Swiss Blue Topaz Education: Types, Colors, Description, Origins & Details
LEARN ABOUT THE ELECTRIC BLUE TOPAZ
Swiss Blue Topaz: the brightest and the most vibrant in the topaz lot! This semi-precious beauty reflects that serenity in its appearance like you’ve seen a glimpse of the heavens. Its electric blue color is a favorite already! Elegant, radiant and modish: that’s how we’d label Swiss blue topaz. The name itself is so royal. And since it’s slowly making its place in the market, why not grasp some Swiss Blue Topaz education ourselves? To facilitate you with just that, we have come up with our very own Swiss blue topaz education guide to address all the basic knowledge revolving around this blue beauty right from how it came into picture to what qualities to look for in this December birthstone and of course, everything that falls in between. Basically, all of your asked and unasked questions addressed! Excited already? Let’s begin!
Properties of Swiss Blue Topaz
Hardness
Possessing a hardness of 8 out of 10 on Moh’ s scale, London blue topaz is quite durable and can withstand the wear and tear of regular use. It in fact can only be scratched when brought together with harder gemstones like diamond, ruby and sapphire.
Composition
The chemistry behind its beauty indeed! Being a silicate mineral of fluorine and aluminum itself, Swiss blue topaz gets its medium-blue or electric blue color thank to the process of irradiation with eye energy electrons after which its brown color is subjected to make it appear more life-like, vibrant and bright blue.
Luster
Adding to its shine is its vitreous or glass-like luster with a refractive index of 1.619-1.627. It is known to range between being transparent to translucent.
Origin & History
Let’s give you a glance at how this serene beauty came into picture with our Swiss blue topaz education guide. While, the official discovery of blue topaz was made in the mid 1900s, it is believed to have been out there for over 2 millenia years now. The name itself has been derived inspired from its ancient history wherein it was discovered by Romans on the sacred islands of Topazios of red seas. It captivated such attention ever since that the story of its divine beliefs began right there. Thanks to its serene blue hues, it was believed to have a soothing power and even acted as a protective stone against enemies. The name of topaz generally has ties with its origin and blue topaz has been so famous that it is even believed to have been embedded in the royal necklace of Maria Pavlona of Sweden.
Where is Swiss Blue Topaz found?
Having discussed the past, let’s jump back to today and take a glance at from where exactly this vivid blue beauty is found today. Swiss blue topaz is known to be mined in Sweden of course followed by Russia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Italy, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Mexico, Nigeria, United States and Czech Republic. But the catch is that it is rarely untreated because it is generally very light or brown in color and thus to enhance it with its vibrant and bright blue color, it is generally subjected to irradiation and heat treatment. In its natural form, a swiss blue topaz generally takes its birth in the cavities and fractures present in igneous rocks including pegmatite and rhyolite, thanks to the presence of fluorine and aluminum.
Swiss Blue Topaz versus Aquamarine
Swiss Blue Topaz
The vivid blue color, known to resemble the color of skies of this December birthstone is what sets it apart from its other blue counterparts. But to obtain this alluring color, it is generally irradiated since it is commonly found colorless or pale blue in its natural form. Apart from that, it is slightly more durable with a hardness rating of 8 out of 10 on Mohs scale.
Aquamarine
The color of this March birthstone is pale to vivid sea blue but not without hints of green as well, all thanks to the iron impurities present in this semi-precious stone. It is abundantly found in its natural form and is seldom subjected to heat treatments for its natural color. Also, it is less durable than its Swiss Blue Topaz counterpart, with a hardness rating of 7.5-8 on Mohs scale.
Swiss Blue Topaz Quality and Price Filters
Quality of a gemstone is and will always the first thing we look for when having decided to buy it. And that’s what gets us in quite a pickle. How to judge the quality? What to look for in the quality itself? Well, here we are with our Swiss Blue Topaz buying guide to help you get well versed with the 4 Cs: cut, color, clarity and carat that are the primary determinants of the quality of this semi-precious December birthstone:
Color
In case of Swiss Blue Topaz, the grading factor for color plays an important role since “Swiss Blue” is a color specific to the shade of a blue topaz. By definition, Swiss Blue is known for its bright and medium vivid blue shade. The Swiss Blue color falls in mid range of London Blue to Sky Blue Topaz. The color is believed to be reminiscent of the Carribean Sea. Some even believe it to resemble the color of summer skies. Such divinity! And interestingly, the vibrant color of Swiss Blue Topaz itself comes from an artificial but skilful process. Since in its natural form, this gemstone is pale or colorless, it is generally subjected to electron and neuron treatment which is finally completed with heat treatment. When you are about to buy Swiss Blue Topaz Jewelry then it must be kept in mind to choose the one with uniform saturation without any lighter spot.
Clarity
While treating the Swiss Blue Topaz, a reduction in inclusions has also been observed. Therefore, any treatment offered to Blue Topaz will change and enhance its beauty forever. Inclusions make the Swiss Blue Topaz look less transparent and might include specks, cracks, or feathers. Rough crystals might contain some inclusions, however, faceted Swiss Blue Topaz can be made free of such inclusions. Its clarity ranges from the most sought after eye clean to slightly or moderately included.
Carat
The carat weight of Swiss Blue Topaz depends on the diverse size and shapes of this December birthstone, which in turn determines its price. While a trillion cut 4 mm Swiss Blue topaz can weigh around as light as 0.28 CT, a heart cut 12 mm Swiss Blue Topaz can weigh up to 6.5 CT.
Cut
For the Swiss Blue Topaz, the most common cut is oval, step, Emerald, trillion and cabochon cut. The beautiful and often neglected part is that the artistic cut of Swiss Blue Topaz itself enhances the brilliance and clarity of this blue beauty.
Swiss Blue Topaz Grading Value
Nothing works more efficiently than a grading system to help you understand the quality of your gemstone better, don’t you agree? Slightly easier to understand as well since we’ve all witnessed it in something or another right from our schools. To facilitate you with just that, here we are with our Swiss Blue Topaz grading chart:
AAAA
The rarest and the most sought after Heirloom category! Blue Topaz belonging to this category radiate an intense swiss blue color carrying a brilliant sparkle and eye-clean clarity, devoid of any inclusions.
AAA
Labelled as best, another valuable category of this December birthstone! With top 10 % of all Blue Topaz belonging to this category, these possess an attractive light Swiss blue color along with eye-clean clarity.
AA
With 33 % of all Blue Topaz belonging to this category, these do possess slight inclusions and thus are slightly lesser valuable than its higher graded counterparts.
A
With 75 % of all Blue Topaz belonging to this category, these are the least valuable out of the lot and do possess slight to moderate eye-visible inclusions.
Benefits of Swiss Blue Topaz
The divine blue color of Swiss Blue Topaz would have given you an idea of how equally miraculous the astrological beliefs and benefits of this semi-precious beauty are going to be. Since it has long been hailed as the symbolism of love and loyalty, let’s give you a glance at the wholesome healing properties it blesses the wearer with our Swiss Blue Topaz guide:
Physical Healing
Interestingly, one of the most unique healing property of Swiss Blue Topaz is that it helps the wearer overcome all kinds of eating disorders and digestive issues. Not just that, since it is connected with throat chakra, it also helps in healing soar throat along with burns and wounds. All in all, it blesses with you a sound physical health.
Emotional Healing
We can all agree that the soothing beauty of this watery gemstone is something we can never get enough of. And that’s what sets the stage for its divine emotional healing properties, typically the most profound! It is known to bless the wearer with a sense of soothing energy, helps him overcome anger issues and anxious thoughts, brings clarity of mind. All in all, it blesses you with peace of mind and thus helps you make more balanced decisions in life.
Other Benefits
Other than all that, it also builds trust, strengthens love, loyalty and honesty in the life of the wearer. It helps you find your hidden voice and blesses you with more self confidence in life. Apart from that, it strengthens love and loyalty in the life of the wearer.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a Swiss Blue Topaz made?
The formation of Topaz usually takes place in cavities of rhyolite, pegmatite and other kinds of igneous rocks. The Swiss Blue color is imparted to the natural Topaz by the means of heat treatment. Although, natural blue topazes do exist but they are very rare.
What is difference between lab grown and natural Swiss Blue Topaz?
Like most of the gemstones, there is an option to choose between natural and lab-treated Topazes. One must not confuse “lab treated” with the “fake”. Natural Topaz is heat treated to bring out the Swiss Blue color.
However, lab-created or lab-grown Swiss Blue Topazes are free from inclusions as compared to those found naturally.
Where do Swiss Blue Topaz come from?
Most of the Topaz come from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, Mexico, Madagascar, Burma, Australia and USA
How to take care of Swiss Blue Topaz Jewelry?
Swiss Blue Topaz Jewelry is quite easy to clean due to their hardness and durability. However, a few things must be kept in mind like avoiding contact of the gemstone with make-up, harsh chemicals, abrasives.
While cleaning the jewelry make use of lukewarm water and mild cleaning detergent. Soft toothbrush can be used to clean the underside of the Swiss Blue Topaz.
Also, the jewelry must be individually kept to avoid contact with other jewelry to avoid unnecessary scratches.
What is a Swiss Blue Topaz certification?
The most common Swiss Blue Topaz Certifications includes from GIA, IGL and HRD labs. It is usually a document you receive on the behalf of the aforementioned 3rd party labs which describes a Blue Topaz in all of its characteristics. Each and every party’s defining grounds may defer.
What is the birthstone of Swiss Blue Topaz?
Swiss Blue Topaz is known to bless the month of December and is known to work as a great 4th anniversary gift.
Is Swiss Blue Topaz naturally Blue?
Since Swiss Blue Topaz is found to be colorless or pale blue in its natural form, it is generally subjected to neuron and electron along with heat treatment in order to obtain that vivid blue color that we’re all a fan of.
What is the difference between London Blue and Swiss Blue Topaz?
An interesting question! Well, the main difference is in the color itself. While London Blue Topaz is darker blue, resembling an inky shade of blue in color, Swiss Blue Topaz on the other hand is medium and more bright electric blue in its color. London Blue Topaz of course does possess more even saturation. Both beautiful in their own sweet way!
Conclusion
Swiss Blue Topaz: just like its name, is luxurious and unique. You won’t find a more radiant blue gemstone, so much that it has even been classified as electric blue. Sure to captivate any eye with its vibrant beauty! And since it has been in demand for quite some time, we thought why not let you explore this blue beauty more? You demanded, we got it! Here we have come up with our very own Swiss Blue Topaz education guide covering everything from the fun aspects including the history and beliefs to the informative aspects covering properties, the 4 Cs and the grading system of this pretty blue gemstone. Since we have kept you glued right till the end, we’re sure you know your gemstone much better. That was the entire point after all! That being said, here we sign off wishing you all the luck in selecting your favorite Swiss Blue Topaz jewelry.
