Jewelry blog from Jewelrymall.com

The modern birthstone for November is the beautiful topaz. Attributed to Scorpio, it too can make a distinct statement. The thought of a topaz brings to mind it’s lovely honey color. In nature, topaz comes in other colors as well. You can find red, violet, green or blue topaz. The blue topaz falls into a different month, but is still beautiful.

The topaz is ideal for use in jewelry due to it’s extreme hardness. It is one of the hardest stones available and is difficult to scratch or damage. Some scientists claim that the original topaz was found in the 1700’s in Germany. Today there are topaz mines in Pakistan, Russia, Australia, Sri Lanka, Mexico and Africa.

Care needs to be taken when purchasing a topaz jewelry, as some disreputable vendors will substitute the less valuable citirine for the topaz. The citrine is the modern birthstone for November.

Topaz can be very large. A yellow topaz stone in the 31000 carat size was mined in Brazil.

Any jewelry that sports a honey colored topaz will be treasured for many years. They can be cleaned with warm soapy water and a soft brush. Most topaz are fairly common, but the rarer stones in pink or red are quite rare and revered. There price is also much higher than the honey colored stone.

Citrine can be used as either the traditional or modern November birthstone. It is a type of quartz that ranges in color from yellow to dark brown, with orange hues in between.

The majority of citrine is found in Brazil. However, the bulk of the Brizilian Citrine may be a heat treated version of the amethyst. Natural citrine is found in the Russian mountains, Madagascar, France and also in Dauphine. The lower grade topaz is heated to produce the brilliant reddish, sherry colored and orange stones.

Most of the citrines found naturally are a very pale yellow those of deeper hues are usually a heat treated stone and not a natural citrine. With heat, the amethyst turns to citrine. This heat can be natural or man-made.

Differences between Topaz and Citrine

The major difference between a true citrine and the yellow topaz is the presence of orange or brown hues which will darken the gem. Although not quite as hard as topaz, the citrine is still a hard stone. The Mohs scale puts its hardness at a 7.0.

Whatever the occasion, the topaz and citrine are beautiful gifts for any occasion. They fit well into any jewelry design and give a stunning presence.

It is amazing how one birthstone can have such a mythical history. Once revered, opal was defamed by a novel written by Sir Walter Scott in which the main character died immediately after moisture hit her opal.

The myths continue, with some saying that the only time it is unlucky is if you were not born in October and others saying as long as the opal is surrounded by other stones, such as diamonds, it is safe to wear, even if your birthday is not in October. We have not found any truth to these myths. It seems wonderful to wear.

Opal is a soft stone. It is very low in water content and therefore often cracks on the jewelers bench or if it is hit sharply, exposed to radical changes in temperature or neglected. Since the opal is non-porous, you cannot soak it in water, rub it with oil or any other moist substance and expect there to be any change. You should avoid ultrasound cleaning, as this can also crack the stone.

If you are wanting to wear opal jewelry frequently the best choices are pendants or earrings rather than bracelets or rings which are subject to harder hits than earrings. However you have them made or choose to give them, they are a wonderful gift that shows fidelity.

The opal is the only stone that contains all the colors of the other birthstones. It’s array of color is unsurpassed. Even the white, milky opal has color in it that can be seen under light.

Opals are found primarily in Australia, but can also be found in Mexico and the United States and Africa. The most prized opals are considered the white and black opals. The black opal is not all black. If it is, it is worthless. The black opal have beautiful lines of orange, white and some other colors when under an overhead light. The milky white opal also has an array of colors in it.

The opals found in Mexico are the fire opals. They are by far the most brilliant of all the opals. They appear almost translucent except for the bright array of rainbow colors. A beautiful stone to be sure.

The rose tourmaline is the alternative birthstone for October. It is a soft pink most of the time, but some can be found in darker more brilliant hues. That would be another option for those opal earrings or necklaces that you are considering. You would have both October birthstones in one magnificent piece of jewelry.

The October born person is a Libra. A well balanced easy going person. However if you het to close to the cusp of Scorpio, I wouldn’t want to make them angry.