I’m a November baby so I may be biased but I’ve always loved my birthstone. I find it beautiful. I love that is comes in a variety of colours, though I am partial to the traditional deep golden yellow I knew growing up. Turns out the purest form of topaz is colourless and the golden yellow I remember from when I was a child indicated the stone had impurities.

As child it was a sparkly pretty stone and nothing more (isn’t that enough?). Turns out topaz has a lot going on for it. Topaz can occur in many colours including colourless, white, pale blue, light green, yellow, yellowish brown, or red. It is said topaz has many healing properties. In the past topaz was believed to actually absorb fever and was used to relieve symptoms of arthritis. In India it is used to treat tonsillitis, whopping cough, and mumps. It is also believes that topaz can aid in a man’s virility if he wears the stone. It is also believed to help with eating disorders and nightmares.

The origin of the name is derived from Old French: Topace, Latin: Topazus and from the Greek: Τοπάζιος (Τοpáziοs) or Τοπάζιον (Τοpáziοn). The word topaz is also related to the Sanskrit word tapas meaning heat or fire, which predates the Greek word.

So much history and so many healing properties for just a pretty sparkly stone!

-Roxy