Imperial Topaz On ebay

[Bluehunter]

Hi.

For many of you may have seen Imperial topaz on eBay like this picture below






It is a earth mined white topaz that has been irradiated to this color, Color will fade
so be careful

 

[chrono]

Most topaz have been nuked and as the saying goes, if it looks too good to be true....

 

[RevolutionGems]

Too true, too true.

True Oro Preto topaz is still available. I bought two pieces of rough at the spring Denver gem show. Not cheap but very nice.One was the classic gold/orange and the other has a slight pinkish tone that is somewhat rarer. My Mom has laid claim to that one for a ring...

 

[Barrett]

the only on one of those pics I would consider a imperial, even through they are treated is the top one..the others are colors you can find in topaz on every continenet..why call them imperial if I can find the same color in utah or pakistan or africa..the top red one would be an imperial..if not treated to hell and back

 

[RevolutionGems]

Amethystguy,

I will agree with you to a certain extent. However, the material that comes out of other areas (Utah and Pakistan for instance) is known to fade with exposure to light. I have heard that there is some stable colored-material out of Pakistan but it is pretty rare and tends toward the peach as opposed to the golden, pinks, reds and rare purples that come from Oro Preto.

A quote from the Pala site: "When we’re talking about topaz, imperial is a descriptive term for golden orangey-yellow hues, and precious is usually reserved for the more pink-red hues. However, these terms can, and often are, used interchangeably by gem dealers. Exceptional colors like these are only found near the town of Ouro Preto within in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil."

So, there is material out there that is similarly colored but, as far as I have seen, Oro material is unique in its color. I am a bit more lenient in color when it comes to Imperial Topaz and I do consider the bright, pure golden stones to be imperials. That being said, I do have a strong preference for the pinks and salmon colored stones out of Oro...

And then every once in a while there is that really spectacular gem (this one was offered by Pala at some point)

 

[Lady_Disdain]

That is one spectacular stone!