The Topaz Gemstone Engagement Ring as a Sapphire Alternative
Thanks to the commercialization of the diamond and wedding industries, the diamond has become a “symbol” of love and marriage. This puts an unfortunate amount of unnecessary stress and pressure on couples who may be under budget restrictions. However with the growing awareness of conflict diamonds, many people are turning away from diamonds in favor of human friendly stones. At www.DiamondAlternative.com - we help you find those!
The topaz gemstone is often underestimated as a center stone for a gemstone enagement ring. When looking for a blue gemstone engagement ring, it makes sense that most will immediately think of the sapphire stone, but a topaz is just as vibrant, comes in a variety of hues and is suprisingly more affordable than it’s counterpart – the sapphire. Where sapphire sits on the darker end of the blue spectrum, topaz is more of a sea-blue, though the “mystic topaz” is multi-colored. Continue reading for more information on the topaz gemstone
The topaz, also known as the November and the gemstone for 4th, 19th, and 23rd years of marriage, comes in a wide range of colors but usually is yellow and can also be colorless. The topaz is also the state gemstone for United States state of Utah. The topaz derives its name from the Sanskrit word tapas meaning “fire” or the Greek word topazios meaning “to seek”. On the Mohs scale, the topaz rates an 8. Only diamonds and corundum are harder than Topaz.
Color: Colorless, yellow, orange, red, red-brown, light to dark blue, pink-red, violet, light green
Color of Streak: White
Moh’s hardness: 8
Density or Specific Gravity: 3.49-3.57
Cleavage: Perfect
Chemical composition: Al2SiO4(F,OH)2
Refractive Index: 1.609-1.643
Reflective Index: 29-32
Dispersion: 0.0014(0.008)
Transparency: transparent to translucent
Topaz: History
The exact discovery of the name of topaz was never really verified. As stated in the introduction it either came from the Greek or Sanskrit. The Greek philosopher, Pliny derived the name topazios after the island of Topazos (now known as the Island of St John), which is a small island off the Red Sea, where it is first stated that he discovery of topaz was made. Historians believe that the topaz discovered at the island was not in fact topaz but the gemstone, peridot.
The topaz has been known for its metaphysical properties. The Indians believe that the topaz can be used as a talisman for health, caution, sagacity, and prevention of death. The Egyptians believe that the yellow topaz was filled with the golden glow of the mighty sun god Ra. They also used these stones as a talisman against harm. The Romans associated topaz with Jupiter, who is also the god of the sun, wore topaz as a talisman from diseases, also to protect its wearer against perils and dangers in travelling, injuries from burns and scalds, and to avert pain of the chest and bowels. Topaz was one of the stones in the ‘Breastplate of Judgment’ of Aaron, who was the brother of Moses and leader of an old Israeli tribe, described in the bible (Exodus: xxviii, 15-30). Historically, topaz has been thought to give long life, good looks and intelligence. It is also thought to given protection from poison, disease and sorcery. In 1740, the “Braganza” diamond (1,640 carats) was found in Ouro Preto, Brazil. It was set in the Portuguese crown, and was thought to be the largest diamond ever found. The fact that it was a diamond was never confirmed, and it is now believed to have been a colorless topaz.
Topaz: How is it formed?
Topaz is formed from gas and volatiles trapped in freezing granite. When found topaz crystals are isolated in pockets and are often very large. This mostly occurs in cavities in lava and gigantic rocks. Topaz is formed inside igneous rocks such as pegmatites and alluvial deposits. This can be found in fluorite and cassiterite areas such as the mountains of Russia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Pakistan, Italy, etc.
Compared to other minerals, topaz is relatively resistant to weathering and stream abrasion. These characteristics enable it to be found in the stream sediments derived from the weathering of topaz-bearing rocks. It is sometimes produced by placer mining.
Topaz: Color
Most topaz that is colorless is white topaz. The next most plentiful color is blue and green. The stones that are most seen in jewelry are yellow, brown or pink. The most sought after color of topaz was known as the “imperial topaz”. These colors included pink and red.
Blue topaz is a very popular gemstone and is rarely formed in nature. Most of the blue topaz on the market is treated. Unfortunately there is no way yet to determine which stones have been treated and which are natural. Although blue topaz has not been manufactured synthetically on a commercial scale, a completely natural looking blue coloration has been produced in colorless topaz by means of irradiation with gamma rays. This practice is regarded as legitimate in the trade, and is becoming increasingly widespread. It is one of the reasons for the present abundance of blue topaz in the trade.
Topaz: Treatment and Synthetic
As stated, blue topaz is a very popular gemstone but since it is very rarely found many treatments have been used. This is the reason of the decline in recent years of blue topaz. The following are ways people have treated or enhanced the quality of topaz.
Heat: This is a common method used in most gemstones. Topaz has been heat treated to improve color for decades, maybe even centuries. This method has been used mostly to create blue, pink and red topaz, which are the most popular.
Irradiation: Irradiating topaz was a technique that was established many years ago to produce blue topaz. Nearly all of the blue topaz on the market today has been irradiated in this way. In Europe this treatment is controversial and on its way to being banned because of the possible residual radioactivity of the gemstones.
Diffusion: Another method of improving the color of topaz involved coating the colorless topaz with a specific chemical and then heating it at very high temperatures. Only the surface layer of the gemstone is affected while the center remains colorless (you would not be able to tell unless you cut it in half). This is a relatively durable treatment.
Coating: Some topaz gemstones are treated with an extremely thin film of mineral or metallic materials and then placed in a vacuum. This process creates topaz that is a wide variety of iridescent, eye catching colors. They are called “Mystic Topaz”, and new terms are coined every week.
Synthetics: Synthetic topaz is not very prevalent on the market because natural topaz is so available. In fact, synthetic topaz can be found at the same price if not more expensive than natural topaz. Most jewelers will specify whether it is synthetic.
Imitation: Topaz is imitated by quartz (citrine) and glass. It can be distinguished from these by a scratch test, since topaz is harder than both of these materials. If you rub a piece of quartz against a topaz, the quartz will scratch but the topaz will not.
