Geology / History
Topaz is an aluminium silicate fluoride hydroxide commonly associated with silicic igneous rocks of the Granite & Rhyolite type. Topaz is formed by fluorine bearing vapours given of during the final stages of crystallization in various igneous rocks. It typically crystallizes in granitic pegmatites or in vapour cavities in Rhyolite lava flows & in hydrothermal veins.
Pure Topaz is colourless & transparent but is usually has a tinted colour caused by impurities. More commonly Topaz is wine red, yellow, pale gravy, reddish-orange, or blue brown. It can also be white, pale green, blue, gold, pink (rare), reddish-yellow. Some clear Topaz crystals from Brazilian pegmatites can reach boulder size & weigh hundreds of pounds.
The rare Imperial Topaz is yellow, pink or pink-orange. Brazilian Imperial Topaz can have a bright yellow to deep golden brown hue, sometimes even violet. Many brown or pale Topaz undergo treatment to make them bright yellow, gold, pink or violet coloured.
Naturally occurring blue Topaz is quite rare. Often colourless, grey or pale yellow & blue material is heat treated & irradiated to produce a darker blue.
Mystic topaz is high grade colourless topaz which has been artificially coated with Titanium giving it a beautiful rainbow effect.
The name Topaz is derived from the Greek Τοπάζιος (Τοpáziοs) or Τοπάζιον (Τοpáziοn). Topazios is the ancient name of a legendary island in the Red Sea now known as St John’s Island. Here a yellow stone now believed to be chrysolite a yellowish Olivine was mined in ancient times. Topaz itself was not really known before the classical era but was mined on the same island.
Metaphysical Properties
Stone of pure love & happiness. This Topaz connects directly to the heart chakra & activates the third eye. It strengthens psychic abilities & increases ability to communicate to animals & the elemental realm. Green Topaz is a powerful Earth healer which brings forth the understanding of creation & how to make things grow. It teaches us to release the old to allow new life to grow.
Green Topaz contains an angelic vibration full of forgiveness, this allows us to release negative emotions & replace them with steady unwavering joy. Cleans the ethereal body of emotional pain, trauma & guilt dissolving karmic debt. An excellent healer’s stone as it protects & continually energises the heart, preventing energy attachments.
Green Topaz propels the mind into a state of seeing, right down to the tiniest details then out to the largest of whole pictures. It shows us the true interconnectivity of all life & how to affect change to achieve the greatest good for all. The strength in the endless spiral of life is understood when meditating with Green Topaz. It accesses ancient information & shows us how to energetically care for the land.
Green Topaz opens doors into the Fae or Farie realms. A great ally for all whom care for the environment. Green Topaz teaches us that love is the most powerful force & anything can grow from love.
Crystal Healing
Great for the eyes, bones, immune system & blood. Enhances cellular activity & neuro response.
Mineralogy
Group: Silicate Nesosilicates
Crystal System: Orthorhombic
Composition: Al2SiO4F2
Form/Habit: Prismatic crystals with faces striated parallel to long dimension; also columnar, compact, massive
Hardness: 8
Cleavage:[001] Perfect
Fracture: Subconchoidal to uneven
Lustre: Vitreous
Streak: White
Specific Gravity: 3.49–3.57
Transparency: Transparent
R.I: nα = 1.606–1.629, nβ = 1.609–1.631, nγ = 1.616–1.638
Colour: Colourless (if no impurities), blue, brown, orange, grey, yellow, green, pink & reddish pink
Birefringence: δ = 0.010
Fluorescence: Short UV=golden yellow; Long UV=cream
Pleochroism: Weak in thick sections X = yellow; Y = yellow, violet, reddish; Z = violet, bluish, yellow, pink
Strunz Classification: 9.AF.35
Dana Classification: 52.03.01.01