Like most precious gemstones the colour is determined by the presence of trace amounts of different substances which were present when the crystals began to form deep within the earth. An Array of ColoursĪlthough topaz was historically defined by its golden yellow colour the more sophisticated techniques employed by modern gemmologists have revealed that the stone can come in a variety of different colours. This is because the gemstone’s atomic structure makes it prone to fracture catastrophically when struck. One factor that allowed early gemmologists to detect the difference was the higher density of topaz, which means that it is heavier than other stones of the same size.Īlthough topaz is a hard stone it must be treated with greater care than similarly hard stones such as corundum (the mineral which gives us Sapphire and Rubies). This island was supposedly the first place that Topaz was mined, however we now know that this stone was more likely to be Chrysolite, a yellow variant of Olivine, the same mineral that gives us the pale green stone Peridot.īefore the advent of modern chemistry the name Topaz was often applied to any yellow precious stone, which led to it being confused with the slightly less valuable stone Citrine, or even the substantially more valuable yellow sapphire.
The name “Topaz”, derives from the Greek Τοπάζιος (Τοpáziοs), which was the ancient name for what is now St John’s Island, located in the Red Sea. They have been valued throughout history, but have often been confused with other precious gemstones. Topaz is one of the most widespread of precious gemstones, occurring naturally in many nations across the face of the earth.
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