|
Topaz
Feb 14, 2020 10:18:40 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by knave on Feb 14, 2020 10:18:40 GMT -5
I see that Topaz is a defining mineral on the Mohs scale. (8) I sure don’t hear it come up much on this forum. I will read what geology.com has to say. But I’m also interested in the 2020 situation for it. Is it hard to find? Expensive? Looks like it comes in a range of colors.
|
|
|
Topaz
Feb 14, 2020 10:45:56 GMT -5
knave likes this
Post by joshuamcduffie on Feb 14, 2020 10:45:56 GMT -5
Topaz is a hardness of 8 on the Mohs scale. It's probably not one that's widely tumbled, along with other things with a hardness around 8, for example, CZ, Spinel or Emerald. Maybe it's a cost thing?
|
|
|
Post by opalpyrexia on Feb 14, 2020 10:58:36 GMT -5
I see that Topaz is a defining mineral on the Mohs scale. (9) I sure don’t hear it come up much on this forum. I will read what geology.com has to say. But I’m also interested in the 2020 situation for it. Is it hard to find? Expensive? Looks like it comes in a range of colors.
In general and relative to faceted stones, Blue topaz is inexpensive and Golden/Yellow topaz (aka Precious) is relatively inexpensive. Imperial topaz (orange,reddish-orange, yellow-orange) and Pink topaz (pink, red, purplish-red) can be moderate to expensive.
|
|
gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,773
|
Post by gemfeller on Feb 14, 2020 11:54:57 GMT -5
Just a note. Yellow to golden citrine (quartz) is often promoted as "citrine topaz." That's a misnomer and in my opinion unethical. I think it's a name some retailers devised to satisfy birthstone sales with a less expensive stone than genuine topaz.
Blue topaz is white (colorless) topaz that's been irradiated then heated to stabilize color. It comes in three basic tones of blue: Sky Blue, Swiss Blue and London Blue. The darker the tone the greater amount of radiation. Dark London Blue spends time in a nuclear reactor and then must be "cooled off" for a set period of time before it can enter the jewelry trade. Rules for treatment are set by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ETA: Natural Blue topaz is very rare but does exist. It's found in some areas of Texas and there's another source in Zimbabwe. I've also heard of some found in Brazil but I don't know where.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2020 12:22:41 GMT -5
For testing purposes, go for white topaz (cheap and widely available). If you want to PM your address to me, I'll mail you a small xtl from Utah's Thomas Mts. Natural Blue topaz is very rare but does exist. It's found in some areas of Texas and there's another source in Zimbabwe. I've also heard of some found in Brazil but I don't know where. Minas Gerais (Itinga and Virgem da Lapa) and Epirito Santo in Brazil. Historically there was some production out of Russia (from the Urals near Sverdlovsk) with astronomical prices back in the days of the tsars. Yes, very rare, but the prices fell through the floor when the artificially irradiated stuff came on the market in the 1920s. I'd add that 1) what is still sometimes sold as "Smoky Topaz" is often brown/smoky quartz and not topaz; 2) a lot of the cheap colored topaz these days is color-coated - something to avoid (colors often don't look real and the coating wears off eventually).
|
|
|
Post by Starguy on Feb 14, 2020 16:48:08 GMT -5
Topaz mining in Utah. I think it’s very expensive and you can’t mine at the source, just in a rubble pile from the blast. topazmountainadventures.com
|
|
|
Post by pauls on Feb 14, 2020 16:48:24 GMT -5
Australia has Natural Blue Topaz as well, fairly rare, probably only a fraction of a percent of stones are blue and it's a very pale blue. I probably have a half pint of clear stones and my blues would easily fit into a matchbox.
|
|
|
Topaz
Feb 14, 2020 17:27:44 GMT -5
Post by joshuamcduffie on Feb 14, 2020 17:27:44 GMT -5
Topaz mining in Utah. I think it’s very expensive and you can’t mine at the source, just in a rubble pile from the blast. topazmountainadventures.comI have a few tiny pieces of Utah topaz. Mine is colorless though.
|
|
gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,773
|
Post by gemfeller on Feb 14, 2020 17:57:37 GMT -5
Topaz mining in Utah. I think it’s very expensive and you can’t mine at the source, just in a rubble pile from the blast. topazmountainadventures.comI have a few tiny pieces of Utah topaz. Mine is colorless though. It probably faded if it was exposed to sunlight. That's common for Utah topaz and some from other locations, especially Russia and Asia. Even the famed (and expensive!) Imperial topaz from Brazil can fade over time if exposed to the sun.
|
|
|
Post by Starguy on Feb 14, 2020 18:03:07 GMT -5
I think when you mine them in Utah, they give you a bag to put them in so the sun doesn’t get on them.
|
|
RWA3006
Cave Dweller
Member since March 2009
Posts: 4,175
|
Post by RWA3006 on Feb 14, 2020 18:06:12 GMT -5
Topaz mining in Utah. I think it’s very expensive and you can’t mine at the source, just in a rubble pile from the blast. topazmountainadventures.comI have a few tiny pieces of Utah topaz. Mine is colorless though. As far as I know most of the topaz from Topaz Mountain, Utah is champagne colored when mined, but exposure to the sun makes it clear. My experience getting it is consistent with this. It's easy to fill a coffee cup with the clear topaz if you just wander the alluvial slopes downhill from the deposit. If you want the beautiful champagne topaz you'll have to mine it out of the rhyolite.
|
|
Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
|
Post by Benathema on Feb 14, 2020 19:06:19 GMT -5
There's a few places around the Lake George area here in Colorado that you can find Topaz in. I have found a clear and colorless piece in an old tailing pile.
There's one place I know of where you can setup a time to meet with the guy and you can help him work the site. Supposedly you can find pink, blue, and clear topaz there. Caveat though is that you give him all the topaz, he'll sell it to you at wholesale prices, and you're also supposed to buy a bag of gravel to sift through. I guess if you're a city slicker looking for the experience or have kiddos to entertain, it could be alright. Personally, the business model doesn't sit well in my gut, but anyways...
|
|
gemfeller
Cave Dweller
Member since June 2011
Posts: 3,773
|
Post by gemfeller on Feb 14, 2020 19:23:48 GMT -5
There's a few places around the Lake George area here in Colorado that you can find Topaz in. I have found a clear and colorless piece in an old tailing pile. There's one place I know of where you can setup a time to meet with the guy and you can help him work the site. Supposedly you can find pink, blue, and clear topaz there. Caveat though is that you give him all the topaz, he'll sell it to you at wholesale prices, and you're also supposed to buy a bag of gravel to sift through. I guess if you're a city slicker looking for the experience or have kiddos to entertain, it could be alright. Personally, the business model doesn't sit well in my gut, but anyways... That region has produced some spectacular gems. From what I can gather it's also color-stable. Topaz mining there was featured a couple of years ago on a TV show, can't recall the name at the moment. It also produces fine terminated smoky quartz and spectacular amazonite specimens.
|
|
Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
|
Post by Benathema on Feb 14, 2020 19:44:53 GMT -5
That region has produced some spectacular gems. From what I can gather it's also color-stable. Topaz mining there was featured a couple of years ago on a TV show, can't recall the name at the moment. It also produces fine terminated smoky quartz and spectacular amazonite specimens. It does! Even some purple fluorite if you're lucky. Maybe this summer I can open up a pocket somewhere rather than stumbling onto ye-olde abandoned claim tailings. These are a few things I've found.. not amazing, but amazing to have found something other than granite!
|
|