Imperial Topaz (rare locality)

Item Description

Imperial Topaz is best known from Ouro Preto, Brazil, but circa 2009, there was a discovery of some attractive and fine quality Imperial Topaz crystals from a new locality in Zambia. We got a good parcel of these attractive new crystals from our friend in Tucson, who is personally collecting them. They are notably similar to the Brazilian crystals in both color and habit, but I can say that some of these Zambian crystals are actually gemmier than many I've seen from Brazil. The reason you don't see any many gem quality Brazilian crystals is because a large percentage of them are faceted into gemstones, but our friend in Zambian didn't want to butcher good crystals, so we were fortunate to get some pieces like this with good gem clarity. This piece is a fine, sharp, lustrous, orange color crystal with good gemminess clarity in areas. The piece has a classic "chisel"-shaped termination just like the Brazilian crystals. There is a bit of chipping on the edges, so it's not damage free, but it's still a lovely example of these attractive and exciting new crystals.