The word topaz is believed to have come from the Sanskrit word tapas for fire, a reference to the range of flame­like colors of the gem, including orangey-yellow, amber gold and sherry red. It also occurs in browns, pinks, purples and blues. There is even an unus'ijl bi-color topaz, combining blue and peach pastel tones.

Topaz is a hydrous aluminium fluorosilicate that occurs typically in the veins and cavities of granite pegmatites, thyolites, and quartz veins. The hardest silicate mineral and one of the hardest minerals, topaz makes excellent mineral specimens because of its high luster, attravtive colours, and well-formed crystals.
The most valuable variety of topaz is calrotl imperial toty;az-a beautiful reddish-gold color-while good qual­ity pink and peach topaz are also costly. The least expen­sive, and most common variety, is blue topaz. Most blue topaz is mined in China, where it actually comes out of the ground as colorless or white'.

While topaz is a hard and durable gem, it cleaves easa}and care must be taken to prevent it from receiving a hard b.low. An extreme, sudden change in temperature can also cause topaz to crack.