Golden Topaz? Imperial Topaz?

[GirlwithGems]

This is my first post - wow! Lots of information out here - thanks!
I have 4 loose stones - topaz from Brazil (from the late 60’s or 70’s). What kind of Topaz are they? They are beautiful. The round and pear shaped stones are between 6.5-9 cts (I don’t have the right kind of scale to get an exact weight). The oblong stone is roughly 5 - 5.5 cts. Any thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[Bluegemz]

This is my first post - wow! Lots of information out here - thanks!
I have 4 loose stones - topaz from Brazil (from the late 60’s or 70’s). What kind of Topaz are they? They are beautiful. The round and pear shaped stones are between 6.5-9 cts (I don’t have the right kind of scale to get an exact weight). The oblong stone is roughly 5 - 5.5 cts. Any thoughts?
Thanks!

Hi! Welcome. Those look like golden yellow topaz with a Touch of smokey Topaz color in them, if you’re sure that they are Topaz. I say that simply because there are a few gems which can have that color. Imperial Topaz has peach and pink hues in it. They are really pretty. I love naturally colored Topaz. Any plans for them?

 

[GirlwithGems]

Thanks!! I am sure they are topaz and they came from Brazil (I can’t remember the name of the mine off the top of my head but I could find out). They were originally bought along with a few other loose stones by a relative but some of the other stones were too large and pricey for me! I’m not sure what I will do with some of them but I’d like to make the round one into a ring.
Any idea on a rough value of these? Just curious! Thanks again!!

 

[Bluegemz]

Thanks!! I am sure they are topaz and they came from Brazil (I can’t remember the name of the mine off the top of my head but I could find out). They were originally bought along with a few other loose stones by a relative but some of the other stones were too large and pricey for me! I’m not sure what I will do with some of them but I’d like to make the round one into a ring.
Any idea on a rough value of these? Just curious! Thanks again!!

A ring would be lovely. I’m sorry I don’t know enough about golden topaz to give you a price. Maybe someone will chime in?

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

I love the warm earth tones. They all look like they have a nice clarity and are big enough to make a pendant if you wanted. I have no ideas on pricing. If you’ll take some pictures with each stone on your hand, so we can see the proportions better, I think someone will chime in with some setting ideas. Were you thinking of yellow gold?

Enjoy your good luck!

 

[GirlwithGems]

Thanks! Here are some pictures next to my hand. Just curious - so no concern one way or the other! I believe the one of the pear shaped stones is 9 cts and the other is 8.2 cts.

 

[GirlwithGems]

MissyBeaucoup - I haven’t decided yet. I don’t wear a lot of gold - so I’m not sure!
I bought these from the estate of a relative. They had other stones - some really big ones, that appraised for a fair amount of money. I got these pretty reasonably priced because there are areas in the stones that are completely clear - and I was told that makes them less valuable. But that was why I liked them! The most expensive stone came back with an appraisal of $7,100!!!! But it’s a huge yellow topaz - 28.41 cts round cut. The next closest was an emerald cut 11.45 appraised for almost $2,900. They are possibly going to be sold at an auction. Is that the best place to sell these (any thoughts)? Thanks for all of your help! I was so excited to find this group!

 

[GirlwithGems]

Here are the 2 stones I mentioned above. Aren’t they gorgeous??

 

[lambskin]

I was in Brazil 30 years ago and visited a town called Uro Petro. They had a gem market on the main square with lots of pretty semi precious stones. They really were touting the Imperial Topaz which was mined locally. There was a lot of it-cut and uncut. The pinkish peach color was not to my taste at that time. Plus I was not into semi-precious stones as well. So I missed out on really nice ammys, topaz and other stones that were a bargain at the time. If I had a time machine....

 

[Barrett]

Topaz, especially from Brazil, is one of the most common gemstones in the world. If I am not mistaken it's the largest producer in the world, or at the very least in the top three. When it comes to topaz not of the "imperial" variety(or natural blue, etc.), the size of the rough, and subsequent gemstone, go way up! It's one of the few "gems" that are found in huge sizes on a regular basis. Tack on all the worlds topaz production to Brazil's output, and that's when you see it's one of the most common, and least expensive of all the "well known" gemstones.
Sadly, your stones are not worth very much. Nowhere even close to what they were appraised for. I can't stand appraisals/appraisers who don't know the market, or over inflate values for certain reason.
I would be remiss if I didn't tell it like it is, so what it comes down to is like around $100, or less, per stone. I would only pay a couple bucks a carat for them myself. As someone who has bought huge parcels of topaz rough and cut stones from mainly Brazil and Pakistan, I have(used to have) a keen understanding of it's value.
The color is not anything that helps the value of this stone, as it's one of the most common type colors(hues) in topaz(brown, cognac, tan, golden, yellow, sherry, etc.), as well as the treated blues. Well, if you are only counting natural colors, then blue is very rare in topaz.
The saturation on your stone is very weak and doesn't add any value to your piece.
Your gems sizes, although quite large compared to many types of precious gems, is just the norm for this species of gem.

Your color is the most common type of topaz per "Gemselect"....

"The most common colors of untreated topaz are pale yellow, brown and gray. Pastelshades of light-green, violet and pink are also found. Since these colors are rarely vivid, they are often treated to produce more exciting and intense hues. The most popular topaz color is blue."
https://www.gemselect.com/other-info/topaz-colors.php

The rarest color is green. I have seen two ever. One that Jason Brim had, and one Rodney Moore had from Namibia. Not counting green, then a actual red topaz is the rarest. I believe the rarity is in the chemistry, but I also think the rarity has something to do with the strict buying and purchasing off any and all stock that is red, that helps keep the market values high. I can't back that up with any tangible proof though. Bi-color Imprial topaz is the next rarest, in my opinion. It's one of the rarest gemstones out there, with even red beryl being over 100 times more plentiful that bi-color imperial topaz. I could buy pinks and purples at any time, but Bi-color pieces were fewer and farther between.


Here are 3 of my bi-color imperial topaz, and one great purple imperial topaz, all from the Vermillion mine in Brazil...2 of the bi-colors are facetgrade and clean enough to cut a stone. They are both around 5cts each in the rough. The orange stone with a purple cap... that is 61 cts in the rough. It was sold at the Houston show.... back in like 2012.....for a touch over $1000, if I remember correctly. I acquired it soon after for a "deal" though...

 

[Bluegemz]

Wow, that purple topaz is amazing! Topaz is such an interesting gem and so lovely. I have one pink/purple topaz and I’d love to get more of the different colors at some point.

 

[GirlwithGems]

Barrett - thanks for your honest assessment. The bigger stones I posted are part of an estate - that Jen why we got them appraised. But I suspected it might be difficult to sell them. Any suggestions on where to sell them - even for a lot less than the appraisals? The will stated everything had to be sold and I’m not sure where to sell them. I also have other pieces of jewelry that need to be sold. Does anyone know the best place to sell them?
I’m with Bluegemz - the purple topaz is gorgeous!!

 

[Arkteia]

Topaz is a nice stone for jewelry. Very wearable. Some Victorian jewelry is made with topaz and looks gorgeous. Too bad they spoiled everything by touting “London topaz”.