It can be as blue as the sky, a slightly greenish blue, or a highly saturated "electric" blue. Not only is Blue Topaz a beautiful gemstone and comes in a variety of colors, it also has many interesting legends attached to it. Blue Topaz is a quartz crystal, and like most topazes, starts out as being nearly clear. The colorless crystal is then irradiated to bring out a blue color, and finally heat treated to make the color stable. Different types of radiation produce various hues of blue. Bombarding topazes with neutrons in a nuclear accelerator changes the color to the deep green-blue or gray-blue known as London Blue Topaz. Sky Blue Topaz (the most common color of Blue Topaz) is produced by exposing the quartz crystals to electrons in a linear accelerator. If the quartz crystals are exposed to both neutorns and electrons, Swiss Blue or Electric Blue Topaz will result with highly saturated colors. After a one year cooling off period, the radiation levels are safe enough to allow the Topaz to be worn by consumers. Due to its abundance, there is really no incentive to produce synthetic stones. By coating quartz crystals with titanium particles, a rainbow of colors is produce that is commonly referred to as Mystic Topaz. The titanium coating is usually quite fragile and is susceptible to scratches, so care must be taken while handling Mystic Blue Topaz Despite its unusual production methods, Blue Topaz serves as a wonderful gemstone because it has a high refractive index and polishes up beautifully. With a score of 8 on Moh's Scale of gemstone hardness, Blue Topaz finds its way into many attractive pieces of jewelry. In mystical and New Age healing beliefs, Blue Topaz carries the same healing properties as all forms of topaz: regulates heart action, promotes glandular health, stops bleeding and reduces fever and inflammations such as arthritis. The color of Blue Topaz is commonly considered to help clarity of the mind, aid in meditation and forgiveness. Its calm blue quality is said to help its wearers release their anger, especially from old hurts, fostering forgiveness and reconciliation that leads to a calmer, fuller life.
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