Facts about Blue Topaz Topaz is a mineral, a silicate of aluminum and fluorine. It has to be handled with care to avoid developing flaws. Pure topaz is transparent but it is usually tinted by impurities. When a transparent gemstone is heated it becomes blue. Often topaz is wine or straw-yellow in color. They may also be white, gray, green, blue, pink or reddish-yellow and transparent or translucent. If you heat yellow topaz it often becomes reddish-pink. Topaz is found with the more acid rocks of the granite and rhyolite type and may be found with fluorite and cassiterite. It can be found in the Ural and Ilmen mountains, Brazil, Czech Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Saxony, Sweden, and the United States. Topaz is also the birthstone for November and the Celtic birth sign 'Beach'. |