Image and ring via Etsy
December’s birthstone is blue topaz. December is already a favourite month, with Christmas, but as this author is a huge fan of blue topaz, it makes it even more special!
Topaz comes in many different colours: yellow, orange, violet and so on. However, most people are aware of blue topaz, given its popularity and its flexibility when it comes to wearing it.
Blue topaz comes in various hues of blue:
Light blue – known as Sky blue
Mid blue – known as Swiss blue
Dark blue – known as London blue
Of these, it’s the Swiss Blue – a strong rich colour that has become the most popular of the blue topaz shades in recent years. Sky blue is pale and quite similar to aquamarine – sometimes the two can be confused.
The blue topaz stone seen in this photo, has a particularly beautiful cut – a cushion checkerboard. The many facets of this kind of cut give the ring a real sparkle. Interestingly, this particular stone is somewhere in hue between a Swiss and a London blue, even though it was sold as London blue.
Blue topaz is mined in Brazil, Afghanistan, Myanmar, China, Japan, Madagascar, Mexico, Namibia and Australia. Interestingly, the light blue topazes are also found in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Cornwall…perhaps that is where the reference to the ‘Sky’ came from, being farther north than usual gemstone deposits.
The biggest blue topazes were found in the Ukraine in 1964, each weighing a record 100kg. Each!
Blue topaz: it doesn’t have to be big to be beautiful.
Ms Gingham says: What a divine ring. The cushion cut is really quite unique!
About Pascale: Pascale Helyar-Moray, Founder and Director of StyleRocks has fourteen years of financial services experience as a marketing and communications professional working with blue chip companies in Australia and the UK. Maternity leave forced her to re-examine her career options and in looking for a business she could run from home, created StyleRocks in order to harness her lifelong passion for jewellery.
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