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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The Fragil "Mystic" Topaz

One of the most beautiful gemstones currently on the market is the "Mystic" Topaz. You can find one in some 64 known colors and probably a few more on Cruise Ships that haven't been advertised. One thing not always stressed to the buyer of all varieties of "Mystic" Topaz is the fact that "Mystic" Topaz is nothing more than colorless topaz that has been subjected to a vapor deposit process by which a variety of secret ingredients are coated on the surface of the stone creating the various colors and sparkle. There is no "Mystic" Topaz mine, but there is a fabulous "Mystic" Topaz manufacture that I linked to a couple years ago on my web-site at http://www.jewelrybycnc.com/ that is still in business, and you can browse his site at http://www.mystictopaz.com/ to view many varieties of "Mystic" Topaz as well as many other gemstones.

The real problem with "Mystic" Topaz is not just that it easily scratches, but that it is also very fragil, to the point that it can be damaged by a jeweler's tweezers during setting and especially resetting, any kind of normal wear and tear, and even heat and cold. But another real problem is that you cannot clean the stone.

Below you see two images. At one time these two stones were identical in color. But one was placed in a normal jeweler's ultrasonic cleaner with the same ammonia and water solution that is sold as jewelry cleaner around the world. You can see that in a very short period of time all of the coating was removed by the ultrasonic cleaner. Meaning that any mystic topaz gemstone set in any kind of ring with diamonds or other gemstones can never be properly cleaned. The only option is a cursory cleaning in plain water, maybe with a small amount of Dove Soap. Which by itself will not remove things like hand lotion, body oils, and perfumes. Meaning that once your mystic topaz ring gets dirty, you are pretty much stuck with a dirty ring.

Probably 98% of all gemstones are treated in some form or another, heat, dying, radiation, infusion, etc. Without treatments, the available number of gemstones on the market would be greatly reduced. And as long as treatments are properly disclosed to consumers, they present many valuable streams of revenue to the independent retail jeweler around the world.

But this craze over Mystic Topaz has just gone a bit overboard. The treatment is too fragile to be viable. There is just too much promotion going on that leaves out the fact that this treatment is temporary, at best. The coating can be flaked off by your fingernail. It cannot withstand heat or cold. And more important, it cannot be properly cleaned after being set into jewelry items with other gemstones. But "Mystic" Topaz is beautiful, and certain manufactures are now claiming that their treatment procedures are becoming more perimenent. Hopefully if one acquires a "Mystic" Topaz, no matter what color, it is of the newer and more perminent coloration nature.

An original green colored "Mystic" Topaz.

Utah's "Topaz" !

Topaz became the State Gemstone of Utah in 1969, when the State Legislature finally made a decision since so many different gemstones can be found among the State's Rhyolite formations: Quartz, Hematite, Bixbyite, Garnet, Pseudobrookite, Amethyst, Cristobalite, Durangite, Cassiterite and Red Beryl in the cavities of Rhyolite formations along the Thomas Mountain Range in Juab County. Topaz, occurs as very hard, transparent crystals in Beaver, Juab and Tooele counties.

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But, Utah has a whole mountain named for the gemstone, Topaz Mountain located in the Southern most portion of Thomas Range. It is characterized by light gray to white Rhyolite. The south eastern most point is Topaz Mountain Amphitheater, also know as Topaz Valley. This is the main and easiest accessible collecting area of the range. Topaz Valley was set aside by the B.L.M. Department of the Interior as a rockhound area. Despite rumors of it being completely picked over, with hard work and a lot of patience you are often rewarded with some fine clear or sherry colored Topaz. The Topaz crystals at Topaz Mountain are naturally amber colored, but become colorless after exposure to sunlight. The crystals formed within cavities of the Topaz Mountain Rhyolite, a volcanic rock which erupted approximately six to seven million years ago, Tertiary Period, from volcanic vents along faults in the area. If someone is looking for Blue Topaz, or other colors of Topaz, you won't find it here.
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Single colorless Topaz crystals can be found in the washes around Topaz Mountain, however the crystals are usually less than an inch long. Larger amber crystals or clusters of Topaz and the other gems and minerals listed above, can be found by breaking open the white Rhyolite to find cavities.

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Topaz can be collected on BLM public lands, School Trust Land (state land) and possibly on some gemstone leases. Precautions should be taken when hunting for the Rhyloite Rocks, hoping to find Topaz inside. A four-wheel drive vehicle is recommended but not required for the last few miles of the journey. Do NOT collect on marked claims. Bring a rock hammer, chisels, and protective eyewear if you intend to break pieces of rock. A hat and plenty of water is recommended. Always be on the watch for rattlesnakes. If you feel like a 3000 ft climb, no roads or paths, some of the better materials can be found higher up in the mountain.

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Many times faceted White Topaz is used in place of Diamonds in jewelry creations.

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Picture of Topaz crystals in Rhyloite from a mineral specimen from JohnBetts-FineMinerals.

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