Topaz, certainly one of two November birthstones, an beautiful gem of many colours, is a a lot sought-after gemstone for jewellery. In historical occasions, individuals believed that topaz possessed magical and therapeutic qualities. Its title might originate from the Sanskrit phrase for hearth.
Colours of the November birthstone
Topaz happens in a spread of magnificent colours: pale blue, pink, pink, brown, various shades of yellow, and even black. Pure topaz itself is a colorless stone. Pink and a few pink topazes get their colours from chromium atoms within the crystal. Most different colours happen as a result of minor factor substitutions and defects within the crystal. Some colours are unstable and might fade away. In different stones, warmth could cause shade adjustments. Excessive-energy irradiation of colorless topaz can rework it to blue gems.
Chemically, topaz is an aluminum silicate mineral containing fluorine and hydroxide (a hydrogen-oxygen molecule). Robust chemical bonds inside topaz make it the toughest of silicate minerals, ranking 8 on the Mohs scale. In keeping with Geoscience Australia, excessive concentrations of flourine – a situation wanted for topaz formation – are geologically uncommon. They defined that topaz varieties in cavities in sure igneous rocks:
The crystals develop within the late phases of a magma cooling, when there may be sufficient fluorine to allow the formation of topaz. Some topaz crystals develop after scorching fluids (hydrothermal options), wealthy in fluorine, circulation via cracks in rocks which have already cooled.
Topaz on show
Topaz gems happen in lots of sizes, from tiny crystals to massive rocks. One of many largest uncut topaz stones, a specimen from Brazil, weighs virtually 600 kilos (270 kg). It’s on show on the American Museum of Pure Historical past in New York.
Weighing ~600 lbs (272 kg), this large topaz is likely one of the largest single crystals of topaz in any museum on the planet! It is simply 1 instance of how massive crystals in pegmatites can develop. See it within the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, opening THIS Sat., 6/12! #NewYorkRocks pic.twitter.com/gqyG0wdUkg
— American Museum of Pure Historical past (@AMNH) June 10, 2021
And one of many largest minimize topazes on the planet – the American Golden Topaz – resides on the Smithsonian Museum of Pure Historical past in Washington D.C. It weighs 10.1 kilos (4.6 kg) and is about 7 inches (18 cm) in size.
Makes use of for topaz
The energetic hearth, readability, colours and hardness of topaz make it supreme for jewellery resembling necklaces, brooches and bracelets. Individuals generally mistake the brilliantly minimize, colorless, pure topaz for a diamond. Due to its rarity, topaz is an costly gem. Probably the most valued and rarest shade is pink. Imperial topaz – sherry-colored forms of brownish-yellow, orange-yellow and reddish brown – are the most well-liked topaz stones. They command excessive costs, as do pink stones. Gentle blue and pale yellow topaz are of much less worth, however are however gorgeous gems.
In addition to its use in jewellery, topaz has industrial functions. It’s used as a refractory material in kilns and furnaces as a result of it maintains its energy beneath excessive warmth. That property additionally makes it helpful as a mould for molten glass and metals.
Brazil is the most important producer of topaz, probably the most notable supply being the Minas Geranis area. Topaz can also be mined in a number of international locations together with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Russia and Australia. And in the US, individuals have discovered it in Utah, Texas and California.
Topaz lore
The gemstone’s title, topaz, might have originated from the Sanskrit phrase that means hearth. There’s additionally a extra convoluted alternate story. The gemstone’s title is likely to be from an historical Greek island within the Pink Sea referred to as Topazos. The island, supposedly troublesome to find, was the place individuals mined a yellow stone. Most now suppose that stone is definitely chrysolite.
In historical lore, the topaz had the facility to chill boiling water. These gems supposedly made their house owners cheerful, giving them nice goals. Individuals additionally believed that those that wore topaz would have a protracted life with magnificence and intelligence.
In the course of the Center Ages, individuals believed that gems with particular engravings held nice powers. The thirteenth century Ebook of Wings by Ragiel said in regards to the topaz:
The determine of a falcon, if on a topaz, helps to accumulate the goodwill of kings, princes, and magnates.
As medication, individuals tried to treatment fevers with topaz. They added powdered topaz to wine to forestall bronchial asthma and insomnia. They believed {that a} topaz held within the hand of a girl throughout childbirth lessened her ache.
Saint Hildegard, a twelfth century German Benedictine abbess, recommended topaz as a treatment for weak imaginative and prescient. Individuals immersed the stone in wine for 3 days and nights, then rubbed the liquid on the eyes. A fifteenth century Roman doctor claimed to have cured plague sores by touching them with a topaz that after belonged to 2 Catholic popes.
Citrine is one other alternative
Yellow citrine is likely one of the many colours discovered within the quartz household. Citrine colours vary from a pale yellow, reddish-orange to brown. Often, citrine is a yellow-green shade. It’s coloring agent is iron. Additionally, pure citrine is uncommon, so most citrine you discover in jewellery are heat-treated smoky quartz or amethyst.
Although yellow topaz and citrine look alike visually, they’ve a special ranking on the Mohs hardness scale. Topaz is barely a more durable gemstone than citrine rated at eight on the Mohs scale, and citrine is a seven. Different yellow gems embrace golden beryl and tourmaline.
A novel gemstone – ametrine – is typically unearthed, it’s a combination of citrine and amethyst. It happens in the identical crystal. It’s particularly enticing when each the yellow and purple are vibrant and the cut up is down the center of the gemstone.
Brazil produces probably the most citrine. Citrine can also be present in Madagascar, the US, Argentina, Myanmar, Namibia, Russia, Scotland and Spain.
Historical past of citrine
Citrine comes from the Latin phrase citrina which implies “yellow”.
Utilizing citrine as a gemstone started in Greece beginning about 300 BC, throughout the Hellenistic Age. Since citrine was related to prosperity, it’s also referred to as the “service provider’s stone” or the “cash stone.”
See the birthstones for the remainder of the yr
January birthstone
February birthstone
March birthstone
April birthstone
May birthstone
June birthstone
July birthstone
August birthstone
September birthstone
October birthstone
November birthstone
December birthstone
Backside line: Topaz and citrine are the November birthstones. Topaz is a tough mineral standard in jewellery, with a permanent mythology of magical and therapeutic powers. Citrine is a member of the quartz household. So November infants have some colourful decisions for his or her birthstone.
