By Chelsea Reed
It’s true! If you or someone you know is a November person, that means you get to choose between two beautiful gems as your birthstone: time-honored topaz and sunny citrine. Friends and family who share the same birth month can have double the fun with mix and match birthstones for November! Let’s explore some fun facts about these popular birthstone “twins.”
Topaz is a precious gemstone made up of aluminum, silicone, and fluorine molecules. Pure topaz is clear, but can be found in any color of the rainbow. Yellow topaz is the most common in nature, and blue topaz is common on the market. Blue topaz is rarely found in nature and the ones you see in jewelry are probably yellow ones treated by irradiation to change their color.
Imperial topaz is the most prized color boasting a striking orange-yellow with pink undertones. It was first discovered in the Russian mountains, and was called imperial because only the royal czars were allowed to wear it. If you come across an imperial topaz, you’re very fortunate. You have seen the fine jewelry of royalty!
For a long time, people often mistook citrine for yellow topaz because they looked so similar to the naked eye. But by the 18th century, researchers realized it was a completely different gem! Citrine is a type of quartz and part of the same family as amethyst. All citrine comes in a single color, a sunny orange amber tone. Today citrine can be mined in its natural state or heat treated from amethyst and smoky quartz to obtain the color.
Topaz and citrine are not only beautiful, they’re durable too. Their hardness scales on the Moz system are 8 and 7, so they can handle almost anything life throws at them. Check out Seaside Art Gallery’s Estate Jewelry section to see the latest collection of topaz and citrine. From birthdays to holidays, they make a wonderful statement whatever the occasion.
Chelsea Reed is a copywriter who writes online content, articles, blogs, and websites from her base in North Carolina.
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