Here we are with the spooky season just behind us, and Turkey Day just ahead of us. Yes, it’s November, and that means it’s time to start thinking about the high holidays, which will be here before you know it – so don’t push shopping and planning off! But for some of Birkat Elyon’s cubic zirconia jewelry blog readers, there’s something even more special to think about in November. There’s something a little more…personal. We’re talking about your birthdays!
If you were born in November then everyone will be thinking about you this month – as they probably should every month, right? – just before they turn their full attention to the holidays. Lucky you! You also have two beautiful birthstones: topaz and citrine. Let’s talk about them.
The Great November Birthstone Mix-Up
Topaz is the more recognizable of the two November stones, so we’ll start there. Interestingly, topaz is a gem with one heck of a confusing backstory, though. It was first discovered a long, long, long time ago – well before either you or I can think back to. But despite being well-known for many centuries, it has had the misfortune of consistently being misidentified since its discovery during the time of the ancients.
What does it most often get confused with? November’s other birthstone, of course. Citrine and topaz were both originally discovered on a Mediterranean island known as Topazios. While the ancients did find that they were differing in size and shape, the two stones were very similar in color, and thus started their unfortunate series of mix-ups.
Topaz is commonly brown, yellow-gold, yellow or orange. Citrine is, well, pretty much the same colors. Fine topazes can also come in reddish-orange hues, though. These are known as imperial topazes, and they can look to some as if they are padparadscha sapphires. Rarer are purplish-red, colorless and light green topazes, which can also be confused for other gemstones. Poor topaz just can’t catch a break.
Topaz
Topaz has caught the eyes of many mystic healers, however. If you believe in that sort of thing, then you may already know that the stone is believed to support improved understanding, creativity and breathing, to bring about relaxation, dull anger, prevent colds, restore energy and help to regenerate tissues. Actually, sounds more like topaz wearers are catching a nice break here than the stone itself.
Going back to the Middle Ages, the gem was often given to members of clergies and royal houses. In fact, Hans Holbein’s portrait of England’s King Henry VIII depicts the monarch wearing golden brown topazes. For the commoners, it was said that wearing a topaz with a falcon engraved into it would help the wearer to foster the goodwill of members of kings, princes and magnates.
Chemically speaking, topaz is called aluminum silicate fluoride hydroxide. Uh, let’s just stick with topaz, which comes from the Sanskrit word for “fire.” Due to the gem’s lively fire, range of colors, hardness and clarity, it’s perfect for use in bracelets, necklaces, clips and brooches.
The world’s largest producer of topaz is Brazil, with the Minas Geranis region being the biggest source for it. Once, an uncut topaz stone weighing in at a whopping 600 pounds was found in Brazil. That stone can be seen today at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. It’s not the only place you’ll find topaz in the United States, though; California and Colorado also produce some topazes. Ukraine, Russia, Japan, Sri Lanka and Scotland are also major producers of the stone.
Citrine
We’ve already established that citrines are often mistaken for topazes, but the stones are actually a member of the quartz family. They are most often yellow in color and sometimes contain hints of reddish browns in them, much like the topaz. Aside from extremely costly diamonds and sapphires, there aren’t many yellow gemstones in the world, and since the citrine looks as attractive as a line item on your bank statement as it does set in your jewelry, it’s a popular alternative for those partial to yellow gems.
The mystics thought topaz had the ability to create a cooling effect. They also thought it could stop bleeding, but modern medicine seems to have not picked up on that belief. In any case, citrines were also said to subdue anger, sadness and nocturnal fears in its wearers. Putting on a piece of topaz jewelry was believed to be a form of protection against sudden death and poisons (always good to avoid those little pitfalls).
As if all that wasn’t enough, topaz also has one other alleged mystical power, and it’s certainly an odd one. Some mystics believed that you could retrieve a topaz tossed into a pot of boiling water without injuring yourself. Uh, Birkat Elyon is going to go ahead and recommend that you not try that one at home.
In any case, we hope you enjoy your birthday, November babies! And if you’re looking for something beautiful and affordable like citrine, don’t forget to check out our high-quality cubic zirconia jewelry collection.