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Sec. IV, Ch. 34: Semi-Precious Stones, Topaz

Sec. IV, Ch. 34: Semi-Precious Stones, Topaz Page of 366 Sec. IV, Ch. 34: Semi-Precious Stones, Topaz Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
Topaz.                                    297
Tavernier, in 1665, saw a Topaz weighing 157 carats in the treasury of Aurungzeb, which that monarch had purchased for a sum corresponding to £18,000 of our money: to-day it would be dear at £180.
The Topaz mines of Brazil are near Ouro Preto, formerly known as Villa Rica. In the Urals, north of Ekaterinburg, Topaz is found in granite. In St. Petersburg there is exhibited a fine crystal, 4-3/4 inches long and 4-1/2 wide. In the east of Siberia it is found in blue crystals, in company with Beryl, Rock Crystal, and Felspar. A remarkably fine collection of Siberian Topazes, made by Prof. Kokscharow, of St. Petersburg, may be seen in the Mineralogical Gallery of the British Museum (South Kensington), where the -finest crystals are carefully pro­tected by opaque caps to shield them from sunlight, by which they might suffer loss of colour.
Topaz is found in Egypt, near the ancient Emerald Mines of Jebel Zabbara. The mineral is still worked at Risk Allah.
In Saxony the white, yellow, and the pale violet crystals are found,- and in Bohemia the sea-green variety. The Saxon Topazes are obtained chiefly from the well-known Topaz-rock of the Schneckenstein. In Brazil, red specimens graduating from a pale to a deep carmine tint, have been discovered ; but most of the Brazilian Topazes are of a rich wine-yellow colour. The white Topazes of Brazil are frequently known as Novas Minas. The blue Topaz from Brazil somewhat resembles Aquamarine, but is distin­guished by its greater hardness and higher specific gravity.
White Topaz is found in Flinders's Island, in Bass's Straits ; in the New England district, New South Wales ; and in various parts of the United States. Fine blue crystals have been discovered at the famous mineral locality of Pike's Peak, Colorado, and the species has also
Sec. IV, Ch. 34: Semi-Precious Stones, Topaz Page of 366 Sec. IV, Ch. 34: Semi-Precious Stones, Topaz
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