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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #115
Design : Phi Flower Dome (Doug Menadue)
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Mt Surprise, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 4.8 carats
Clarity : Very Slightly Included *
Size : 10mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : A great natural blue topaz from O'Briens Creek. It is cut in one of my round dome designs and is a very brilliant and sparkling gemstone. This design has 161 facets!
* There is a very minor natural inclusion in this stone. It is what I call a "horsetail" needle inclusion because it is comprised of several very thin silvery needles coming together at one end, much like a horse's tail or a comet in the night sky. It is visible in one of the pictures. Other then this the gemstone is eye clean.
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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #120
Design : Acorn (Doug Menadue)
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Mt Surprise, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 4.1 carats
Clarity : Very Slightly Included *
Size : 8mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : Quite a sweet little O'Briens Creek blue topaz cut in a design that I think resembles an acorn. I think its a very elegant, classic design and would suit a solitare style ring setting. The blue colour is very good.
* There is a very fine silvery spider-web strand style inclusion. It sort of looks like a spider-web strand that has dew droplets on it at dawn. It does not detract from the overall appearance of the stone.
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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #117
Design : Phi Flower Dome (Doug Menadue)
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Mt Surprise, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 8.2 carats
Clarity : Very Slightly Included *
Size : 12mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : A very nice O'Briens Creek blue topaz cut in my 161 faceted Phi Flower Dome design. This design almost does my head in when cutting it... its a very challenging cut.
* There are some small veils on one side nead the girdle/pavilion but nothing that detracts from the overall appearance of the stone... the veils are very hard to see.
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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #116
Design : Mock Check Square (Jeff Graham)
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Mt Surprise, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 6.1 carats
Clarity : Very Slightly Included *
Size : 10mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : This is a very fine O'Briens Creek topaz. It is however not very blue, quite pale actually but works exceptionally well in this modern check design.
* There are several very very fine silvery needles in this gemstone and are almost impossible to see. Other then this the gemstone is eye clean.
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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #118
Design : Mock Check Square (Jeff Graham)
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Mt Surprise, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 1.5 carats
Clarity : Very Slightly Included *
Size : 6mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : A smaller sized O'Briens Creek light blue topaz.
* There is a very fine silvery needle in this gemstone, other then that the gemstone is eye clean.
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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #107
Design : Brilliant Marquise (Jeff Graham)
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Mt Surprise, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 8.64 carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 12mm x 17.5mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : This is a very elegant and eye-catching gemstone. It is cut from the same topaz crystal as #106. It is much bluer then its sibling with a very strong blue colour zone running across the stone from tip to tip. It has the same playful nature as its sibling and I really do want to see them kept together... they wonderfully complement each other.
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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #106
Design : Signature #3 (Jeff Graham)
Origin : O'Briens Creek, Mt Surprise, Australia
Treatments : None
Weight : 4.75 carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 8mm x 10.6mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : This is a delightful and playful gemstone. It is cut from the same topaz crystal as #107 and I am selling them as a matched set only. It is predominately silvery clear with a blue colour zone in the middle on one side.
I have indicated the colour zone in one of the pictures if you want to see it. This actually gives it a very unique and playful nature. The blue is reflected into the opposite corners and creates a kind of "V" colour effect. When you tilt the stone around the blue patches flash and chase each other around the stone. It brings a smile to my face to see.
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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #132
Design : Asscher Cut
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : None
Weight : 3.3 carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 8mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : This is a VERY nicely cut natural blue topaz. The asscher cut design is quite old, dating back to the very early 1900's. Initially it was designed for diamonds and suits topaz perfectly! The geometric design shows up very clearly in this stone and is quite an eye catching gem.
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Stone : Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2008
Item : #49
Design : Signature #3 (Jeff Graham)
Origin : Brazil
Treatments : Irradiated
Weight : 6.61 carats
Clarity : Eye Clean
Size : 12mm X 9mm X 7.5mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : A very brilliant blue topaz cut in a barion cushion design.
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Stone : Natural Blue Topaz
Cut By : Doug Menadue, 2009
Item : #133
Design : Acorn (Doug Menadue)
Treatments : None
Weight : 4.26 carats
Clarity : Very Slightly Included *
Size : 8mm
Price : SOLD
Comments : A lovely natural blue topaz cut in my Acorn design. This stone would suit a beautiful solitare ring setting.
* There are some very fine silver needles at one point need the girdle and what appears to be a minor veil. These are not noticable face up and do not detract from the overall appearance of the gemstone.
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Stone : Topaz / Blue Topaz
Moh's Hardness : 8
Origin Locations : O'Briens' Creek, Mt Surprise, North Queensland, Australia; Oban, NSW, Australia; Africa; Minas Gerais, Brazil; Texas, USA; Russia; Afghanistan; Madagascar; Cornwall, England; and others.
Treatments : None to Various
Weight : Ranges from < 5 grams to 1KG+. Commonly found < 20 grams
Clarity : Eye Clean to Included
Color : Clear silvery white, natural blue, treated blues (eg. london blue, electric blue, swiss blue, sky blue), yellow, red-brown, red, pink-red, violet, green
Cleavage : Perfect
Chemical Composition : Al2[(F,OH)2/SiO4] - fluor containing aluminum silicate
Refractive Index (RI) : 1.609 - 1.643
Density : 2.49 - 3.57
Birthstones :
Topaz (Yellow/Golden) is the birthstone for November.
Blue topaz (natural or treated) is the birthstone for December.
Topaz is the zodiac stone for the sign of Sagittarius.
Topaz is the ayurvedic birthstone for November.
Blue topaz is the stone for the 4th anniversary
Topaz is the stone for the 23rd anniversary
Comments : The history of topaz is a long and ancient one and the gem has long been used as an ornament and jewelry stone. The name "Topaz" is thought to come from the name of an island in the
Red Sea formerly called Topazos but now Zebirget. Topaz was mined here on this island. Another possible origin of the name Topaz is that it comes from the Sanskrit word "tapas" which means "fire" or "heat". This could be due to the yellow/red colour that topaz sometimes occurs in.
Many people believe that topaz comes only in yellow and this is true, it does come in yellow. However fancy colors like yellow, reds, oranges and pinks are actually quite rare, so is the very beautiful natural blue.
My personal thoughts on why yellow has become closely associate with topaz, in the same way that blue is associated with sapphire, is that in historical times the technology or ability to differentiate between types of stones was very limited. Yellow quartz, now known as Citrine, is quite common in many parts of the world and I believe that alot of yellow topaz was actually yellow quartz. Today we have the ability to tell the difference between the various types of stones but one still has to be cautious in the marketplace and buy from a reputable dealer as there is still the potential for confusion.
Topaz makes an ideal jewelry stone as it is hard and very durable. It cuts well into brilliant designs and becomes a gem that has lots of scintillation and "fire". If I was pushed to pick a personal favorite of all the gemstones, I would probably have to give natural blue topaz the nod.
It is a stone that I love to cut and the colour, though soft, is divine. Truly it is! The soft blue colour is for me, the most elegant of blues, soft and delicate, sometimes ethereal, sometimes icy like the blue in an arctic iceberg. It is cooling on a hot day, fresh and light and always cheery and pleasing. Each stone is unique in its coloring, some have more blue, some less. The colour is easily as beautiful as aquamarine and in truth, far better then the vast majority of aquamarine that is in the marketplace.
Sadly, with the advent of modern gemstone treatment technology, natural blue topaz has taken an undeserved fall from popularity. Irradiation and heating is now routinely used to change the clear silvery white topaz into a uniform array of vivid treated blues. These stones have the trade names of london blue, electric blue, swiss blue and sky blue. The colour is the same for each category and this is the material that you see in jewelry stores across the land. It is cheap and plentiful whereas the natural blues are scarce and relatively expensive. This sudden mass explosion of treated blues dealt the natural blues a blow and that is sad, for these natural blues are easily one of the most beautiful gems in the world of coloured gemstones. Blue sapphires might be the Queen of Gems, but if there is a Princess of Gems, she would be a natural blue topaz.
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