Gemstone Profile: Topaz
Topaz is one of the few gemstones that defines a level on the Mohs hardness scale, comes in essentially the full color spectrum, and has been known since antiquity yet remains affordable across most of its varieties. The mineral name has a tangled history — the ‘Topazios’ island of classical sources (modern Zabargad in the Red Sea) actually produced peridot, not topaz, and many gems historically called ‘topaz’ (including ‘smoky topaz’ and ‘Madeira topaz’) were actually quartz varieties. The trade name confusion was only fully cleaned up in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Mineralogy and quality factors follow GIA. Historical claims follow gemological literature; metaphysical claims follow the crystal book library.