Topaz in Historical Jewellery

Topaz is a gemstone that occurs naturally in a wide range of colours, but it is above all a warm golden to yellow-brown stone that period sources most closely associate with fine Georgian and Victorian coloured-gemstone jewellery.

Colour and Occurrence

Topaz occurs in a broad range of natural colours, including colourless, pale blue, pink and various shades of yellow, orange and brown, but it is the warm golden to yellow-brown range - “sherry” colours, in the trade’s term - that period jewellery literature returns to most consistently and that dominates references to the stone in 18th- and 19th-century jewellery. This colouring gave topaz a distinctive, richly saturated warmth that set it apart from other yellow gemstones, and it was valued in its own right rather than treated as a substitute for other stones.

Topaz is hard - harder than quartz - and takes a bright polish, but it has a perfect cleavage across the crystal, so a sharp knock can split a stone cleanly. Old topazes in rings sometimes show cleavage cracks for this reason.

A Name Used Loosely

The word “topaz” has meant different things at different times. Pliny the Elder’s topazos, named after an island in the Red Sea, is generally thought to have been peridot. From the medieval period until the 19th century, “topaz” was often used for almost any yellow stone: yellow sapphire was “oriental topaz”, and yellow and brown quartz - citrine - was sold as “Madeira topaz”, “Spanish topaz” and similar names. Gemmologists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries began to insist on the distinction, and the term “precious topaz” came into use for the true mineral. Period descriptions of a “topaz” therefore need care; see Citrine in Jewellery History.

Brazilian Topaz from Ouro Preto

The most important source of fine golden topaz was Brazil, and in particular the hills around Ouro Preto (then Vila Rica) in Minas Gerais, the gold-mining region where topaz was found in the 18th century. Ouro Preto topaz ranges from golden yellow through orange to a pinkish or reddish orange; the finest orange to pink-orange stones are known as “imperial topaz”, a name popularly linked to the Brazilian emperors or the Russian tsars, though its origin is uncertain. Brazilian topaz was exported through Portugal and was regularly cited in 18th- and 19th-century sources as the benchmark for the stone’s colour.

Pink, Colourless and Other Topaz

Much of the pink topaz in Georgian jewellery was made pink by heat. Heating some Brazilian yellow-brown topaz drives off the yellow component and leaves a pink stone, a process known as “pinking”, which was practised by the 18th century. Pink topaz was set in closed, foiled settings in Georgian rings, earrings and necklaces, the foil deepening its colour.

Colourless topaz was also used, particularly in Portugal and Brazil, where clear stones known as pingos d’água (“drops of water”) were set in silver as a less costly alternative to diamonds. A Portuguese necklet of 1780-1800 in the Victoria and Albert Museum, set with white topaz in silver openwork in the form of a bow and festoons, is a good example.

Europe had its own topaz sources. The Schneckenstein, a rock outcrop in the Vogtland region of Saxony, produced pale yellow “Saxon topaz” that was mined in the 18th century and used in German jewellery. In Russia, the Ural Mountains and the Transbaikal region yielded colourless, blue and sherry-coloured topaz, some of very large size, which appear in 19th-century Russian jewellery.

Period of Popularity

Topaz was a valued gemstone through the Georgian and Victorian periods, worn in rings, brooches, pendants and parures, often as a principal stone in its own right rather than only as an accent. It reached a peak in the 1820s and 1830s, when complete parures of large golden or pink topazes - necklace, earrings, brooch and sometimes bracelets and a tiara - were set in cannetille gold, decorated with fine coiled wire and granules. Its warm colour suited the naturalistic and richly coloured jewellery fashions of much of the 19th century, and it appears alongside other warm-toned stones such as citrine and garnet, with which it is sometimes confused at a glance. Topaz was also set in fob seals and in the fobs hung from Georgian and Victorian watch chains.

Typical Cutting Styles

Topaz of the 18th and 19th centuries is generally cut in faceted step-cuts, cushion and oval shapes, the styles applied across many transparent coloured stones of the period to maximise colour and brilliance within the cutting technology of the time. Topaz crystals grow as long prisms, which suited elongated ovals and pear-shaped drops for pendants and earrings. Large, clean crystals also lent themselves to bold, substantial cushion-cut forms, suited to the larger single-stone rings and pendants fashionable at various points.

A Note on Modern Blue Topaz

Much of the vivid blue topaz seen in jewellery today - a colour rare in topaz as it occurs naturally - results from irradiating colourless topaz and then heating it, a treatment that came into wide commercial use from the 1970s. Natural pale blue topaz was used in earlier jewellery, especially from Russian sources, but the saturated “London blue” and “Swiss blue” shades are modern. This is mentioned only as historical context about the material’s modern market, and is not offered as a way of testing or determining the treatment history of any specific stone, which requires laboratory examination rather than visual assessment.

How to Recognise It

Warm golden-brown topaz can resemble other yellow-brown gemstones, including citrine and certain garnets, closely enough that visual identification alone is unreliable; gemmological reference sources are the appropriate starting point for understanding topaz’s general appearance and properties, but confirming a specific stone’s identity requires assessment by a qualified gemmologist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Was blue topaz worn in Georgian or Victorian jewellery? Pale natural blue topaz was used occasionally, but vivid blue topaz of the kind common today is not a significant presence in Georgian or Victorian jewellery, since natural topaz in that saturated blue is rare and the treatments responsible for most modern blue topaz were developed in the later 20th century.

Is all antique “topaz” jewellery genuine topaz? Not necessarily - the term “topaz” was used loosely in earlier periods for other yellow-brown stones, including citrine and yellow sapphire, so a specific stone’s identity should not be assumed from a period description alone.