Topaz

What is Topaz?
Topaz is a very beautiful gem that comes in many colors, including blue, red, orange, pink, yellow and brown. Naturally pale topaz is heated up to make blue topaz by irradiation, as gems with no color (other than the diamond or opal) have not a lot of value.

Red and pink topaz jewels were used in 18th and 19th century Russian Czarinas, which is why these colors are given the name "Imperial Topaz". Even though topaz is an extremely hard gemstone, a 8 on the Mohs scale, it can be split with one blow and should be worn carefully to prevent banging.

Where are topaz found?
Topaz can be found in these places:

Brazil
Sri Lanka
Pakistan
Russia

Famous topaz can be found in museums and royal jewels as well- Here are a few examples:

The Braganza Topaz- Remember what I said earlier about gems without color being worthless? (Well, not worthless, but you know what I mean.) The Braganza Topaz, originally thought to be a diamond, is a colorless topaz that is 1680 carat. It is set in the Portugese Crown Jewels. Another famous topaz is in the Green Vault in Dresden which has one of the world's most important gem collections.