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How can you tell a topaz gem from other gemstones that look like it?

In: Gems and Precious Stones [Edit categories]

Answer:

To distinguish topaz from glass or quartzes (e.g. citrine), we should observe the hardness. Topaz is a fairly hard gemstone, meaning it is resistant to scratching. It is 8 on the Mohs hardness scale (diamond is 10, sapphire is 9). A scratch test will determine whether a stone is topaz in most cases. You can perform a scratch test by taking a piece of quartz or other material with a hardness around 7 and scratch it against the "topaz". If you don't want to risk the stone scratching, even if it's fake, you can choose to scratch it on the girdle (the unpolished rim around the gem).

There is a lot more information on this site: http://www.shopgemstones.com/topaz-treatments-and-synthetics.html

First answer by ID1111757348. Last edit by ID1111757348. Question popularity: 1 [recommend question].

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