COLORS
Pink-to-red and orange are favorite topaz colors.
TOPAZ
Many people think of topaz as a blue gemstone, but it also comes in shades of yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, and brown. Imperial topaz is a reddish orange to orange-red, and is very expensive. Sherry topaz is yellowish brown to orange. It is often called “precious” to tell it apart from other, less expensive stones that are a similar color.
Lore
For centuries, many people in India believed that wearing a topaz above the heart promised long life, beauty, and intelligence.
Famous Topaz
The Chalmers topaz weighs 5,899.50 carats. That’s about two and a half pounds (a little over a kilogram). It is kept in the Field Museum in Chicago.
- Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World by Grande & Augustyn, University of Chicago Press.
what's in a name?
Topaz
[toh-paz]
(noun) Most experts agree the name is from Topazios, an ancient Greek name for an island in the Red Sea. Others say it is from a word that means “fire” in an ancient Indian language.
