First comes love...then comes Simmons and Clark

Blue Topaz: December»s Gemstone

Most people think of topaz as a transparent golden yellow gemstone. However, this gemstone also occurs colorless as well as orange-yellow, red, honey-brown (dark sherry), light green, blue and pink. The name topaz is derived from the Greek word meaning ñto shineî and also implies ñfire.î Orange-red ñImperialî topaz and pink colors are rare and most valuable.

The lore, magic and romance of topaz goes back many thousands of years. It holds the distinction of being the gemstone with the widest range of curative powers. Ancient Egyptians thought its golden glow symbolized ñRa,î their sun god. The Greeks felt it gave them strength. In addition, it supposedly cooled tempers, restored sanity, cured asthma, relieved insomnia and even warded off sudden death. Topaz is said to make its wearer invisible in times of emergency. It proved the loyalty of associates by changing color in the presence of poison.

Blue topaz is one of the accepted birthstones for December and the anniversary gemstone for the 4th year of marriage (and Imperial topaz for the 23rd.) Topaz is found mainly in Brazil, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.

View the next gemstone on the tour.

Back to the Gemstones index page.

Return to Home Page.

Love Story® Diamonds, The Romeo In Love Collection , The Only You Collection, The Epic Love Collection , The Legendary Love Collection, and Cleopatra's Passion Collection are registered trademarks of Leading Jewelers Guild, Inc., Los Angeles, California.

This website is dedicated to the memory of Dana Holm Howard (1953-2000).