Blue Topaz Help...

[aries2]

Hello everyone!
I need to find a large size blue topaz stone really fast, but I''m not having much luck! I''ve searched but couldn''t come up with anything in larger sizes. I was wondering if anyone could give me a hand and point me in the right direction. Looking for preferably pear shaped, but also like square cut. Thanks for the help in advance!!!

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Date: 12/19/2005 10:02:14 PM
Author:aries2
Hello everyone!
I need to find a large size blue topaz stone really fast, but I''m not having much luck! I''ve searched but couldn''t come up with anything in larger sizes. I was wondering if anyone could give me a hand and point me in the right direction. Looking for preferably pear shaped, but also like square cut. Thanks for the help in advance!!!

Hi Aries,

Blue topaz is treated and is readily available on the commercial market.
Here are a couple sites:

www.awesomegems.com- Has some very nice blue topaz and nice color saturation with great clarity. No Pears though, but some awesome emerald cuts (square)

www.mineralminers.com- Has some very large pieces...70 carats plus.. Might be worth taking a look.

www.lapilia.com - Has some smaller pieces in a variety of different fancy cuts,

If I remember correctly Garry Dutton www.diamondexpert.com has some pieces on his sight also.

Blue Topaz is relatively inexpensive and you should demand a piece with superior color and exceptional clarity. You shouldn''t have a problem finding what your looking for. Report back in and let us know how your search is going or if you need more help...

 

[WTNLVR]

All of the above is excellent advice. what color do you want though? There are different shades of blue topaz.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Hi Again Aries:

Like wntlvr points out there are different shades of blue topaz. Here is some info I wrote on the forum a while back for a little background and insight along with a picture of a checkboard cut glacier blue topaz from Ahern & Brucker's website.. Have fun..

Blue Topaz starts as an off color, usually bluish-gray to silvery-gray in color, and it is irradiated (treated) to produce bold colors like the blue-green color "London Blue", the light blue color "Sky Blue", the medium blue color "Swiss Blue", and the more intense blue color "Maxi Blue". These colors become permanent treatments to give the gem a very bright, durable, and attractive color. There are several other types of treatments being used on some of the Topaz on the market to produce a variety of other colors, but most of those treatments are only on the surface of the gem and/or not permanent treatments.
There have been some blue topaz that rival the blue seen in fine sapphires, but can be expensive compared to the more available commercial quality topaz..
Topaz is a durable, but softer (similiar to emeralds) scoring an 8 on the Moh's scale of hardness..

While it is possible for Topaz to come from the earth in a light blue color, almost all of it on the market today is treated to one degree or another. It is a result of irradiating colorless or near colorless precious topaz. Nearly all blue topaz starts out white, but there are natural blues as well, though quite rare. The results can vary from a light to medium rich blue coloration that includes many different intensities of blue depending on what enhancement method is used.
I like the blue color present in glacier blue topaz and it reminds me of the blue seen in fine ceylon sapphires. Topaz which is surface treated is relatively inexpensive making replacement a practical solution if damage or chips occur over time.

 

[aries2]

Thanks for the links CGN, I'll be sure to check them out!

WTNLVR the color I'm looking for is a medium (not to light, not too dark) aqua color...a blue with some green in it (greenish blue) color, not just plain blue. Most of the ones I have seen are just blue.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 12/19/2005 10:57:39 PM
Author: aries2
Thanks for the links CGN, I''ll be sure to check them out!


WTNLVR the color I''m looking for is a medium (not to light, not too dark) aqua color...a blue with some green in it (greenish blue) color, not just plain blue. Most of the ones I have seen are just blue.

zircon would be a better pick for that. Its brighter too.
Is it for a ring or pendant?

 

[PrecisionGem]

YOu might want to give Lance a call.
http://www.gemdata.com/doc/mine.html
His web site is way out of date, but I know he cuts very large blue topaz. Your best cut stones are amost always cut by american cutters, and for a large stone the cutting will really show more. Not sure how large you are looking for, but I know Lance will have something right up to the size of a door knob!

 

[elepri]

I recently bought one from gemselect.com and i''m very happy with it. They also sell on ebay.