Topaz
Unknown Owner
Help improve this recordNo owner is registered for this specimen yet. If it's yours or you know more about it, you can add the owner, provenance, publications and other details.
Red topaz from a few small pockets found erratically along the Sanarka River Valley in Russia is one of the absolute rarest and most seldom seen varieties of topaz. Many people call it an 'imperial topaz" colloquially and in the gem market, as it has the elongated shape and crystal habit, gemminess, and orange to red colors characteristic of Imperial Topaz from Pakistan and from Brazil (although it remains rare at all localities from which it is known). This crystal is one of the larger crystals I obtained myself from the Fersman Museum of Moscow in a deal in 1992-1993, when I was their helper and translator in Houston. They were selling some "basement museum exhibition specimens" to pay for the stay of curators in Houston, Texas during the Fabergé eggs exhibition there. I was in college across the street, and was available as free labor to help translate Russian and write labels and sell rocks for them. At the time, I had a small worldwide collection of interesting oddities, in addition to my childhood calcite collection. I had kept this for myself but later sold it to my own mentors, Bill and Anne Cook, one year when I went back to Ohio and caught them at a show there (and it retains my old label in my handwriting, which was better than it seems to be now). So, I personally love the crystal, remember it, and have always treasured these items. They are not as big or as flashy as specimens from Pakistan or Brazil, but they are much more rare. This has the classic red-pink color and a good history. Note: this is totally gem transparent and so difficult to photo accurately, hence we show the video for accuracy.
Product details
SpeciesTopaz
SizeThumbnail
Dimensions2.5 x 0.5 x 0.3 cm
Added on12/02/2024
LocalityRussia, Ural Mountains, Chelyabinsk Oblast
Known provenance
| Date | Collector | Acquisition price |
|---|---|---|
| 08/2024 | Unknown Owner | Not disclosed |
| — | The Arkenstone | Not disclosed |
Learn more
Mineral guide
Learn about Topaz
hard, glassy orthorhombic crystals from pegmatites and rhyolites; colors range from colorless to pink; sharp terminations aid identification, localitie…Regional guide
Comments