The incredible success of blue topaz on today's stone market.
[su_highlight background="#042653" color="#ffffff"]RETAIL[/su_highlight] Blue-coloured precious and semi-precious stones are enjoying a memorable moment. This shade is at the top of the market classifications and its success shows no signs of diminishing. The merit goes mainly to its versatility and freshness. For example, blue topaz is now among the favourite stone requested of gem producers due to the infinite possibilities that it offers in terms of interesting shape and design opportunities. The Swiss Blue and London Blue shades are the ones that are particularly driving the market crazy due to their intensity, shine and the spectacular visual effects that they create. And all at a decidedly reasonable price. But there is also another side to the coin. In many cases, blue-coloured topaz is not a natural result but rather due to an irradiation process. A mechanism that can make these stones 'slightly radio-active', according to a declaration by the United States Regulatory Commission reported in the National Jewellery magazine. This radio-activity, when present, disappears naturally within a couple of months, which means that suppliers are forced to stockpile them for a considerable period of time (as well as to carry out a series of tests and specific checks in order to avoid errors), which makes the trading of this stone a little more complex. It is not only blue that dominates the topaz sector. Red is also enjoying considerable splendour due to the imperial topaz, a variety with a magnificent orange-red colour that can only be found in one place, Ouro Prêto in Brazil. Its warm hue makes it particularly suitable in combinations with pink gold, which has become increasingly more popular in jewellery in recent years • MG
