What is a Blue Topaz?
Topaz is a fairly common and inexpensive gemstone. It can be found in huge and flawless crystals, which can be faceted into very large gemstones which can weigh thousands of stones. Some of the largest gemstone pieces ever cut were of topaz.
Topaz is a hard and durable gemstone, and will not dissolve in most chemical solvents. However, it does have perfect cleavage, which can make it prone to chipping or forming flaws. Blue topaz does occur in nature, but is rare and almost always light in color. Most, if not all, blue topaz used in jewelry have been irradiated and heat treated to artificially create the blue color. The original stones are colorless or lightly colored, and the radiation process gives them their various blue colors. In a few rare circumstances, some forms of blue topaz tend to slightly fade in exposure to sunlight after extended periods of time.
Topaz is a hard and durable gemstone, and will not dissolve in most chemical solvents. However, it does have perfect cleavage, which can make it prone to chipping or forming flaws. Blue topaz does occur in nature, but is rare and almost always light in color. Most, if not all, blue topaz used in jewelry have been irradiated and heat treated to artificially create the blue color. The original stones are colorless or lightly colored, and the radiation process gives them their various blue colors. In a few rare circumstances, some forms of blue topaz tend to slightly fade in exposure to sunlight after extended periods of time.
There are three shades of blue topaz:
