TOPAZ

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

Extravagant blue-green topaz from a well-known Brazilian locality for the species. The termination on this crystal makes it stand out amongst almost all the others to have come out of there, as this etched, “mountainous” tip really gives it a sharp look. In excellent condition all the way around, the bottom having been cut to allow it to stand on its own.

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MORE INFO

Padre Paraíso sits within the Eastern Brazilian Pegmatite Province of the Araçuaí orogen, where post-collisional G5-suite granites crystallized between 520–480 Ma generated the rare-metal pegmatites hosting topaz alongside tourmaline, beryl, and spodumene. A 2021 Scientific Reports synchrotron and neutron diffraction study formally characterized blue topaz from the locality as carrying an exceptionally high hydroxyl-to-fluorine ratio - the OH-richest topaz composition then documented from the Minas Gerais district - with color attributed to lattice-level structural features tied to that unusual OH content rather than discrete trace chromophores. Crystals occur as prismatic orthorhombic individuals, typically colorless to pale blue with good transparency and strong pleochroism, reaching cabinet size in the best examples. A practical caveat applies: the overwhelming majority of blue topaz marketed from Brazil is irradiation-treated colorless material, and distinguishing genuinely natural-color Padre Paraíso specimens without formal laboratory analysis is not straightforward. For collectors, this ambiguity is part of what makes well-documented natural-color examples significant - pieces with clear provenance and pre-treatment documentation occupy a different category entirely from the treated material that dominates the commercial market.