TOPAZ, PRECIOUS STONE OF NOVEMBER
Topaz, together with citrine, is the stone of the month of November and is considered one of the most mysterious and loved gems in the world.
Topaz has always been considered one of the most mysterious and loved gems in the world, the Greeks thought it gave strength to those who wore it.
The Europeans believed it could instead dissolve anger and undo bad spells while in India it was believed that it ensured a long life if worn at heart height and that it gave beauty and intelligence.
Custom made topaz and diamond ring.
Contrariè ring with peridot and diamonds.
Since ancient times it has been so coveted and desired that it is deliberately confused with other less valuable stones.
When the stone has a blue hue, it is often mistaken for an apatite, other times when it tends to yellow or cognac color it is treated for a smoky quartz or a citrine quartz and still others when it takes on a green color, it is confused with peridot .
Conversely, it also happens that the topaz itself is sold as a prized colored diamond or traded as a sapphire.
The origin of the name "topaz" it would derive from a small island in the Red Sea, Topazos, where the ancient Romans extracted some stones called Topazos.
Years later it was discovered that they were not topazes, but peridots; so much so that nowadays the island has changed its name and is called Zabargad which in Arabic means precisely peridot.
According to other sources, however, the name topaz has Sanskrit origins and means "fire".
However, for some the misunderstanding is not completely resolved and the mystery about the origin of the topaz continues.
From a geological point of view it is a mineral, aluminum and fluorine silicate which is found in crystallized form in the shape of a prism that ends with pyramidal faces. It can often be found with traces of chromium, manganese or iron and these are the elements that give the different color to the topaz which can be red, pink, blue-green, blue (natural), pink-orange, yellow-brown, yellow-orange (Cognac), yellow and colorless.
When the topaz is untreated, color variations can be seen inside the stone. For this reason, natural topazes are often treated by heating, to make the crystal color homogeneous.
Brown, yellow and orange topazes are found in Sri Lanka, while pink topazes are more often found in Pakistan and Russia. In Brazil, in the Minas Gerais region, there is a small village in the Ouro Preto where the most prolific quarry of topazes in the world is located and here, for over 2 centuries, orange and purple, red and pink topazes of rare beauty have been extracted .
Ring with citrine quartz and diamonds from the Masterpieces collection signed DAVERIO1933