One of my favorite places in the world is Mediterranean Sea. I’ve been lucky enough to visit several locales along its coastline over the years and while I love the lifestyle, the food, and the people of the area, the one thing that always stands out for me is the water and its many shade of blue. There is really nothing quite like it, and it always is a source of inspiration for me. I’ve taken that inspiration and translated into  many of my designs over the years. The gemstone which best represents this Meditterannean color for me is  blue topaz. This gemstone manages to capture exactly what the sea and sky looks like in this region and always transports me back to my summer days there. And while I love the color, I wanted to learn more about the history, symbolism and uniqueness about this gemstone. Get ready to dive in…

The Real Story

So, what gives blue topaz gemstones their remarkable color?  It's actually a brilliant collaboration between nature and science. Raw topaz begins as a blank canvas – typically colorless – before being transformed through a sophisticated treatment process of irradiation and heat. The result? A spectrum of blues, ranging from light sky blue to deeper shades of rich blue.

Why It's Been Stealing Hearts for Centuries

Blue topaz first became popular in the royal courts of Europe during the 16 century. Portuguese aristocrats, with their uncanny eye for the extraordinary, were among the first to champion these gems, after discovering deposits in their Brazilian colonies. The stone's name itself carries a pedigree – derived from Topazios, an ancient Greek island in the Red Sea, though modern historians suspect they were actually referring to peridot.

 The Practical Magic

For those who appreciate both substance and style, blue topaz offers an impressive technical résumé. Ranking 8 on the Mohs scale – making it harder than quartz but more yielding than sapphire – it's the perfect combination of durability and refinement. Because of this, topaz  are great stones to wear everyday. Tradition says topaz brings creativity, clarity, and good fortune and it is also a stone with vast healing properties.