What it is confused with
Aquamarine, citrine and glass. Citrine and smoky quartz are still misleadingly sold as "topaz quartz" or "smoky topaz".
Colorless, blue, yellow, imperial orange-pink
Topaz birthstone
Topaz, the birthstone for November, is aluminum fluorosilicate (Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂), colorless, blue, yellow, imperial orange-pink, rated 8 on the Mohs scale. Traditionally, it is linked to confidence, clear intention and honest self-assessment — attributed, not demonstrated.
- Mohs hardness
- 8 scratches window glass
- Crystal system
- Orthorhombic Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂
- Pliny, AD 77
- Book 37.32 as “topazos”
- Main sources today
- Brazil also Nigeria, Pakistan
Pliny, Natural History, tr. Bostock and Riley.
Is Topaz a birthstone?
Yes. Topaz is the modern birthstone for November.
By zodiac sign it belongs to Scorpio and Sagittarius.
18 pages · printable
The 2027 Sky Calendar — free PDF
Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 to the minute, already converted to your city. A month to a page, ready to print.
Properties
Composition
Aluminum fluorosilicate (Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂)
Hardness (Mohs)
8
Crystal system
Orthorhombic
Color
Colorless, blue, yellow, imperial orange-pink
Mined in
Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka
Worth knowing
Nearly all blue topaz on the market began as colorless stone, irradiated and heated to produce the color.
History
Named after Topazios, a Red Sea island — which actually produced peridot, not topaz.
Buying
Buying Topaz: fakes, value and treatments
What decides the price
Orange-pink Imperial topaz from Ouro Preto in Brazil is the most valuable. Almost all blue topaz is colorless topaz irradiated and heated, and "mystic" topaz is surface-coated.
Where it is used
Jewelry; its hardness of 8 makes it the reference mineral for that step on the Mohs scale.
A less familiar fact
Topaz has perfect cleavage, so a sharp knock can split even a large stone cleanly in two.
Practical
Caring for Topaz
How to clean it
Warm soapy water only. No ultrasonic and no steam: topaz has perfect basal cleavage and can split along it.
How to tell it is real
Nearly all blue topaz began as colorless stone that was irradiated and heated. That is standard and legal, but it makes any claim of natural blue topaz worth questioning.
How hard is Topaz?
Topaz is harder than quartz, so dust will not scratch it. Its risk is the perfect cleavage described above, which makes a protective setting worth having in a ring worn every day. Only Spinel shares its place on our scale. Among the stones in this reference, the next softer is Aquamarine (7.5–8) and the next harder Alexandrite (8.5).
Topaz, at 8, is harder than 37 of the other 42 stones here and softer than 4.
Primary source
What Pliny the Elder wrote about Topaz
“Juba says that there is an island in the Red Sea called “Topazos,” at a distance of three hundred stadia from the main land; that it is surrounded by fogs, and is often sought by navigators in consequence; and that, owing to this, it received its present name, the word “topazin” meaning “to seek,” in the language of the Troglodytæ.”
Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, translated by John Bostock and H. T. Riley (London: H. G. Bohn, 1855–57), book 37, chapter 32 — read the original text.
The name topaz comes from this passage — but Pliny’s topazos was a green stone from the Red Sea island of Zabargad, now identified as peridot. The mineral we call topaz took over the name later. Who Pliny was and why we quote him →
Traditional associations
Topaz is traditionally linked to confidence, clear intention and honest self-assessment. Chakra in crystal practice: Solar Plexus, Throat. Element: Fire.
Questions about Topaz
What is Topaz made of?
Aluminum fluorosilicate (Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂), crystallizing in the orthorhombic system.
Which month is Topaz the birthstone for?
November.
Where does Topaz come from?
Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Sri Lanka.
Can Topaz be worn every day?
With care. At 8 on the Mohs scale it can be worn often, but watch out for a hard knock, which can split it along its perfect cleavage.
Sources
Statements of fact on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. How we choose and check sources: editorial policy.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Topaz Birthstone: The November Stone and Its Meaning.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/crystals/gemstones/topaz/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Topaz Birthstone: The November Stone and Its Meaning |url=https://astrohot.com/crystals/gemstones/topaz/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}