The Real Story Behind Blue Topaz: Welcome Back Baby Blue

The Real Story Behind Blue Topaz: Welcome Back Baby Blue - Oh, the brilliant blue stone so reminiscent of the Caribbean Sea on a sparkling afternoon. A resplendent, affordable little sparkler placed in rings, pins, earrings and necklaces that can brighten any heart on a dull day. The shades are many and varied from the palest of blue to the rich vibrant blue of an inky blue sea.

The stone Blue Topaz, a mystic find of many facets. Pun completely intended. The original find of Topaz is ancient and the color usually drab yellow. Though the whiter versions have been facet cut and mistaken for diamonds, and pale blues are often mistaken for Aquamarine and as a whole, topaz has been misidentified in its many shades found in different parts of the world except for the unmistakable Blue Topaz. Interestingly enough while being the most celebrated these blues are not the natural color of the gemstone.

In 1750 a Parisian Jeweler named Dumelle discovered that the yellow Brazilian topaz becomes pink when exposed to heat. The longer the exposure the deeper the color, the hotter the exposure the deeper the color. As time went by others experimented with this process and as you might guess it went the extreme. A simple heating process went to the extreme of radiation. Topaz's are now irradiated, by three different methods, reactor - yes as in nuclear, which is neutron bombardment, Accelerator which is electron bombardment and by gamma ray in a cobalt irradiator. These practices led the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) to question the safety of theses gems and in 2007 installed a moratorium on the importation of irradiated gems. The action caused a lot of panic among jewelers, importers and consumers because it wasn't clear what the NRC was doing or why. In the end it was a simple case of ignorance. The NRC didn't know what the irradiators were doing. Firstly they needed to be licensed for safety purposes, an old rule gone un-enforced for years. Secondly the NRC was unaware of what "cooling down" practices the irradiators were using. There was a very real possibility *POSSIBLITY that these irradiators were not excising proper precaution. The process takes months. The stone are purchased in their natural state, radiated by one the three means, then set in an insulated warehouse for as long as it takes for the stone to "cool down". I haven't found the formula, so my guess is each batch is different in its cool down period, and at the same time I have to have admiration for the importer who invests this much time, energy and devotion to that lovely blue stone. In the end the concern was very real but unnecessary.

Now don't confuse this issue with the moratorium which is on irradiated stones being imported into the US, which was about 90% of the stones on the retail market. The NRC has no control how someone outside the US radiates, or their cooling off practices. That's what was under investigation. The new rule requires importers of stones radiated outside the US must have a USNRC license.

Tests have proven that irritated gems had in fact been quarantined to the point that anyone wearing a gem continuously for the period of 1 year might register 0.03 millirem, 2000 times less than 1 chest ex-ray.

As of October of this year 2008 the NRC has licensed three domestic distributors of these stones most notably the London Blue and Swiss Blue, the deepest of the blues. And more applications are under review.

While the NRC doesn't have jurisdiction over the gamma and the Linear accelerators, new rules will regulate licensing for the distribution of gems irradiated with these methods. Other gems under this new rule will include red tourmalines, many beryls and diamonds. The gems previously imported and purchased in the US are safe to wear. The industry importers have already proven themselves trustworthy (which by the way is the new certificate some jewelers are issuing with NRC certified Topaz Certificate of Trust)

Now I haven't seen this requirement on the NRC web page and I am still investigating the NRC Certified stone claims that some on-line jewelers are using in advertising. It maybe a sellers gimmick; I point this out because at no time was Blue Topaz ever recalled by the NRC, and jewelers were never ordered to stop selling it, and the NRC reports on their own website www.nrc.gov that they never thought at anytime that the gem was dangerous to wear. It sort of like "Genuine Imitation Leather" claim.

Other little facts, Topaz has a harness rating of 8 two steps down from diamond, but shares the specific gravity of 3.5. Its cleavage (facet cut ability) is such that it is easy to cut. And thus if hit just right can fracture on its natural cleavage. Next to diamonds and sapphires they are one of the few stones that have everyday wearablilty. While it is the official November birthstone, it is commonly substituted for the December Blue Zircon.

If you currently own Blue Topaz , if you are thinking of increasing your collection, the facts are; the gem is not only safe to wear, safe to buy, it is also legal and lovely. On a gloomy day take your pieces from the jewel box drawer, let the light glint and sparkle as you gaze into the depths and tell me you don't see the Caribbean sea. No danger in that.