantly, peridot and topaz were often confused in the past, hence the theory that the island might be the source of the name.
Valentine earrings by Manja
4. The second theory often cited is that the name derives from the Sanskrit word tapaz meaning fire, which makes sense when you know .
5. These days topaz comes in a wide range of colours ranging from yellows and browns to blues, greens, reds and pinks, but before the 1950s yellow-orange topaz was the only colour known. This colourway is now referred to as Precious or Imperial Topaz and is the most highly valued of all colours.
Imperial Topaz
6. However, the most popular colour of topaz is blue and it can be found in light, mid and dark tones known as Sky Blue, Swiss Blue and London Blue. Sky Blue, as the name suggests, resembles the pretty light blue of the sky and is the lightest shade, Swiss Blue is a vivid cobalt-azure shade, but its London Blues sophisticated inky depths that are the most prized among the blues.
9ct white gold London blue topaz earrings
7. The top producers for topaz are located in Brazil, Russia, Madagascar and Nigeria, although small deposits of topaz in its natural sky-blue and colourless states have been found in Britain at St. Michaels Mount, Lundy Island, Northern Ireland and The Cairngorms.
8. Colourless topaz is fairly common and best described by the Portuguese name of pingos Dagoa or Drops of Water for its resemblance to a perfectly clear drop of water captured in time.
9. Highly durable, only diamonds, rubies and sapphires are harder on the scale of natural composition.
Sky Blue topaz pear cut drop earrings
11. Next time youre in London stop by the Natural History Museum, where the worlds largest blue topaz is currently on display. At 9,381 carats it weighs just under 2 kilograms and has breathtaking clarity. The Ostro Stone, as its known, had not been seen publicly until it went on display last October. It remains on long-term loan to the Museum.
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