the.com/topaz
a crystal so honest it cracks if you look at it wrong.
means A precious gemstone, typically golden-yellow but found in blue, pink, and clear varieties, prized for its hardness and clarity.
from From Greek 'topazos,' the name of a stone said by ancient writers to come from an island in the Red Sea called Topazos — though that island's gem was likely what we now call peridot, not modern topaz. The Greek name may trace back even further, possibly to Sanskrit 'tapas,' meaning heat or fire. So the word arrived attached to one stone and quietly slipped onto another over the centuries.
- cleavage
- splits perfectly along one plane, fragile diva of gems
- color shift
- most blue topaz was irradiated from colorless stone
- hardness 8
- scratches almost everything but bows to corundum
- giant crystals
- some specimens weigh hundreds of pounds intact
- name origin
- likely from a foggy Red Sea island, Topazios