PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Lulu
Posts: 516
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by Lulu » 2 years ago

London Blue topaz is irradiated. Vendors used to make a big deal out of telling customers that there was no risk from the process.

I had bought a London Blue designed by Richard Palermo from ShopNBC about 20 years ago. Been in a jewelry box in a dark closet majority of time and the color has lightened quite a bit. Gemologists don't really know if some of these treatments will be stable because they are relatively new. The same for the diffusion process used on sapphires. Or, whatever was done on andesine. They just don't know.

As for that pink 'mystic' topaz, I would venture that it is a chemical vapor deposition coating like on the regular mystic.
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Druid
Posts: 283
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by Druid » 2 years ago

@lulu You are right, all London, Swiss,Glacier topazes are irradiated nowadays , even the more expensive ones. Diffusion treatment for sapphires is coloring only the top layers of the low grade stones and it’s not a stable treatment like the heating one. But it seems that this is affordable for the average customers, so it’s very hard to find an untreated stone at a moderate price.Even the chalcedony is treated to obtain that nice aqua color. You are right about the colors for irradiated stones, I also noticed the color is fading with the passing years. Personally, I never buy stones that are glass or lead filled, they are worthless and not strong enough for wearing on a frequent basis. I prefer lab created sapphires that are less expensive and have nice colors,but I always look up where they were lab created: I prefer those created in Switzerland or Russia and Thailand.
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BigRed2
Posts: 14
Joined: 2 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by BigRed2 » 2 years ago

For someone who knows very little about jewelry and stones I am learning a lot! My curiosity gets the best of me. My go to person says London Blue Topaz is heavily irradiated. Then it is heat treated. The impurities in the topaz become slightly radioactive. The stones have to be held back from sale and be stored safely for up to to 2 years until the radioactive level drops to acceptable as safe by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That plus the increasing scarcity of suitable high quality topaz is the reason for the higher price. While I was bugging her on that I asked about the mystic issue. She says anything that has mystic in the title has a coating on it. If a color is not specified it should be the green blue that was the original color developed.
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Spooky
Posts: 563
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by Spooky » 2 years ago

Thank you @Druid
and @@BigRed2
for completing the information on colored
topaz. I love it when we all share what we
know and everyone has a voice 👍👍👍💖
4 x

Spooky
Posts: 563
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by Spooky » 2 years ago

Lulu wrote:
2 years ago
London Blue topaz is irradiated. Vendors used to make a big deal out of telling customers that there was no risk from the process.

I had bought a London Blue designed by Richard Palermo from ShopNBC about 20 years ago. Been in a jewelry box in a dark closet majority of time and the color has lightened quite a bit. Gemologists don't really know if some of these treatments will be stable because they are relatively new. The same for the diffusion process used on sapphires. Or, whatever was done on andesine. They just don't know.

As for that pink 'mystic' topaz, I would venture that it is a chemical vapor deposition coating like on the regular mystic.
@Lulu I really liked many of
Richard Palermo’s designs. Never could afford
them though. The color fading in a dark environment
drives me nuts.
4 x

Lulu
Posts: 516
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by Lulu » 2 years ago

Druid wrote:
2 years ago
@lulu You are right, all London, Swiss,Glacier topazes are irradiated nowadays , even the more expensive ones. Diffusion treatment for sapphires is coloring only the top layers of the low grade stones and it’s not a stable treatment like the heating one. But it seems that this is affordable for the average customers, so it’s very hard to find an untreated stone at a moderate price.Even the chalcedony is treated to obtain that nice aqua color. You are right about the colors for irradiated stones, I also noticed the color is fading with the passing years. Personally, I never buy stones that are glass or lead filled, they are worthless and not strong enough for wearing on a frequent basis. I prefer lab created sapphires that are less expensive and have nice colors,but I always look up where they were lab created: I prefer those created in Switzerland or Russia and Thailand.
I love lab grown stones. I do have a lab grown ruby and it is just "too" perfect. So, I did buy a loose 8x6 Thai ruby which is FF and it is the color of a Burmese pigeon blood red. That said, I don't wear any of my rings (other than diamond wedding ring) enough to be particularly concerned about durability.

Russian lab stones are superior. Too bad the lab stopped growing Bixbite - they were the only one!
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Druid
Posts: 283
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by Druid » 2 years ago

@Lulu I choose the lab stones to be in a moderate size because bigger ones look too perfect to be true. I have one ruby, one sapphire rings and recently I bought a Padparadsha pink-orange sapphire ring that looks a little on the fake side because is bigger. I like to wear my rings and change them often based on the color of the outfits.I never wear more than one on each hand . When I travelled overseas in the pre Covid time I took care to never wear any pricey jewelry like diamond.
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Online
CJM
Posts: 598
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by CJM » 2 years ago

Has anyone noticed their tanzanite from here getting grey ? I feel like LC gems aren’t the real deal this past couple years. I noticed my morganite looking different over time like it’s fading. I keep them in jewelry box in closet. Never in heat or sun. anyone else?
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Spooky
Posts: 563
Joined: 4 years ago

Re: PURE PINK MYSTIC TOPAZ?? CHUCK?

Post by Spooky » 2 years ago

@CJM
I sure have noticed! Didn’t buy any tanzanite
during the smack down. Tired of icky gray
blue stones. My morganite faded as well.
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