Birthstone Of The Month: Topaz and Citrine
As the year continues, Enji would once again like to congratulate all our November birthday friends! As is tradition, we would like to help you celebrate with 10 interesting facts about your November birthstones.
1. This story of topaz is usually disputed among historians. Before modern mineralogy, this stone would get confused with other gemstones making its history hard to trace.
2. The majority of topaz can be found in Brazil. Some other notable locations for this gemstone include Russia, Germany, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria.
3. Topaz makes a great stone to wear day to day because of its durability. On a Moh’s scale of hardness Topaz scores an impressive 8/10.
4. The main reason Topaz was often confused with other stone is because topaz can come in a range of colors, with its most valuable color being red. Red topaz accounts for 1% of all topaz stones.
5. Because topaz can come in an array of colors it also commonly gets confused with Citrine the other official birthstone of November.
6. Citrine is named after the French name for ‘Lemon’ or “citron” because of its similar color to lemons.
7. Brazil is the prime supplier of this lovely gemstone, but it can also be found in France, Madagascar, Bolivia, Uruguay, Scotland, Spain, and Russia.
8. Citrine is a transparent variety of quartz, the second most abundant mineral in the Earth.
9. Citrine is associated with two divine deities: Demeter, the Greek goddess of harvest and Sekhmet, the Egyptian goddess of war.
10. According to Chinese legends, citrine is "The Stone of Success," and it should be given to generous people only.
Sources:
https://www.thespruce.com/topaz-facts-2042991
https://www.kloiberjewelers.com/uncategorized/11-facts-about-topaz/
http://blog.longsjewelers.com/jewelry/citrine-november-stone