Topaz is a semi-precious stone of natural origin, a gem, which is popular in the manufacture of jewelry due to its high decorative properties. The natural mineral topaz in its pure form is transparent and colorless. Various impurities in the composition give the topaz beautiful shades: red, blue, cherry brown, pink, yellow.
It is worth noting that only light blue topaz are found in nature, they are rare and expensive, topaz becomes bright blue and blue only after special processing - the refinement of the mineral.
Natural topaz is often counterfeited, especially the expensive varieties. Because counterfeiting precious stones is an extremely profitable business. Quartz is often sold under the guise of expensive blue topaz. Smoky quartz or citrine is passed off as yellow topaz. Colorless topaz is often dyed to pass off as more expensive colored gems. Quartz, cubic zirconia and even glass are often sold under the guise of topaz.
Synthetic topaz began to be produced back in 1970. Under natural conditions, natural stone has been forming for tens, even hundreds of years. And in the laboratory, the growth of a stone will take several months, and sometimes even days. But their production turned out to be too expensive, and at present, synthetic topaz is practically not produced. It is much easier and cheaper to paint natural colorless topaz.
The exact answer, a natural crystal in front of you or a fake topaz, can only be given by a specialist gemologist after conducting a gemological examination on special equipment. In many large cities there are gemological laboratories that will determine the authenticity of topaz.
In a jewelry store, you need to require a certificate for the stone, confirming its authenticity. It would be nice to bring a trusted jeweler you know with you to the store.
When choosing a stone, it should be understood that rare topaz cannot be cheap. If you are offered moderately priced red topaz, this is definitely a fake. The most expensive and rare topaz is red, pink, blue and green topaz are slightly more common in nature, and the most common are yellow and colorless. Colorless topaz is rarely counterfeited due to its low cost.
There are several ways to determine the authenticity of topaz at home with an approximate degree of probability.
1. Topaz feels very smooth, slippery and cool. As a rule, the stone is well polished.
2. Hardness. Natural topaz has a high density and hardness and leaves a scratch when passed over less hard glass or crystal. A softer fake will not leave a scratch on the glass. But if you have a beautiful faceted stone, then you need to do it carefully, you risk ruining the cut.
3. Natural topaz has the ability to be electrified. If you rub natural topaz with a woolen cloth, it will become electrified and will begin to attract hair and paper. Quartz is not electrified.
4. Topaz heats up slowly in the hands. If the stone is cut, touch it with the tip of your tongue - real topaz should be cool.
5. Inhomogeneous structure. Natural stones that are sold at a reasonable price are almost never perfectly clean, they always have defects. Pure natural topaz is rarely found, but they have a very high price. So, if in front of you is a stone without defects, haze, ideally clean at an average price - this is an artificial analogue of topaz.
6. If parallel cracks can be seen inside the stone, it is likely that the gem is real. The presence of cracks in the structure of the stone is explained by the internal structure of the mineral. If not one of the facets of the stone is parallel to the plane of internal cracks, this is also a confirmation of the authenticity of the stone and its correct cut.
7. If it is possible to get a solution of methylene iodide and the stone is not fixed in a piece of jewelry, then an experiment can be carried out. Lower the real topaz to the bottom of the container with the solution, while the quartz remains floating on the surface. Methylene iodide is a very heavy and dense liquid that is traditionally used to study minerals for density. The density of the methylene iodide solution is 3.33 g / cm3, and all minerals with a density higher than this value sink to the bottom. The density of natural topaz is 3.5 g / cm3, while the density of quartz and glass is 2.5 g / cm3.
When stored properly, natural topaz retains its shine and beauty for a long time. Store topaz jewelry in a cool, dark place if possible. Topaz is afraid of sunlight, it is light unstable and loses color in the sun.
Cubic zirconia, which is used to counterfeit topaz, also has a high hardness and density. It, like topaz, sinks in methylene iodide and scratches glass. It is impossible to distinguish topaz from cubic zirconia at home.
