Has your Famingo Topaz lost its colour??

It is me - again! seems like i am hogging the forum at the moment!! lol Today I was rooting through my ring compartment of my jewellery box, choosing a ring to wear for an outing later this afternoon, i decided on my solitaire flamingo topaz ring. Its a bit dark in my bedroom, so went into bathroom, and look down at ring, and thought, that could do with a clean - so i cleaned, the usual way, and the colour looks really pale and drained. So tried it outside in the sunshine (yea, we have sunshine here today! lol) and no, its still looks pale, and drained. Not at all the vibrant colour it was a few months ago. Has anyone else had this problem? and its not my imagination just checked my photos (yep i have photos of all my rings, for insurance purposes, as my insurers will not take the gems certificate of authenticity - they need a photo of the real macoy too) and the ring now is 100% less colourful now. xxxxx

Awww no PG,that's not good!

I have a pink topaz ring,not from gems,but it is still very pink.In fairness it doesn't get worn much,just sits in me jewellery box looking...well......pink!
I have a few topaz pieces of various colours and they all still look the same,I don't think that they should lose their colour as I am sure it is supposed to be a permanent treatment.

Maybe take a piccy of it now and get in touch with CS showing the difference in colour from the other pics you have,see what they have to say.

sweetpea said:

Awww no PG,that's not good!

I have a pink topaz ring,not from gems,but it is still very pink.In fairness it doesn't get worn much,just sits in me jewellery box looking...well......pink!
I have a few topaz pieces of various colours and they all still look the same,I don't think that they should lose their colour as I am sure it is supposed to be a permanent treatment.

Maybe take a piccy of it now and get in touch with CS showing the difference in colour from the other pics you have,see what they have to say.

Click to expand...

Hi Sweetpea - I dont know if it is a permanent treatment - i seem to recall Fiona saying that you must not wear (and I am pretty positive it was the stone that glows with the lights off! Kunzite?) it in broad sunlight and expose it too long, over a period of time, as it will fade - i remember thinking at the time, i didnt realise that a stone would fade in the sunlight! I was told by a hoighty jeweller that topaz are all heat treated and dyed in some cases - as with mystic topaz, he told me that was coated in a substance and then heated to to get that appearance. I dont know whether it is me, whether it has faded, or whether it looks dull because i have lost interest in gems jewellery, or what - i know it just doesnt glow (if you know what I mean) like it used to. XXX

Hi Persianglitter, I've just looked on Gems website under Enhancements, Treatment and Care and it says that pink, red or orange topaz is irradiated to improve colour and special caution is needed as colour fades in light or heat.

Hi PG, I don't know about Gems, but I do remember TJC always making a point of saying that the coated topazes (like the flamingo) IS a permanent treatment so should wear well.

Good advice from Sweetpea, see what CS say, (although don't hold a lot of hope, reading some of the recent posts on CS these days).

Not sure if you are aware but Kunzite is a natural gemstone, not coated in any way unlike Topaz. Yes its correct not to wear Kunzite too much in sunlight but it is still a natural gemstone and not coated, such as Mystic, Flamingo etc etc Topaz. HTH

Pink Topaz and Flamingo Topaz are different. I believe that Pink Topaz is irradiated and Flamingo Topaz is coated.

Topaz that's been irradiated can change colour (usually fades) when subjected to changes in temperature.

Coated Topaz, although it should be stable, is still a coating so care needs to be taken. For example if you clean it in an ultrasonic or steam cleaner the coating will fade/wear off. It can also scratch and then you're left with the natural colour showing through underneath.

Natural Topaz - you can buy this but it's difficult to source. You never see these on jewellery tv outlets.

My guess is that the coating is deteriorating. No idea why though.

Azotic who (I think) were the first to invent coated topaz say this on their website ............... Enhancements are thin film enhancements comprised of various precious and semi precious metals, oxides and nitrides, making them permanent and durable when care instructions are followed. Any mishandling that would affect metals, oxides and/or nitrides will affect the beauty of the enhancement and the life of the jewelry piece.