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The Egyptians said that topaz was colored with the golden glow of the sun god. Legend has it
that topaz dispels
all enchantment and helps to improve eyesight. The ancient
Greeks believed that it had the power to increase strength and
make its
wearer invisible in times of emergency. Early discoveries from Brazil
in rich reddish cognac colors to vivid
pinks, were used to grace
the jewelry of the 18th and 19th Century Russian Czarinas,
hence earning the moniker of
"Imperial Topaz."
Topaz sometimes has the amber gold of fine cognac or the blush of a peach, and all the beautiful
warm browns and oranges
in between. Some rare and exceptional
examples are pale pink to a sherry red.
Topaz is found in Brazil, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Africa and China. The birthstone for November, topaz is
a talisman for the
sign of Sagittarius and is the suggested
gift for the 23rd anniversary.
Blue, once the most rare color of topaz, is today the most common thanks to a stable enhancement
process that turns
colorless topaz blue. After the raw topaz is extracted from the
earth and cut, it is irradiated to brown and then heated to
sky
blue. This enhancement process is permanent.
Due to the popularity of blue topaz, a new treatment process call vapor deposition has been
developed to create additional
colors of topaz. In this treatment process, similar
to those used by opticians and camera makers to make lense coatings,
a thin
colored film is bonded on the surface of topaz to create dark blue, red,
pink, and green colors or rainbow
iridescence. These vapor
deposition enhanced topaz colors must be handled
with special care, as the coating can be
scratched or abraded.
Topaz is a very hard gemstone, with a Mohs hardness of 8, but it can be split with a single sharp
blow, a trait it shares
with diamond. As a result it should be protected from hard knocks.
Clean with mild dish soap; use a toothbrush to scrub
behind the stone
where dust can collect.
2265 Roswell Rd.
Suite 500-B
Marietta, GA 30062
770-973-7881 | blackwells@earthlink.net | 770-973-4508
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