Topaz versus Cz, quite silly but...

[black jade]

I have a blue topaz RHR and I don't have to baby it like I do the CZ things that I have. CZ can be very nice--if it's spotlessly clean. It gets that glassy over-white look very fast as soon as it gets at all dirty. And it's really only attractive insofar as it mimics a diamond. Bigger CZs tend to look windowy and glassy. My topaz is HUGE-- 7 or 8 carats, its a pear cut which looks pretty all the time. I don't know how fragile it is--it's in a setting that wraps around its edges and protects it so it doesn't get bumped. It's an older ring. My friend inherited it from her Mom when she died and gave it to me because she doesn't like big rings herself and she thought I would wear it more. It must be from the 70's, I think. I don't wear it everyday or anything--I use it as a dress up ring--but that's not because it looks bad or anything. It's because its so big that it feels heavy and gets in the way and spins around on my finger. If you get a somewhat smaller one, you shouldn't have these problems. People notice it all the time--its a stone that has a special kind of clarity and it's luminous, though not as sparkly as a diamond, it has a different kind of beauty.

That said, you should know that the topaz you are likely to find is not 'natural' as in, they dug it out of the ground and it looked the way it does in your ring. The blue topaz is all heat-treated to get that lovely blue color. It's white topaz that has been in the oven. However, it is a stable treatment--its not going to change on you or anything. There is something called 'imperial topaz' which is natural (and very beautiful) but its also terribly expensive. It's usually pink. There used to be yellow, but I think the mines in Russia where they got the yellow are all mined out.

 

[lily25]

That's a great story , about your ring, some of my favorite jewelry came from friends that didn't like them anymore! White topaz does not appeal to me at all. I like colored gems. I love all the colors of topaz and sapphire.I love big rings, even if I don't wear them often. I will wear them at a restaurant, or drinks at a bar. Or even when shopping with my friends.


I did see a very nice lemon topaz as well, but I don't wear yellow, because of my skin tone. It was not extremely expensive, the regular price range for topaz.

 

[black jade]

Yes. I've not only gotten nice pieces from friends, but I find its better to give jewelry I don't wnat away, rather than try to sell it.

Jewelry has such a markup in the US, you never get anything like what you paid for it, which is just depressing. It's nicer to see a friend's eyes light up and then watch her wearing something that looks nice on her but didn't suit you.

I try not to do too much 'impulse' jewelry shopping anymore, because that's when I make mistakes (the things I end up giving away) but I've also PLANNED for things and then got them home and realized I couldn't stand them. The worse, I think, was when I saved for months to buy a pair of aqua earrings that I just LOVED--because I had seen aquas on antoher woman and they had looked great on her. They looked terrible on me. I kept putting them in my ears, looking at them, and then takingthem out to wear something else. Finally I gave them to a friend with aqua blue eyes. They look great on her.

I also gave a pair of emerald studs away recently, 3ctw in 22k gold (but as expensive as you would think because I bought them at an ethnic Indian jeweler. their markup is not as high, and they bargain). Again, they just didn't look good. The color was great (I had learned my lesson) but the studs didn't sit high enough up to look good in my particular ears. I need a high basket.

I WISH I could give away a couple of other things--but they were gifts. Though again, my fault. I had my husband buy me sapphire earrings one time, because my birthstone is sapphires. they look SO bad. They are those dark sapphires and that navy blue doesn't suit. Oh well. I hope to one day give to a granddaughter or daughter in law.

The stuff my husband has picked out on his own is just great. Funny, isn't it?

Afunny thing--I've never given away without getting something back shortly which is much nicer. Not from the person I gave it to. It just works out that way, I don't know why.