Topaz, also known as topaz by mineralogists, is often called topaz in the domestic jewelry industry, which is an English transliteration. This is mainly because both topaz and topaz will be confused with the original names of some gems in China's jewelry industry.
In China, yellow hetian jade (nephrite) has long been called topaz, especially in the field of archaeology; Topaz is easily mixed with topaz in crystal.
Topaz's English name comes from two sources: one is Zebedard Island from the Red Sea, formerly known as Topaz OS, which means "hard to find" and is named after the island is often found in fog; Another saying comes from the Sanskrit TOPUS, which means "fire".
In China's ancient books, topaz is called topaz, Huang Yagu, Huang Hu Ya and Nan Mu, but these words generally refer to all yellow gems, including yellow sapphires and yellow beryls. It is said that topaz recorded in Buddhist scriptures is olivine today.
It has the color of Tianhuang and the hardness of jadeite. Compared with nephrite such as Hetian jade, it has better hardness, higher transparency and brighter color. Because it is produced in Longling, the color is mainly yellow, so it is finally named topaz, and some people call it royal jade.
Topaz was only hidden and traded as an ornamental stone before it was developed into jade, and it was called "yellow wax stone". Because of its delicate stone, golden color, huge block shape and rich changes, it has high ornamental value, reaching thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan per kilogram.
Its rapid price rise has created a miracle in the history of jade. In fact, not all Huang Yushi can be regarded as topaz. Only Huang Yushi, which has reached the jade level, is called "topaz".