Topaz
An 8-hardness silicate found in pegmatites worldwide. Blue topaz owes its color to irradiation treatment; natural blue comes from Texas' Mason County ("Lone Star cut") and Russia's Urals. The Braganza "diamond" of Portugal's crown is a giant topaz.
Known origins & mines
Klein Spitzkoppe Topaz · Namibia
Namib Desert granite inselberg producing superb sherry, sky-blue and colorless topaz crystals continuously since the 1890s — among the most …
Jos Plateau Mines · Nigeria
Nigerian plateau pegmatites yield clean yellow-green to blue aquamarine plus morganite and spessartine — artisanal workings supply Bangkok a…
Katlang Pink Topaz Mines · Pakistan
Katlang produces the world's only true pink topaz — untreated rose-red crystals from Mardan district command extraordinary premiums over tre…
Mason County Topaz Digs · United States
Texas state gemstone dug from granite gravel by hobbyists each spring — pale sherry-blue topaz inspired the Lone Star Cut faceting design.…
Murzinka Ural Mines · Russia
The "Siberian" color benchmark came from these 18th-century Ural miarolitic pockets that supplied Catherine the Great's court lapidaries.…
Schneckenstein Rocks · Germany
The 18th-century "Saxon topaz rocks" supplied pale blue-green crystals for European court jewelry before Brazilian deposits took over — exha…
Thomas Range Topaz · United States
Juab County rhyolite vugs grow champagne-to-sherry topaz crystals free-standing like little rockets — the classic American mineral-collector…