Hi All,
Is there or was there ever natural blue topaz? I was under the
impression that it was all treated but a friend swears she has
"natural" blue topaz.
Thanks,
Betty
Natural blue topaz? There is such a thing- some of it currently comes
from the Pikes Peak area of Colorado. The naturally blue topaz is a
pale blue- not like the stuff that has been cooked, nuked and
electrocuted…
Lee Einer
my friends at Overland Gems (who are one of the originators of the
Blue Topaz ‘craze,’) tell me that there is some rare natural blue
topaz from Texas, and a few other places. It is always pale in color,
and happens from natural radiation, rather than being created in an
atomic accelerator. David Barzilay, Lord of the Rings
In my 30 years as a jeweler I have seen one piece of natural blue
topaz, so I know it is out there, but I would be highly suspect of
any claim that there is a quantity of it anywhere.
Daniel R. Spirer, GG
www.spirersomes.com
Yes indeed there is a natural blue topaz. The blues are usually pale
(Topaz occurs in several colors- pink,yellow,brown,red,green,…)
Will Estavillo
Hi Betty… Natural blue topaz exists, but most of the stuff that’s
medium to dark blue has probably been irradiated and heat
treated…to the extent that it’s assumed…
If she has a lighter blue topaz (called “sky” blue and sometimes
"top sky blue"), might likely be untreated…but the darker it gets
(Swiss, London) the more likely it is to have been treated…
This heat and irradiation treatment can happen due to Ma Nature
also…that’s where the treaters got the idea from…
The only way to be sure would be to send it to a gem lab…
Older blue topaz that was irradiated can sometimes be
radioactive…but the modern processes have eliminated this
situation…(leastways I hope so)…
Gary W. Bourbonais
Hi All, Is there or was there ever natural blue topaz? I was under the impression that it was all treated but a friend swears she has "natural" blue topaz.
Natural blue topaz is not, of course, as common as the treated. And
in color, most of what I’ve seen is light blue, similar to decent
aquamarine in tone and saturation, rather than the more intense and
darker versions common in the treated. I’ve still got a couple
from Texas, that I bought almost 20 years ago, and another, locality
not sure, but which I think is from colorado. But when I first got
into gems and jewelery, the treated material was not yet prevalent,
and blue topaz was certainly then available.
Keep in mind that almost any process you can devise in a lab to
treat natural material to another color, has probably also somewhere
occured in nature…
A problem with natural blue topaz is proving that it is indeed
natural. The treatment doesn’t leave obvious traces in the pale
colors that are also what is commonly seen in the natural color, so
now, unless one knows for sure that a particular stone is natural,
one has to usually just assume it’s treated. But I have to assume that
some of the light blue material for sale today may also still be
natural, even if not labeled as such.
Peter
many years ago there was a small find of some VERY pale blue topaz
near Plano, Texas None of this was ever cut, to my knowledge, as it
was wor th far more to collectors in the natural state Cutting it
would immediately put its value at nearly nothing I have also seen
two crytals from the former Soviet Union, very old specimens, that
had a light blue cast to them Nice crytal form, but very
solution-pitted There might be more, but who cares? Once cut, it’s
just pale blue topaz Also, remember, there is the possibility of
irradiating and heat treating the natural crystal specimens as well
Accelerator treatment leaves no tell-tale residual radiation
Wayne Emery