Texas Topaz Day - Mason, Texas - Mar 24-25, 2012

This coming weekend the Southwest Gem and Mineral Society in San Antonio and the World Gem Society invites everyone to come to Mason, Texas, to join in the Texas Topaz Day festivities on Saturday, March 24th, followed by the Texas Faceters Guild Seminar Day on Sunday, March 25th. Mason, Texas, right in the heart of the Texas Hill Country is located in some of the most interesting geological formations to be found anywhere in the world. The festivities and events start at 10:00 am on Saturday and run all day with gemstone cutting and faceting demonstrations, jewelry and arts shows, and contests and music events to cap off the day. Then on Sunday you can join the Texas Faceters Guild for a day of learning about the latest in gemstone cutting and faceting. From novice to expert all are welcome.

The Blue Topaz was adopted as the Texas State Gemstone as a result of legislative approval on March 26, 1969. Petrified Palmwood was also named the State Stone by the same legislation. This Swiss Blue Topaz just above has been given a special cut to show the Texas Lone Star. A limited supply of these will be available over the two days in Mason, Texas.

Topaz occurs naturally in many colors including blue, orange, brown, green, pink, beige and red. Naturally occuring Blue Topaz is quite rare. Colorless topaz, the most common variation, can be treated by irradiation to produce a wide range of shades of blue, which are known as Sky Blue, Swiss Blue and London Blue. This treated, Blue Topaz is one of the most popular and widely used of all gemstones. London Blue is the most famous and most highly prized, but takes over 18 months to produce. Radiation scares have centered around the process and lasting effects from the making London Blue Topaz.

Some clear topaz crystals from Brazilian pegmatites can reach boulder size and weigh hundreds of pounds. Crystals of this size may be seen in museum collections. One famous Topaz is The Topaz of Aurungzebe and weighed 157.75 carats. Colorless and rarely light-blue varieties of Topaz are found in Precambian granite in Mason County, Texas, within the Llano Uplift in the Streeter, Grit, and Katemcy areas. It is usually found in streambeds and ravines but occasionally can be located atop the ground. Currently, only three Mason County ranches offer the public the opportunity to go Topaz hunting. They charge by the day, you keep what you find. You can enjoy Topaz hunting throughout the year except during the months of November, December and early January, when the ranches are closed for the deer season. There is currently no commercial mining of Topaz in that area. The natural Blue Topaz found in this area is the scarest of all the Topaz varieties.

Topaz is also the Birthstone for the month of November.

So as not to confuse the Lapidary enthusiasts, the Official State Rock of Texas is also Petrified Palmwood.
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Ignorance Factor and London Blue Topaz

Different shades of blue topaz.

Chart courtesy of Helmut Zimmerman/BCS Group.

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A year ago, when the NRC decided to enforce its long-ignored health and safety regulations for irradiated London Blue Topaz, most retailers stopped selling this very popular gem until licensed testing facilities could be opened. Now six facilities are open—and no one seems to be using them. Why?

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Blue topaz comes in basically three shades: Sky Blue, Swiss Blue and London or Denim Blue. There are some who also recognize a fourth blue called Super Sky Blue. All come from radiating the natural Clear or White Topaz. And then for those that have the available cash, there is a very rare natural Blue Topaz, which is very rarely seen. Forgetting the natural Blue Topaz, the lighter shades of blue have the lowest levels of radiation, while the London Blue takes at least 18 months for the radiation to drop to the safety standard set by the Nuclear Regulatory Committee (NRC). However, with time, even London Blue Topaz is quite safe. Nevertheless, an informal survey of several southern California jewelry chains and jewelry departments in major stores and visits to jewelry stores in Texas showed that while all the stores carried some Sky and Swiss Blue Topaz jewelry, only a couple carried any of the dark London Blue Topaz.. When asked about it, of the clerks who know about teh irradiation to color, most of the sales clerks would comment “You used to see that dark blue stuff all the time. Now no one has it.”

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Clearly the decision to cease stocking London Blue Topaz came from outside the stores visited. If fact, the majority of salespeople had no idea what type of treatment had been used on the Topaz stones to make them blue, many thought all Blue Topaz was natural. What’s more, most were oblivious to the NRC regulations. Of the few salespeople who were aware of the NRC regulations, all but one erroneously believed the regulations stemmed from widespread problems with “dangerous levels of radiation.”

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Given such confusion and ignorance about Blue Topaz among jewelry store staffers, it’s easy to see why people cite so many different reasons for the drop-off in sales of this lovely gem. Sadly, the decline didn’t have to happen if people in the jewelry industry would become familiar with processes and treatments associated with gemstones. Maybe the moral here is an old one: The jewelry industry has nothing to fear but fear itself.

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In the mean time fear could spread. After all, Blue Topaz is not the only gemstone to be regularly irradiated. Yellow Beryl, Smoky Quartz, Pink Tourmaline, some colored Diamonds and others are also enhanced in this manner. If disclosure of this basic truth becomes as hard to swallow with other gems, London Blue Topaz could just be the first of many gem casualties in a market that lives in needless, somewhat hypocritical fear of the facts about the products it sells. So in the end, if you like Blue, the Blue Topaz gemstones are still a great favorite and wearing them hasn't shown to be of any problem. For those dealers who know and explain the facts to their customers about Blue Topaz, the problems have not kept anyone from purchasing them.

Information from various medical authorities indicate that even with a necklace containing as many London Blue Topaz as shown, the wearer would have to wear it 24 hours a day for many many years and they still would not receive as much radiation as one can obtain on a beach in the full sun.

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Partial reprint of articles in Colored Stone Magazine, AGTA and ISG news releases.

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