Wearing the rays of the sun in a jewel

Topaz, the November birthstone, has all the colors of the setting sun - Brown,yellow, orange, sherry, red and pink, and its most valuable color is a golden orange-yellow, called "imperial topaz". Topaz crystals may become quite large and finished gems weighing several thousands of carats are seen in many museum collections.

When it comes to the most revered of topaz, the Imperial Topaz has a history that can be traced back to the Russian Czars from the time period of the 1800s. Topaz is commonly thought of as a sky-blue gem, but it was not until this century that blue topaz became widespread on the gem market. Blue topaz is the US state Texas’ gemstone and is also the birth-stone one for the month of November. Naturally occurring blue topaz is quite rare. Orange topaz, also known as precious topaz, is the symbol of friendship, and the state stone gem for the US state of Utah.