Between sessionsThe next catalogue is in preparation
Sun, 2 Aug · AWST
Teals
Topaz

Loose topaz at auction in Australia

Topaz is a hard, bright, and often very clean stone that takes a high polish. Blue topaz, the colour most people picture, is almost always colourless topaz that has been irradiated and heated. The treatment is permanent, standard across the trade, and we disclose it.

Untreated topaz occurs in colourless, pale yellow, brown and, rarely, in the pink to sherry range that carries a genuine premium. Topaz has perfect cleavage in one direction, so it deserves a setting that protects it and a little care in wear.

What to look for in topaz

  • Whether the blue is treated, which for practical purposes it almost always is.
  • Clarity, since topaz is usually available eye-clean and there is little reason to accept less.
  • Chips along facet edges, which cleavage makes more likely than in a harder-wearing species.

What topaz has sold for at Teals

We have not sold topaz at auction yet. When we do, every lot and the price it realised will be listed here. The full record book carries every session we have run.

Topaz open for bidding

No topaz is on the block at the moment. The saleroom opens at 7pm AWST, and the session board lists every catalogue you can browse and bid on early.

Reading on topaz

Heat, and why we don't

Most sapphire on the market is heated. Ours is not, and we say so. What treatment does to a stone, and to its price.

Eye-clean, or included

Why coloured stones do not use the diamond clarity scale, and how we grade with two honest words instead of ten misleading ones.