Colorado Topaz Options

[MikeS]

My friend and fellow claim owner went up to our claim for the first time this year on Saturday. He found the top of a colorless Topaz crystal that is nearly flawless inside. 193.5 carats(38.7 grams). We just confirmed it with a scratch test and a specific gravity test. It has some red and green inclusions near or on the surface. Looks like we can add this to the growing list of minerals that can be found on our claim.
I was able to take some photos.

[Dave S.]

It is not very hard to test for TOPAZ. If you have an isolated piece to test, you can do the home gravity test we have talked about in a few other topics. Quartz's specific gravity is 2.65 (times heavier than water). And Topaz is 3.4 - 3.6 (times heavier than water). If you find pieces that have crystal faces, then you can maybe tell from the different crystal shapes. If you have a different type of sample that can't be tested these ways, then let me know, or bring it to the next outing, and we will try to figure it out.